HIGHLANDER II: THE QUICKENING (1991) - Review

Highlander II: The Quickening

Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
1 hour and 31 minutes
Rated R

Written by: Peter Bellwood
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
Produced by: Peter S. Davis and William Panzer

Cast:
Christopher Lambert
Sean Connery
Virginia Madsen
Michael Ironside

It's a kind of magic.

"There can be only one." Someone should have told Russell Mulcahy that this famous line of dialogue was referring to the fact that there can be only one film within the Highlander franchise. Have you ever seen advertisements for Highlander conventions? No? Highlander II: The Quickening is the reason why.

Highlander may have been the most unlikely genre film to be worthy of a sequel since The Exorcist. Its story was muddled and confusing, and it failed to make much of a profit in the ever-so important US market. That being said, it wasn't an unimpressive film and it did manage to turn a major profit outside the United States.  Mulcahy apparently had the sequel green lit and financed as far back as 1987. With $14 million dollars (it would rise during the course of production to around $30 million), Mulcahy set about making one of the worst films I've ever had the displeasure of sitting through.

If you thought Highlander was confusing, Higlander II: The Quickening is impossible. It's filled with enough retcons and continuity errors to write a 30-page thesis paper on. One would think its saving grace would be its large budget, and impressive cast, but ultimately, neither was able to save the film from being an atrocious monstrosity.

The sets are dull, and lack any kind of wow-factor. In fact, the whole thing appears cheap, and if you watch carefully you can point out some sets being used multiple times with certain pieces rearranged in order to "fool" the audience. The special effects aren't up to par. Yes, the effects in Highlander are dated and unimpressive, but it was the 1980s. You would think with a huge budget and several years of technological advancement, the effects would have been considerably better than the predecessor's. One has to wonder, where the hell did the $30 million dollars go!?

I will not fault the story entirely. At its core, the film could've worked. Had it embraced its futuristic setting with its sci-fi themes, it probably would have been more impressive than it was. Highlander II: The Quickening suffered from the classic blockbuster disease known as "producer-take-over." Due to its going over budget, creative control is handed to the producers and well ... you get it. It's all down hill from there.

As for the cast, no one is capable of delivering a worthy performance - despite the A-lister status. Christopher Lambert (who without Highlander would undoubtedly be working at a McDonald's somewhere) is just as stone-faced and boring as he was in the first film. To his credit, he handles his own in the action and sword-fighting sequences (and trust me when I say this, if Mulcahy is the director, there's going to be A LOT of sword fights).Virginia Madsen has little more to do than run around and look pretty, and have random sex with our protagonist in the middle of the street. Sean Connery (who received $3 million dollars to work for 9 days), seems just as confused as the film's viewers. Honestly, if a character dies in the first film - don't bring him or her back in the second. I don't care how science-fiction-y it is, it's just confusing. Regardless, Connery manages not to embarrass himself, and it's obvious that he's way above this material. Michael Ironside honestly is supposed to be the "stand-out" character, but the psychotic, sword-wielding, tall man, antagonist was done in the first Highlander. By this point, its recycling is just lazy.

Also recycled are several scenes from the first Highlander film. For example, in Highlander the antagonist confronts the protagonist in a Church while the protagonist is praying for his dead wife. The exact same thing occurs about halfway through Highlander II: The Quickening.

Despite having turned a reasonable profit upon release (including in the US market), Highlander II: The Quickening is the only motion-picture where the director's cut couldn't even save the disastrous product. It's a classic example of a big-budget motion-picture gone wrong. There's a reason why Highlander fans refer to Highlander III: The Sorcerer as "Highlander III: The Apology."

0.5/10