Highlander: Engame - Review
02-21-01, 01:09 AM
#1
Highlander: Endgame - Review
Ok here we go. I figured I would chime in with my impressions of this movie, and the DVD Edition.
Story: If you are a fan of the first movie and the television series this should be a pleasing film. If you liked the first movie and hated the television series, or the other way around you will not like this movie at all.
At times the movie tries to explain the immortals, and the elements from the television series, but this is rather wishy washy. This usually occurs in awkward dialog moments.
The story has holes in (much like any highlander film) but in my opinion this attempt is the closest to the spirit of the original Highlander. This is a story about the curse of immortality, not just trying to lop heads off, but there is of course your fair share of that.
Most of the plot holes are conflicts in the cannon of the movies and the series (in a highlander film you say? Ha). The most glaring example is that now apparently Connor was the one who discovered Duncan after his first death. This is a direct conflict to the TV show where Duncan comes back to life in his village after battle, this is when he is banished.
The producers did do a pretty decent job of adding in elements that were missing from the theatrical edition. Still there are some glaring problems. One of the funniest is that apparently Adrian Paul was not available for some key dialog re-dubs.
The additional scenes give a little more insight into the characters at times, but I really would have liked to see a fuller cut where the missing F/X elements show in the trailers could be implemented. The final battle has been extended but sadly the producers try to pull the wool over your eyes for one sequence.
Some bits are actually omitted from this addition such as:
Once again if you are a true fan and are open minded you should enjoy this movie.
Picture: Damn good, I noticed no artifacting on my 27 inch Trinitron. Crisp, clear, vibrant colors, if only the orginal Highlander looked this good! The picture is anamorphic and matted from Super 35 into 2.35:1 contrary to what the back of the package says. Improvements in color and visual effects have been made.
Sound: Very lively mix, music is vibrant, bass is clear and crisp, surrounds are active, especially in action sequences of course. Dialog is crisp and clear, you will be able to notice the bad dub overs without any trouble
A damn good DD 5.1 mix in my opinion.
Extras: Well first of all you get 3 deleted scenes, and I honestly see no reason why these could not have been left in the movie.
Next there is the "there can be only one game" a little trivia challenge where you have to answer 16 questions to defeat Jacob Kell. Amusing if you have nothing better to do.
There are 7 or 8 trailers for other movies on the disc, ironically the trailer for endgame isn't ont the disc. They probably want us to forget about those missing effects sequences.
The commentary is interesting, it gives insight into the problems with making the picture, the changes made to the new edition, and the fact that the producers really try to please the fans.
There is a half hour exploration of the progression of the visual effects of the film. This section gives some insight into why the effects in the theatrical version were not up to par.
On the second disc there is an hour long behind the scenes feature which is pretty interesting. The first part of the feature drags a bit. There are a lot of standard interviews with the cast and crew about there impressions of the story, and the characters. There are some interesting moments but for the most part it is your standard talk out of your arse interviews. The cool parts are the bloopers, the fight coordination, stunts, and effects.
There is also a rough early cut of the movie. Very interesting to compare this rough version done on an avid workstation with the final cut. I must say I think the movie would have been better if they had stuck with the early cut and had used that as a blue print for the final version. Most of the changes are in pacing, scene placement, and minor storyline changes. One of the biggest is an additional scene with Joe Dawson that shows itself in the new cut in a shorter form without the dialog.
I enjoyed this disc, but if you are a casual fan, you might not. If you are not familiar witht the Highlander universe I am pretty sure you will hate this movie, it is not really for non fans sadly.
[Edited by KnightSkywalker on 02-21-01 at 02:40 PM]
Story: If you are a fan of the first movie and the television series this should be a pleasing film. If you liked the first movie and hated the television series, or the other way around you will not like this movie at all.
At times the movie tries to explain the immortals, and the elements from the television series, but this is rather wishy washy. This usually occurs in awkward dialog moments.
The story has holes in (much like any highlander film) but in my opinion this attempt is the closest to the spirit of the original Highlander. This is a story about the curse of immortality, not just trying to lop heads off, but there is of course your fair share of that.
Most of the plot holes are conflicts in the cannon of the movies and the series (in a highlander film you say? Ha). The most glaring example is that now apparently Connor was the one who discovered Duncan after his first death. This is a direct conflict to the TV show where Duncan comes back to life in his village after battle, this is when he is banished.
The producers did do a pretty decent job of adding in elements that were missing from the theatrical edition. Still there are some glaring problems. One of the funniest is that apparently Adrian Paul was not available for some key dialog re-dubs.
Spoiler:
The additional scenes give a little more insight into the characters at times, but I really would have liked to see a fuller cut where the missing F/X elements show in the trailers could be implemented. The final battle has been extended but sadly the producers try to pull the wool over your eyes for one sequence.
Spoiler:
Some bits are actually omitted from this addition such as:
Spoiler:
Once again if you are a true fan and are open minded you should enjoy this movie.
Picture: Damn good, I noticed no artifacting on my 27 inch Trinitron. Crisp, clear, vibrant colors, if only the orginal Highlander looked this good! The picture is anamorphic and matted from Super 35 into 2.35:1 contrary to what the back of the package says. Improvements in color and visual effects have been made.
Spoiler:
Sound: Very lively mix, music is vibrant, bass is clear and crisp, surrounds are active, especially in action sequences of course. Dialog is crisp and clear, you will be able to notice the bad dub overs without any trouble
A damn good DD 5.1 mix in my opinion.Extras: Well first of all you get 3 deleted scenes, and I honestly see no reason why these could not have been left in the movie.
Next there is the "there can be only one game" a little trivia challenge where you have to answer 16 questions to defeat Jacob Kell. Amusing if you have nothing better to do.
There are 7 or 8 trailers for other movies on the disc, ironically the trailer for endgame isn't ont the disc. They probably want us to forget about those missing effects sequences.
The commentary is interesting, it gives insight into the problems with making the picture, the changes made to the new edition, and the fact that the producers really try to please the fans.
There is a half hour exploration of the progression of the visual effects of the film. This section gives some insight into why the effects in the theatrical version were not up to par.
On the second disc there is an hour long behind the scenes feature which is pretty interesting. The first part of the feature drags a bit. There are a lot of standard interviews with the cast and crew about there impressions of the story, and the characters. There are some interesting moments but for the most part it is your standard talk out of your arse interviews. The cool parts are the bloopers, the fight coordination, stunts, and effects.
There is also a rough early cut of the movie. Very interesting to compare this rough version done on an avid workstation with the final cut. I must say I think the movie would have been better if they had stuck with the early cut and had used that as a blue print for the final version. Most of the changes are in pacing, scene placement, and minor storyline changes. One of the biggest is an additional scene with Joe Dawson that shows itself in the new cut in a shorter form without the dialog.
I enjoyed this disc, but if you are a casual fan, you might not. If you are not familiar witht the Highlander universe I am pretty sure you will hate this movie, it is not really for non fans sadly.
[Edited by KnightSkywalker on 02-21-01 at 02:40 PM]
