MovieChat Forums > Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) Discussion > Am i the only one who actually enjoyed t...

Am i the only one who actually enjoyed this film as it stood originally!

posted 16 years ago by joyridingonthetitanic
45 replies | jump to latest

Ok

I'm going to be in the minority here but here me out!

Yes the acting is bad, the script terrible, the plot woeful and silly filled with holes and bad editing and lets not talk about the alien bit.

But..

As a stand alone film in the highlander universe its not really so bad. Its only when you start to compare the film to the original and try and link it in as a direct sequel does the film fail to stand up. The film its self rarely makes reference to its prequel and that is a good thing.

Personally i quite enjoyed it as a rainy sunday afternoon film and lets be honest, a lot worse has been made since! I enjoyed he shield story line and thought that it was not a bad plot device at all. If it had been handled better it could have been amazing, but i think from looking at it they were dodged by financial troubles and interference form outside parties.

Ask yourself this?

Given the same circumstances, could you have made a better film?
As a stand alone film, was it so bad?
You must have seen worse? (catwoman anyone)?
It did make a ton of cash and was not really considered a flop at the time?

Ok i admit its going to be hard to convince anyone and thats cool, but surely there must be fans out there somewhere?

[–] maul57 16 years ago

What sucks about it is that it messed of the continuity of the movies. But I agree if the highlander series started with this one, its not bad, it just doesn't make sense as a sequel.

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[–] SorrowNoMore 15 years ago

This film's redeeming feature is its badness. In essence, it is good because it is so bad. I am actually quite fond of this movie for that very reason. When I first saw it, I thought, "what is this?" But when I approached it recognizing it for what it is-- a bad movie-- I greatly enjoyed it.

I wish the original edition was available on DVD, I prefer that MacLeod and Ramirez are aliens from Zeist instead of being exiles from "the past." Ironically, the director making that change actually made the movie more stupid than it already was.

[–] ferdinandhudson 15 years ago

The US theatrical version was issued on DVD in the UK (pan & scan only) and in France (anamorphic widescreen with forced french subtitles), the French one has been replaced by the Special Edition but you may still find the old release on Amazon.fr Marketplace.

The 100-minute UK theatrical however is a different story, the closest to that is an Italian DVD which unfortunately only has the Italian-dubbed dialogue and is slightly edited but it does contain the fairytale ending in all its widescreen glory.

Of course, there are some fan restoration edits floating around.

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500 years ago on the planet Zeist

[–] Jetfire59 14 years ago

I wish the original edition was available on DVD, I prefer that MacLeod and Ramirez are aliens from Zeist instead of being exiles from "the past." Ironically, the director making that change actually made the movie more stupid than it already was.

Your idea of stupid must be radically different from mine. The Renegade Version was consitent with the mytho established in the first film. I remember seeing this in the theater and asking my wife "What the F--K is THIS? If they were aliens, why didn't Connor know it in the first one?"

Have fun. Lifes' too friggin' short.

[–] ferdinandhudson 14 years ago

You could easily change that to: "What the F--K is THIS? If they were sent from the past by priests from a high-tech past Earth civilization, why didn't Connor know it in the first one?"

Yeah, Renegade Version is just soooo much better...

I'll give the RV has improved editing but storywise they're both poo. The origin was better explained in the original script and had they stuck to it a bit more (priests removing any memory of Zeist before they being reborn on Earth on different points in time) the audience would have been fine with them not knowing their true origin.

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500 years ago on the planet Zeist

[–] Jetfire59 14 years ago

Yeah, Renegade Version is just soooo much better...

The following sentence is counter-sarcasm: I'm glad we agree on that.

The simple fact is, whether the back story was explained better or not in the theatrical version, the renegade version fit in with the first film's mytho 100 times better. If you prefer the theatrical version, fine. You're entitled to your opinion as are we all. But calling the renegade version stupid just because you don't like it is stating YOUR OPINION as fact. Your opinion is no more valid then mine or the multitude of Highlander fans who hated The Quickening and were grateful for the renegade version.

Have fun. Lifes' too friggin' short.

[–] ferdinandhudson 14 years ago

The simple fact is, whether the back story was explained better or not in the theatrical version, the renegade version fit in with the first film's mytho 100 times better.

100 times better...? No, it is just as big a flaw as the Zeist version and if they couldn't come up with a better backstory they should just have let it be. I'm pretty confident that had they stuck to the same editing as seen on the RV but kept the Zeist backstory intact and looped the priests to what the original script laid out then people would have been just as fine with that as they were/are with the RV. Re-insert the memory-wipe and all is good, no clash with first film's mythology.

