MovieChat Forums > Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) Discussion > Had this been a success, what would High...

Had this been a success, what would Highlander III have been like?

posted 14 years ago by Dlp07
8 replies | jump to latest

Having been watching some of the TV series recently (the whole thing's on YouTube for free- don't know if the producers know!!) I found a few of the episodes interesting with some OK ideas and Adrian Paul does grow on you but I missed the more grandiose scale of the first three films (for all their flaws, Highlander II and Highlander III's biggest problems are with their lazy stories rather than their overall look and feel, which in both cases- especially II's- is much more epic than the series or either of the post- series films which are basically TV movies).

Watching the original and III first, I then moved onto the Renegade Version of II (they actually make an almost coherent little trilogy if you watch them in this somewhat a_rse about face order and ignore the series and animations!) and was, as with previous viewings every five years or so, incredibly frustrated by the huge wasted potential of what could have been a great film. I do find it one of those "Fascinating Failures" though and admire the filmmakers for at least attempting something entirely different rather than just a retread of the original (admittedly, exactly what III is).

Anyway, I ended up listening to the two hour audio track of excuses from Davis and Panzer (the commentary) with Russell Mulcahy, who is easily the most funny and entertaining and spends most of the film taking the p_iss out of it's ludicrous premise (however much they may want to blame budget problems and interfering suits the biggest problem's their script)! But the most interesting anecdote comes right at the end of the commentary when Mulcahy mentions a shot but never, ever seen anywhere alternate ending.

After destroying the shield, Connor was to have flown Superman- style up into space (presumably powered- fuelled?- by the quickening from killing Katana), ending the film with the impression Katana's visit had finally persuaded him to return to Zeist for the next sequel (presumably what the whole thing was meant to be about- Ramirez tells him the “Cause is still yours and still just”). I don't know if the Wachowski brothers were aware of this, but it sounds extremely similar to the end of the original Matrix and it would be wonderfully ironic if one of the most reviled sci- fi movies of the 90's had had such an influence on one of the most celebrated!

So, had Highlander II somehow been the tremendous, all- round success everyone was hoping for (lets say they got to shoot absolutely everything they wanted with no problems at all, had the brains to include some more historical flashbacks and used this ending) what do you imagine Highlander III would have been like? I would say certainly nothing like the existing third film and the series almost certainly would never have been thought of.

Instead, I'd imagine it would focus on Connor's battle to liberate his original home (perhaps with Sean Connery and Virginia Madsen returning as Ramirez and Louise) from Katana's forces or perhaps some ultimate big bad guy above him. I know the hardcore Highlander fans are all about the series and don't even consider Highlander II to have happened but as a fan of the original film I would have personally liked to have seen the movies continue as big budget events rather than descending into DTV obscurity.

[–] bondukkevin 14 years ago

Yeah I have seen to ending on youtube and on special edition dvd and the "fairytale ending" as it is called possibly woudl haev been better in terms of makign a 3rd film with it on Zeist. AS oyu say coudl haev had a "bigger" villain than Katana.

[–] donutpower 14 years ago

well say its the movie that they originally wanted to make, with money and casting not being an issue, the actors not being in aggravation, and going by the first draft……

then we would have had a slightly better film. we would have had the continuity with the 2nd and 1st film actually mesh a little better. we'd have The Kurgan in new flashbacks and being revealed as a soldier sent by Katana to intervene the meeting up of MacLeod & Ramirez in the 1500s. we'd have the visuals be what they were supposed to be.

all in all itd have more of an explanation as to why its such a drastic departure from the first film..but its not a satisfactory one. and the film would still raise more questions than answer the ones we were left with in the first film.theres just no way this film could have been a success. its not what fans wanted. so theres no reason as to how this movie could be a big hit without the fanbase. casual viewers would probably be completely lost with the plot and characters. sci-fi fans would probably take an interest but it still wouldnt have been enough to make this movie a big mainstream success.

the 'fairy tale ending' was included in some VHS tapes of The Quickening and on broadcast tv back in the mid 90s. its also included in rough form in the Special Edition DVD/bluray.

if this movie wasnt damned by all. then there'd have been no tv series. if it was a box office success then Highlander 3 would most likely continue where 2 left off. Lambert would probably have gone along with doing a sequel if the money was right.

[–] wallacesawyer 14 years ago

Highlander 3... In Space!

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[–] Dlp07 13 years ago

Seriously! It wouldn't have surprised me! have seen taht ending now though and it is pretty terrible! Nothing like how the producers described it on the H2 commentary!

[–] tito-the-titan 13 years ago

Davis and Panzer said they had to pay from their own pockets
to shoot that ending because they truly believed on it.

[–] BelmontHeir 12 years ago

It's interesting to think about. I personally kind of feel that H2 gets too much hate whereas many fans tend to give H3 a free pass. I've said it before, but I'd usually watcher watch a film that is a spectacular failure with a few interesting ideas sprinkled in (H2) versus a safe and predictable rehash of something that came before (H3). The problem with H3 is that it lacks ambition - it's a pretty weak retread of the first movie. In comparison, H2 almost has too many ambitions!

I actually like the idea of fastforwarding to a dystopic 2024 and starting the film with Connor as an old man...what a bold idea! Our movie opens and the supposed hero is frail and in his twilight years. I think if they would have axed all the Zeist/distant past crap, not bothered to force Connery's return, and cut out the stuff about the Ozone layer...H2 could have been a stylish and cool flick with Connor in the future.

The only real issue, then, would be trying to come up with some new Immortal foes for him to fight since he did win the Prize at the end of the first movie.

[–] Times_Up 12 years ago

Highlander 3 is the only passable Highlander sequel, IMO. Underdeveloped and unoriginal to be sure, but decent and watchable and (to me) fun (if light). Highlander 2: Quickening (no matter cut or edition) is sheer crap, great fodder for MST3K (wish it was a part of the revival!) and camp, but crap. No redeemable anything, I'm afraid. Highlander 4, missed opportunity and contradicted both tv show and movies, but ok enough. Never bothered with The Source since it got such horrible reviews, maybe I'll watch it over the holidays.

[–] misbegotten 9 years ago

The only real issue, then, would be trying to come up with some new Immortal foes for him to fight since he did win the Prize at the end of the first movie.

How about this: there's an alternative version of Earth (let's call it Zeist - why not?) in another dimension, complete with it's own immortals. However, several centuries ago an immortal called Katana persuaded his fellow immortals that instead of fighting and killing each other to eventually win the Prize, they should band together under his leadership and form an unstoppable army. These immortals subsequently conquered Zeist. In 2024 (Earth time) Zeist has developed advanced technology that allows them to breach the dimensional wall and observe Earth. Katana decides to invade Earth, and knows that he must first kill MacLeod, the last of Earth's immortals and the only person who can stop them.

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