I have just read that the other Highlander movies made after this one ignore it completely. Is this true because I have never watched another Highlander movie because this one was so so very very very bad.
I can't put into words how disappointed I was with this movie.
If that's the case then, maybe I should seek out the other sequels. Which ones would you recommend?
"This is a pretty fast cart, so brace yourselves."
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The events in this film largely takes place in 2024 so the other sequels (which, apart for The Source, take place in the current time) really wouldn't mention it. The events in Endgame do a good job of effectively hitting the final nail in Highlander 2's coffin since Connor obviously won't be around for it after that.
shareIf you have time, give a shot to the other sequels, my personal favorite of them is Highlander: Search for vengeance (the animated film) there's no Connor but there is no also the Aaron Paul's character... It's an original story on his own that takes place in the same universe...
Prostitute: What the *beep* are you doing?
Johnny: I'm gonna kill a bunch of people.
Do yourself a favour: DON'T bother with any of the sequels. None of them come remotely close to topping the original and they're all miserable flicks in their own right. Okay, the 'Highlander: The Search for Vengeance' isn't half-bad.
shareI have to disagree with you guys. Highlander 2 - "Special Edition"
is the best sequel to the first movie and very entertaining too.
I have to disagree with you guys. Highlander 2 - "Special Edition"
is the best sequel to the first movie and very entertaining too.
Highlander 2 was a alternate story, it was as if Connor had never got decapitated by Duncan.
shareHighlander 2 is a direct sequel to Highlander 1 in which Connor won the Prize, could grow old and was the LAST immortal ! Duncan didn't exist (or was already dead) in this timeline.
Highlander Endgame, in which Connor was beheaded by Duncan takes place in the series timeline in which Connor defeated Kurgan but did NOT win the Prize, so there are many more immortals left.
And how can Highlander 2 be a what if when it was released 10 years before Endgame ? It should be Endgame who is a what if. Anyway, none of them is a what if, it's just 2 different timelines. When Connor went back to the past to free his people, after he killed Katana, he changed the timeline and some stuff were greatly altered: many immortals after he killed Kurgan (which still happens) and no more ozone field fading out. His wife Brenda still dies, but this time in a car crash instead of sun radiations.
A direct sequel which Connor and Ramirez and all immortals come from another world???
shareIt was in ANOTHER life ! It doesn't change the first movie at all ! Connor still was reborn in Scotland in clan MacLeod. This even explains why in the series all immortals are found as babies, as they are are sent through time, born again, with their former memory wiped out. Zeist happened in another life. They were reincarnated as immortals, it is explained by the Priests when they are exiled to the future. The movie IS a direct sequel to Highlander 1, which doesn't retcon the ending, contrary to the series.
At the end of Highlander 1, Connor vanquish Kurgan, become mortal and thanks to the Prize can understand the minds of every people and do "great things". So in Highlander 2, Connor has constructed the shield to save the Earth and is now old. And then at the dawn of his life, the memories from his ancient life, before he was reborn in Scotland pops up in his mind as he has to make the choice between dying as a mortal or go back to Zeist, free. In his flashback in Zeist, it is revealed that his previous incarnation was magically linked to the former incarnation of Ramirez, so he could bring him back by calling his name. And when Ramirez comes back to life, he still has the same clothes he had in Highlander 1 when Kurgan killed him, and he comes back to life in the same city: Glencoe.
So yes it IS a direct sequel to Highlander 1 as the first movie is entirely valid in Highlander 2.
Highlander the series retcons the ending of the first movie by pretending that Connor didn't win the Prize and there are still immortals. So Highlander 2 is the "real" sequel. The other movies/series happen in a different timeline.
This movie defined how to ruin a franchise so badly that whenever a sequel from any franchise is made that is so terrible that all other sequels will simply ignore it and not provide any continuity towards it that move is called pulling a 'Highlander 2'
For example. Recently JJ Abrams said that when he films the Star Wars sequels he's going to pull a 'Highlander 2' when it comes to all the ridiculous nonsense George Lucas put in the prequels. So no Gunguns, no midichlorians, no annoying JarJar type sidekicks, and Han ALWAYS shoots first.
I suppose that you're talking about the theatrical version which was terrible. The Renegade Version Dir cut version was great. It was like a completely different movie.
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I still like 2 better than 3,4 and 5.
shareI still like 2 better than 3,4 and 5.
Pretty much, though I've seen people put effort into finagling ways to fit it in with some others parts of the franchise. (And if they want to really do so, than so be it.) In my opinion if you want a good laugh, than I'd recommend you check this out. Highlander III has had some staunch defenders, and it is considerably better than its immediate predecessor. (Though still not good IMO) Maybe as something like a television or Netflix watch it would be harmless just so you could see for yourself. The main problem being that it just feels far too derivative (in a near beat for beat sense) of the first movie but not as well made. Endgame in my opinion while still heavily flawed is easily the best of the follow-ups. All the pieces are there in terms of story for a great sequel, but it's not all fully realized and or executed properly. I like that it doesn't go completely bonkers and out of left field like 2 did, but doesn't copy and paste so much of the original like 3. Finding a good middle ground. I don't know if I could get myself to quite call it particularly good, but I do like and enjoy it to at least some degree. Even if qualified as a guilty pleasure. The Source on the other hand is easily the worst of them, and doesn't even have the so-bad-it's-good factor that this one does. I'd say avoid it.
Naturally that's all just in my own opinion.