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500 years ago on the planet Zeist

[–] Jetfire59 14 years ago

Well you being confident doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of Highlander fans HATED the Zeist back story. Having it better explained would have made no difference. The first film was very original in its concept but making the immortals aliens in this one was viewed as jumping on the alien sci-fi bandwagon. The ancient civilization idea wasn't totally original either, but it was far more fresh.

Have fun. Lifes' too friggin' short.

[–] ferdinandhudson 14 years ago

An ancient civilization with firearms no less...

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500 years ago on the planet Zeist

[–] EvilRyu 15 years ago

Love this movie!
The renegade version is the best one!

Have u ever felt the fighting presence of another?

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Rekaert 15 years ago

Twenty years ago, it was so bad, people would rather gouge out their eyes than watch it.

My friends and I used to use it as the standard of how bad things can be.

"Ok, yeah, that bit in the middle was laughable, but it wasn't Highlander 2!"

Cue much laughter.

Since then of course, we've seen other Highlander sequels that actually redeem this a bit! I admit, I never saw that coming.

But oh dear, General Katana ... aliens ..., Connor Macleod, immortal and Ozone layer saviour!

It'll never be a classic. :)

[–] jhtg 10 years ago

Rekaert don't diss General Katana he was the best part of the movie

[–] hafabee 15 years ago

I think if the film was done as a B-movie with some tweaks and was intentionally humourous with it's awfulness it could have been slightly redeemable, but as a sequel to Highlander it sucked rotten eggs. I don't understand how it could have gotten a decent budget and attracted some good actors, the producers should have taken one look at the script and tossed it in the fire along with some gasoline to make sure it burnt to a crisp and never accidently came back to life. I mean why take the chance.

[–] shakil_miah 15 years ago

I enjoyed it too. I havent seen the renegade version. Also this is much better than Highlander 3 and 4

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] trekkie313 14 years ago

Your insane.

"Listen, do you smell something?"
Ray Stanz-Ghostbusters

[–] tito-the-titan 15 years ago

It's visualy beautiful!

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Thamauturge 15 years ago

Yes. Yes you are.

[–] scofthe7seas 15 years ago

What makes this movie so horrible is that it is peppered with pieces that ARE pretty decent, and then it swings right back to something SUPER corny, or a circumstance steeped in non-logic. Then some interaction takes place that is interesting or intriguing, and right back to some kind of non-science bull$hit. I feel strongly through this movie, that several things weren’t thought about in any regard. They just glossed over them as if they didn’t matter. That’s why this movie can be bashed, is because with slightly more effort in some areas, it could have been a better movie.

[–] mball1297 13 years ago

I enjoyed it too. Of course I haven't seen it since I was 12-13, so I might watch it now and agree how bad it is. But I'd probably still enjoy it simply due to my memories of it. I think probably partly because of my age at the time, I was able to enjoy it for what it was without worrying about how it didn't fit with the first one. I'll have to watch it again soon, but I'd like to see the original, if I can.

[–] mball1297 13 years ago

[–] pgFiSheYe 11 years ago

I watched this movie prior to Highlander I, and the only enjoyable thing is just how BAD this movie is. I was literally breathless on the amount of crap that surrounds this film everywhere.

Nothing makes sense in the movie. The characters waste time explaining useless things, yet the important ones are left unexplained and there is no logical reason behind them. The acting is a MAJOR disappointment from everyone, especiall when you consider we're talking about respectable actors, and the direction seems it was done by a janitor who didn't pass the fourth grade of elementary school.

There is no consideration or thought that support any scene and the amount of "WTF" moments is so much, the movie itself becomes hillariously BAD. I can't stress enough how many times I have pictured the producers and the director talking and having meetings among themselves discussing the progress of the film as it was being done. Were any of these people actually proud of their work?

Let's analyze a few of the nonsense scenes in this film:

-The subway scene: an alien just crashed landed on a moving subway, wanders around asking where the hell he is, and as soon as he realizes he's in a tunnel he tells a passenger "this sure doesn't look like KANSAS does it?" So I get the Wizard of Oz reference, but... why would an alien know how does Kansas look like ? or did he see "the wizard of oz" back in his home planet? if so, how exactly was he able to do so? alien-netflix?

also, for no apparent reason he kills an inocent passenger, assaults a little kid and begins driving the subway at the unheard speed of 700 mph ! At the same time, it looks like there is some sort of huge fan inside the subway, because everyone's being blown away, which doesn't make any sense. Last but not least, Katana is on Earth to kill McLeod... so how exactly does driving a subway at 700 mph and killing innocent people help his cause ? Compare that to the Terminator in Terminator, where the cyborg just plain wanted to kill Sarah.

no no.....this movie is just a new standard for Plan 9 from outer space