Highlander: Endgame
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| Highlander: Endgame | |
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| Directed by | Douglas Aarniokoski |
| Produced by | Bob Weinstein Peter S. Davis Harvey Weinstein William N. Panzer Cary Granat |
| Written by | Gregory Widen Eric Bernt Gillian Horvath William N. Panzer Joel Soisson |
| Starring | Adrian Paul Christopher Lambert Bruce Payne |
| Music by | Nick Glennie-Smith Stephen Graziano |
| Cinematography | Douglas Milsome |
| Editing by | Chris Blunden Rod Dean Robert A. Ferretti Tracy Granger Michael N. Knue Donald Paonessa |
| Distributed by | Miramax |
| Release date(s) | September 1, 2000 USA |
| Running time | 87 min Australia:88 min USA:101 min (producer's cut) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000 USD |
| Preceded by | Highlander III: The Final Dimension |
| Followed by | Highlander: The Source |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Highlander: Endgame was a fantasy film released on September 1, 2000. It is the fourth installment to the "Highlander" film series. This film was an attempt to merge characters from Highlander (1986) and characters and situations from the Highlander television series with the movie focusing on the TV show's main star Duncan MacLeod played by Adrian Paul.
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[edit] Plot
The story begins with a flashback to 16th century Scotland, where we are introduced to Jacob Kell (Bruce Payne), once a friend of Connor MacLeod's (Christopher Lambert). While attempting to execute Connor MacLeod's mother for witchcraft in the village of Glenfinnan, both Kell and his adopted father, a priest named Father Rainey, are seemingly killed by a vengeful Connor. Glenfinnan is set ablaze, as Connor escapes with the corpse of his murdered mother. Jacob Kell was, however, reborn as an Immortal, and has since vowed vengeance against Connor for his foster-father's death. He has spent the last four centuries killing all the people Connor loves, including Rachel Ellenstein, (the war orphan from the first Highlander film). He also has gathered a posse of lesser Immortals, who overpower other Immortals and allow Kell to take their heads. At the start of the film, Kell has over 600 Immortal kills, making him one of the most powerful Immortals on Earth, if one takes this as a metric of power.
When shown the approximate number of heads that Connor, Duncan and Jacob Kell have taken according to the Watchers society, Duncan is told that he is no match due to the fact that Kell has over 600 confirmed immortal kills to his 172. This does not take into account however, how many heads the immortals Kell or Duncan have killed have taken themselves. When Duncan ultimately beheads Kell at the end of the film, if his earlier statement was accurate he would have gained the knowledge and experience of the six hundred plus immortals Kell has claimed as well as his own.
After Rachel's death, Connor has hidden himself in a place called the Sanctuary, where Immortals are protected by the Watchers (a secret society introduced in the TV series) to prevent there ever being only one Immortal left.
After the flashback, Kell and his posse of Immortals attack the Sanctuary, and Connor is believed to be beheaded along with the other Sanctuary Immortals. Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) is given a vision of this evil act, and investigates. Eventually, he discovers Connor was spared by Kell, so as to allow the evil Immortal to make his life even more miserable. He wants to kill Duncan to torture Connor, and given the number of Quickenings he has received, this seems very likely. Therefore, Connor forces Duncan to kill him, and thereby absorbing all of Connor's power in order to defeat Kell.
There is also a subplot concerning Duncan's Immortal wife Kate, a woman he wedded and then murdered on their wedding night, in order that she become Immortal. However, this has driven her into the arms of Kell, and he must earn her forgiveness, or face her as part of Kell's faction.
In the end, after Kell has executed all his faction (supposedly including Kate), Duncan and Kell have a final battle in which Duncan is victorious. He then goes to Glenfinnan, Scotland to bury Connor.
[edit] Alternate versions
The 87-minute theatrical version was expanded into a 101-minute Producer's Cut upon home video release. With an improved sound mix and soundtrack, better color-timing, and tweaked visual effects, this film was typically considered a more satisfying cut by fans. It also added in a new ending, in which Kate is revealed to still be alive, as well as several expanded and/or re-edited scenes.
The DVD release also contains a rough cut of the film (whose style has an "edited for TV" feel), with a subplot involving Connor MacLeod giving a Christmas tree to an orphanage every Christmas, an activity picked up by Duncan after Connor's death. Kate does not appear in this version of the film at its conclusion, unlike the other cut included on the DVD.
[edit] Changed premises
The trailers for the film feature several shots showing Kell using mystical abilities (such as stopping a sword in midair with some sort of force field, cloning himself, and holding an orb with Connor's screaming head inside of it). Also Connor and Duncan are shown emerging from some sort of portal.
None of this footage made it into any released version of the film and the footage is only seen in the trailer. No explanation for the nature of these scenes has been released.
Given the discussion in the released film of the number of immortals Kell has killed, it may be that, in the plot as originally conceived, he reaches a total of 666 kills by murdering his assistants, and thereby gains mystical powers.
The trailer can be viewed here.
[edit] Trivia
- During the fight Connor and Duncan have with the "Tax" thieves, one of the men (Lachlan) picks up a rock as a weapon. As the MacLeods go on the defensive, Duncan says to Lachlan: "Looks like you've lost the edge, lad". This is a reference to Adam Copeland's (Lachlan) "stage" name of Edge in the WWE.
- The main villain in each Highlander movie has a name starting with the letter "K" (in order: Kurgan, Katana, Kane, Kell). This pattern was often followed in the TV series as well, to the point of evil Immortals being referred to as "Kimmies."
- The original title was Highlander: World Without End.
- There are four shots in this film from the original Highlander (1986). The first is a computer-altered and enhanced shot of Glenfinnan, which was originally the shot of Connor walking away from his village. The second is a shot of the Silvercup sign, pulled from the scene of the Kurgan taking Brenda to the building. And in the rooftop Quickening, two shots of Connor and Heather together are also taken from the original.
- In the theatrical version of the film, Methos refers to the Sanctuary as Holy Ground. Many fans were upset that Kell killed Immortals on Holy Ground with no consequences, so all references to the Sanctuary as Holy Ground were deleted from the DVD version of the movie. In Highlander : The Quickening, General Katana says that the 'Golden Rule' is in fact that Immortals must not fight on Holy Ground. It is of note that in Highlander : Endgame Kell simply beheads the Immortals rather than engages in combat with them. The possibility of off screen fights taking place is excluded in that all Immortals are displayed as in metal restraints.
- Castle Stalker is seen briefly in the film during Connor's flashback scene. This building was also seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
- This film is in many ways intended as a continuation of the events of the first film and the live action spinoff series, but it can also be viewed as a single film in its own right. The end of the first film saw Connor left as the last of the Immortals, and this film is forced to ignore that fact in order to tell its story. It disregards the second and third films as well as the animated series.
[edit] Sources
- Scotland: The Movie Location Guide [[1]]
[edit] External links
- Highlander: Endgame at the Internet Movie Database
- Highlander: Endgame at All Movie Guide
- Jacob Kell fan page
- Jacob Kell fan page
