Highlander: Endgame
Review

I saw the movie (opening day, of course) with my friend and fellow Methos fanatic, *poof*. It did have its moments - like a VERRRY nice shot of the patented Methos smirk ~drool~, but after the movie we came up with a list about a mile long of all the things that were wrong with it.

We vented to each other, then we branched out and vented to our friends. In a last ditch effort to save what few friendships I have left, I decided to make use of the MacMINT Asylum forum. :-) The following is from my postings, which can be found in their original form (along with other people's replies) at the forum.

I suppose my 'list' can be divided into the following subheadings:
1.	The Two Biggies - Trailer lies/editing massacre & focus audience
2.	YAHI - Yet Another Highlander Inconsistency (inconsistencies with the series, not the previous movies)
3.	Stolen Scenes - deja vu?

1. The Two Biggies - Trailer lies/editing massacre & focus audience

Preview lies & editing massacre

The trailers shown repeatedly on TV billed this movie as a fight between our heroes and a "supernatural enemy". There are brief shots of:

	Kell (the K'immie, obviously) being sliced down the middle by Connor and magically reforming into 2 Kells.
	Kell holding a large bubble suspended above his palms with a reflection in it.
	Duncan and Connor jumping out of a circular mirror reminiscent of the Stargate (blue shimmery surface).

None of these scenes are in the movie. (Nor, if I remember correctly, is Methos' line "There has never been a more powerful Immortal.")

*The movie is only 1 1/2 hours long, so why did they edit any reference to supernatural powers?*

My own personal little theory:

After filming, someone watched Hlr: Final Dimension (all about Connor defeating an Immortal with supernatural powers) and TPTB panicked and massacred Endgame so it wouldn't look like a remake or rehash or whatever of Final Dimension.

That is really sad because without the supernatural spin, many things in the movie don't make sense.

	Like how Kell could kill the Immortals in Sanctuary and not suffer any consequences for taking heads on holy ground.
	Or why the Watchers were so worked up over an Immortal who isn't even as old as Connor and whose only major strike against him (besides general evilness) is that he has a gang of Immortals working for him. I seem to remember Duncan fighting a K'immie who convinced new Immortals that he was God and then sent them all after Duncan. Nobody panicked about HIM.
	And lastly, I think the supernatural spin would have given much more believability and acceptance to Connor offering Duncan his head in order to take out Kell. With all the editing, the reasoning is much weaker. Okay, so this guy may be a great fighter - so was the Kurgan, or Kalas, or Kronos, or . . . surely he wouldn't be so powerful and such a good fighter that Duncan would have to have Connor's power in order to stop him!

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Target Audience botch

The X-Files movie is a beautiful example of how a movie can cater to die-hard fans and newbies alike . . . Endgame, on the other hand does not cater to newbies *OR* the die-hard fans!

The Die-Hard Fans - those people who have seen all of the series episodes, know their timelines and characters and story lines and trivia. For them, the movie is one inconsistency after another, albeit interspersed by *some* good scenes. (see the YAHI section for elaboration.)

On the other hand . . .

Not for Newbies - Anyone watching Endgame who has never seen Hlr: the Series will be EXTREMELY confused, even if they have seen the previous Highlander movies. There is absolutely no introduction of Methos, Joe, or the Watchers -

Duncan walks up the steps to Methos' residence and says "Methos" like it's supposed to mean something. The uninitiated at least know he's Immortal, but there is no mention of him being the oldest immortal, a former Watcher, etc.

Then there are the Watchers. Watchers? What are they? Actually, I don't think they were even ever *called* Watchers in the movie (I may be wrong). All we see are these guys with tattooed wrists running around interfering in the Game . . . yes, that's right, INTERFERING in the Game! They kidnap Duncan so Kell can't kill him. They figure if they can hide one Immortal somewhere where Kell can't find him, Kell will never be able to win the Prize. I don't know what made them think *Duncan* was a good Immortal to hide away as a safeguard against Kell winning the Prize. I mean, they had to have known that SOMEONE would come looking for him and rescue him . . . like Joe, for instance . . .

Sure enough, Joe shows up to rescue Duncan. No explanation of how Joe knows Duncan (or how he knows Methos, for that matter). Or why Joe has a laptop full of *detailed* information about the Immortals. The Watcher logo on the computer screen ties him to the guys who kidnapped Duncan, so why is he helping Duncan *escape* from them?? The movie offers no explanations for any of this.

