If anybody knows anything about me,they know that I’m a HUGE Highlander fan. Something about immortal swordsmen slicing off other immortal swordsmens’ heads is just one of the most simplistic,yet entertaining things in the world. Sure,there were bad sequels… well… they were all kinda bad except for,in my opinion, Highlander III,but in all honesty,I enjoyed most of ‘em.
It was made known a few years ago that there was a Highlander reboot in the works.
While I’m not,with a few exceptions,a fan of the whole reboot train, Highlander is a franchise that I think absolutely needs a reboot. For one,all those sequels? Not one of those sequels was a TRUE sequel to the original film starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. For another,they were all extremely convoluted. The film sequels and the ‘90s TV show were all vain attempts to continue the story from that magic,sonically driven by Queen,1986 film.
I think that the main problem with the sequels was the fact that the writers and producers REALLY wanted to know where the immortals came from. How they got to be immortal in the first place. This outright contradicts Sean Connery’s opening monologue that states that nobody knows where they came from. He goes on to say that they just “are” and that they’ve silently been living among us… until now.
“Here we are! Born to be kings we are the princes of the universe!”
Oh my goodness,how awesome is that song?!
Back on topic… It seemed that every iteration of Highlander tried to explain the immortal’s origins. Highlander II (the original version) explained that the immortals were from another planet in which these aliens would come to Earth and duke it out until there was only one left. This lucky guy left with a head would,I guess,come back to their planet and be given super awesome stuff. Several years later,since reaction to the sequel was largely negative,all references to the immortals being aliens were removed from the film in what is now called,“The Renegade Version.” The last film,Highlander: The Source,tried a more mystical approach by saying that the immortals had something to do with this doofy,glowing orb,or somethin’. Is it so bad to just say that,“We don’t know where they came from,but aren’t they cool? I mean,come on man,they can’t die unless you cut off their head!”
As far as being true sequels,the original movie ended **!!Spoiler Alert for a movie that is 26 years old!!**with Connor MacLeod being the last immortal left alive and winning “the prize.” How do you continue the story after that? You don’t. Not without extremely large retcons,you don’t.
By restarting the franchise,the producers can actually end the story differently and leave it open for true sequels this time -sequels that hopefully won’t get extremely convoluted and weird. Yeah,it sucks that Chris Lambert is,in fact,NOT immortal and is therefore too old to play the part,but I think the guy they got will work out just fine.
Ryan Reynolds.
I’ve seen a lot of negativity towards this casting decision because of Ryan Reynolds’ usually wisecracking characters,but I believe that he can pull it off. Look at his more dramatic moments in The Green Lantern,for example. I wasn’t particularly fond of that movie,but it should let one know that the dude is diverse. We also know that he can pull off some swordplay from his role as “The Merc with a Mouth,” Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I’ve also heard a lot of people saying that he’s American,so he won’t be able to pull off a Scottish accent… Um... Do these people know absolutely nothing about the production of the original Highlander or the film’s star?
Newsflash,people: Christopher Lambert isn’t Scottish… He’s French! Dude could only say a few words in English when they filmed the movie! Seriously,go look it up.
Anyways,I just wanted to give my thoughts on this recent casting decision of a reboot of one of my favorite movies ever. Again, unlike most cases,this franchise definitely needs a reboot. As long as the filmmakers stick to the original concept,it should end up being a pretty decent flick.
-Josh
It was made known a few years ago that there was a Highlander reboot in the works.
While I’m not,with a few exceptions,a fan of the whole reboot train, Highlander is a franchise that I think absolutely needs a reboot. For one,all those sequels? Not one of those sequels was a TRUE sequel to the original film starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. For another,they were all extremely convoluted. The film sequels and the ‘90s TV show were all vain attempts to continue the story from that magic,sonically driven by Queen,1986 film.
I think that the main problem with the sequels was the fact that the writers and producers REALLY wanted to know where the immortals came from. How they got to be immortal in the first place. This outright contradicts Sean Connery’s opening monologue that states that nobody knows where they came from. He goes on to say that they just “are” and that they’ve silently been living among us… until now.
“Here we are! Born to be kings we are the princes of the universe!”
Oh my goodness,how awesome is that song?!
Back on topic… It seemed that every iteration of Highlander tried to explain the immortal’s origins. Highlander II (the original version) explained that the immortals were from another planet in which these aliens would come to Earth and duke it out until there was only one left. This lucky guy left with a head would,I guess,come back to their planet and be given super awesome stuff. Several years later,since reaction to the sequel was largely negative,all references to the immortals being aliens were removed from the film in what is now called,“The Renegade Version.” The last film,Highlander: The Source,tried a more mystical approach by saying that the immortals had something to do with this doofy,glowing orb,or somethin’. Is it so bad to just say that,“We don’t know where they came from,but aren’t they cool? I mean,come on man,they can’t die unless you cut off their head!”
As far as being true sequels,the original movie ended **!!Spoiler Alert for a movie that is 26 years old!!**with Connor MacLeod being the last immortal left alive and winning “the prize.” How do you continue the story after that? You don’t. Not without extremely large retcons,you don’t.
By restarting the franchise,the producers can actually end the story differently and leave it open for true sequels this time -sequels that hopefully won’t get extremely convoluted and weird. Yeah,it sucks that Chris Lambert is,in fact,NOT immortal and is therefore too old to play the part,but I think the guy they got will work out just fine.
Ryan Reynolds.
I’ve seen a lot of negativity towards this casting decision because of Ryan Reynolds’ usually wisecracking characters,but I believe that he can pull it off. Look at his more dramatic moments in The Green Lantern,for example. I wasn’t particularly fond of that movie,but it should let one know that the dude is diverse. We also know that he can pull off some swordplay from his role as “The Merc with a Mouth,” Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I’ve also heard a lot of people saying that he’s American,so he won’t be able to pull off a Scottish accent… Um... Do these people know absolutely nothing about the production of the original Highlander or the film’s star?
Newsflash,people: Christopher Lambert isn’t Scottish… He’s French! Dude could only say a few words in English when they filmed the movie! Seriously,go look it up.
Anyways,I just wanted to give my thoughts on this recent casting decision of a reboot of one of my favorite movies ever. Again, unlike most cases,this franchise definitely needs a reboot. As long as the filmmakers stick to the original concept,it should end up being a pretty decent flick.
-Josh
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