Highlander II: The Quickening

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source: Highlander II: The Quickening

...if you watch the Renegade Version on DVD. It includes nineteen minutes of additional footage, and does not once mention the planet Zeist. This version makes a lot more sense and follows the plot of the first Highlander film a lot more closely. If you're going to get this movie, get the Renegade Version.

Truly a disappointment. A testament as to how to destroy nearly everything appealing in the previous film. I saw the director's cut at a dollar theater thinking that it was odd I hadn't noticed the film's debut at the regular theaters. This was the only film I have ever seen that left me feeling violated. Somehow I struggled through the entire length (it seemed an eternity) of the film, constantly bolstering myself up with optimistic phrases like, "It's been so bad so far, that it couldn't possibly get any worse." and "Well, the whole thing can't be bad, there's got to be something good before the ending." I was wrong. This film was torture to watch. I left the theater feeling that I had been brutally robbed of my dollar, and worse yet, that I had lost a portion of my life (the time I took to watch the thing) that I would never be able to recover. Don't even watch it as a joke. Please don't watch it to see how bad it truly is. You won't get that quirky fun feeling that can be found in other famously bad films. This won't find a niche as a cult film. It will only be useful as a measuring stick for very, very bad films. Someday, someone will say, "The worst film I've seen in twenty years, almost 80% as bad as Highlander II, The Quickening".

It is so weird to read people's stories here. I couldn't believe what I was reading, when I saw this movie as a kid I loved it, and when I watch it today I think it's awesome. So... I did some research. It turns out that most people have watched Highlander II: The Quickening, which is supposedly a real piece of dodo. The Renegade Version, however, well... it rocks! I love the settings, the opera music in the beginning, the cool sci-fi storyline, everything has the raw 80's look and it's wonderful. This is not a slow movie, and there are a lot of things to appreciate. It has two great actors in the lead and a great supporting cast. What more could you ask for? Check it out, it is really good.

They should have called the third installment "Highlander 2: forget about that last thing, will ya?" You can't just change the premise from the first film of what the immortals are, then bring back one that was dead. But aside from that, the screen play was awful. What? She gets out of the bullet ridden trunk without a scratch? (Bad casting there, by the way.) Ramirez holds up several tons of spinning concrete, then dies again? The bad guy? (Bad casting there, by the way.) Someone told me "save your time, you will regret seeing it". I thought "but I have to, I loved the first one so well". Well, I should have listened.

The reason for the success of the original HIGHLANDER was that mostly everyone who went in to the cinema to see the film had no idea what to expect. Nobody knew anything about how an Immortal could be "killed" or about the mysterious prize that awaited the victor of the "Gathering". And so with its sequel the producers and the script writers tried to emulate the success generated by these ambiguities by introducing HIGHLANDER fans to new plot revelations they would never have imagined such as Immortals actually being aliens. And in contrast to the fantasy theme of the first film the producers decided to include a more SCI FI theme to this sequel. Unfortunately many fans of the first film disliked these elements of this sequel. But people must realise that back in 1986 the producers had no intention of making a sequel and that the 1ST HIGHLANDER was to be a stand-alone film. But it was because of the success of the 1ST film along with the countless letters the producers received from fans who "WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE IMMORTALS" that this sequel was given the go ahead. So the HIGHLANDER fans cannot blame the producers for scripting this film they way they had done. I thoroughly enjoyed the 1ST film back in 1986 and I was suprised when I heard there was a sequel was planned. I never got to see HIGHLANDER II in the cinemas when it was released. But I knew about the controversial storyline and to be honest I actually found it quite intriguing. I also found that most of my friends enjoyed HIGHLANDER II more than the 1ST film because of the effects and the storyline. When I finally got to see the film on video I thought it was very well done although it was somewhat loaded with script continuity errors in relation to the story of the 1ST film. To be honest I did not feel that this film had "damaged" the HIGHLANDER saga like some people have stated. In fact it is the stupid THIRD FILM along with the pathetic TV SERIES and the even sillier ANIMATED SERIES that has eroded the novelty and entertainment value of the original HIGHLANDER movie. And now after recently watching the 1ST HIGHLANDER movie again after a long interval I feel that it has aged badly and reeks of campiness (even my dad who watched it for the first time thought it was silly that these people were still using swords in the present age instead of using modern guns and explosives!!) And this is where HIGHLANDER II triumphs. It has not dated at all since 1991. And the storyline about the ozone layer accurately reflects the crisis today where there is now a city near the south pole that is without Ozone protection. The special effects are excellent and the fight scenes are the best in the Saga. I particularily like the swords and weapons of the Alien Immortals (Especially Katana's broadsword). Michael Ironside gives a sterling performance as the evil Katana whose charisma and viciousness far outshines the villains of the other films (Kurgan, Kane). The lovely and underrated Virginia Madsen also delivers a fine performance. And there is a genuine sense of warmth and comraderie between Connery and Lambert's characters in this film that never appeared in the original HIGHLANDER movie. It is a pity that the producers never continued with the ZEIST storyline in the other sequels even though HIGHLANDER II was the most successful film of the series. I would recommend the new RENEGADE version over the old QUICKENNING version as it has more footage and action and less of the harsh editing that permeated the older version. All in all HIGHLANDER II is the best of the series regardless of what some fans say (it is because of these fans that the Saga has been dragged out in the form of the stupid 3RD/ 4TH films and the sad TV and animated series.) At least HIGHLANDER II like the 1ST is an ORIGINAL film!!!

i saw the premiere of this film in edinburgh at the odeon. the theatre was packed and having really enjoyed the first movie, like i guess most of the audience we were all really excited to be seeing the sequel. you can imagine our dissapointment. lots of ppl, including us , left 20 mins before the end, quite a few patrons were quite angry at how ineptly bad it was. having recently seen it again on cable it is still utterly woeful. i would rather go and clean the toilet than sit thru it again. on second thoughts i'd rather come and clean your toilet and i don't like clieaning toilets and don't know you. get the idea???

It's not nearly as exciting, fun or cool as the original but it's still a creative and well-made sequel that is hated because of a horrible version that had nothing to do with the director/writer. It's no Blade Runner yet it's the first of a zillion films that tries to be. The drastic changes from the original film were panned at the time but in a culture swamped in bad remakes and redundant sequels, maybe posterity will appreciate how Highlander 2 ramps up the political and existential themes that were wallpaper to its more exciting predecessor.