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2. YAHI - Yet Another Highlander Inconsistency (inconsistencies with the series, not the previous movies)

Yet Another Highlander Inconsistency takes on a whole new meaning . . .

1.	Duncan tells Methos it is "exactly ten years to the day" since Connor disappeared (i.e. went and holed up at the Sanctuary). WRONG! Connor was in the pilot episode of the series, "The Gathering", which aired in 1992. Unless Endgame really takes place in 2002, it has only been 8 years since the last time we know Duncan has seen him.
2.	A flashback in the movie shows Duncan marrying a pre-Immortal and then killing her on their wedding night to make her Immortal (which pretty much ends their marriage, right there). WRONG!! TPTB obviously don't know how to read palms. In "The Darkness", Duncan proposes marriage to a gypsy girl. An old gypsy lady comes out, reads his palm, and accuses him of lying to the girl. According to her reading, he "will have many loves, but marry none." This is supported by the fact that in that episode he asks Tessa to marry him and by the end of the episode she is dead.
3.	Methos talks to Duncan about Connor as though he knows Connor extremely well. Funny, he never mentioned knowing Duncan's teacher before now . . . perhaps there is a Methos Chronicles episode to be found here???? ;-)
4.	Another movie flashback shows Connor and Duncan meeting for the first time. Duncan is awakening on a body-strewn battlefield, presumably from his first death (especially if the other bodies were wearing MacLeod tartans - I don't remember for sure). WRONG! Duncan became an Immortal in his family's house after dying in a battle/?skirmish? and was cast out of the clan by his father. He wandered around, met the Hermit and received his Quickening, went to his father's deathbed and avenged his death by 'killing' Kanwulf, and THEN met Connor. Connor did not meet him immediately after his first death, but if that wasn't his first death, what was he doing fighting with the clan after he'd been exiled?

These next two aren't really 'inconsistencies', just a couple things that I felt were missing from the movie.

NO QUEEN??? I really did expect to hear "Princes", or "Who Wants to Live Forever", or "It's a Kind of Magic" - at least ONE Queen song, but NO! There weren't ANY! Okay, so at least they played "Bonny Portmore" while the credits rolled at the end, but still . . .

Would it have been so difficult for them to take one or two little scenes from the first Highlander movie for the flashbacks during Connor's Quickening? I especially would like to have seen a shot or two of him and Ramirez! Yeah, alright, maybe they didn't *want* to try to tie this movie into the universe of the other movies, but still, even in the TV series universe it is reasonable to assume that Ramirez was Connor's teacher - after all, they *did* mention in the series that Connor had taken the Kurgan's head back in the eighties.

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3. Stolen Scenes - deja vu?

My friend and I just about died trying not to laugh too loudly in the theater at the following scene:

Duncan and Connor in the cemetary - Kell had just finished saying some things about Connor, and then Kell leaves. Duncan turns to Connor (and I *swear* it is with the EXACT same inflection and tone of voice) says: "Is what he said true?" Go pull out your "Comes a Horseman" tape, fast-forward to the "I was Death" scene in the parking lot, substitute "he" for "she" and you're listening to the movie line.

THEN . . . as we are recovering from *that*, we are treated to a shot of Duncan and Connor leaving the cemetery. Arial view. Duncan heading offscreen toward the bottom left, Connor going off in sorta the opposite direction. Deja vu from the end of "Revelations"? DEFINITELY!

And don't forget about Kate (Duncan's pre-Immortal wife-for-a-night), who is:

1. Immortal

2. previously involved with Duncan

3. out for revenge against Duncan

4. a clothing designer/model company owner

Gee, who does this remind us of . . . . (think "Chivalry") . . . Please, not another Kristin!

This section would not be complete if I did not once again mention the fight between Duncan and Connor. Connor attacks Duncan with the goal of forcing Duncan to take his head so that Duncan will be strong enough to beat Kell. Hmmm. Seems to me that one very old, very cute Immortal with a (temporary, thankfully) attack of stupidity tried to do The Exact Same Thing so Duncan could defeat Kalas. Interesting that it didn't work then with an Immortal Duncan barely knew, but it *does* work when his brother/cousin/teacher tries it . . .

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Last updated: February 7, 2024

Highlander: EndgameReview

Highlander: Endgame
Review