Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)

In the future, Highlander Connor MacLeod must prevent the destruction of Earth under an anti-ozone shield.

Director:

Russell Mulcahy

Writers:

Gregory Widen (characters), Brian Clemens (story)

Stars:

Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Virginia Madsen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Lambert	...	MacLeod
Sean Connery	...	Ramírez
Virginia Madsen	...	Louise
Michael Ironside	...	Katana
Allan Rich	...	Neyman
John C. McGinley	...	Blake
Phillip Brock	...	Cabbie (as Phil Brock)
Rusty Schwimmer	...	Drunk
Ed Trucco	...	Jimmy
Steven Grives	...	Hamlet (as Stephen Grives)
Jimmy Murray	...	Horatio
Pete Antico	...	Corda
Peter Bucossi	...	Reno
Peter Bromilow	...	Joe
Jeff Altman	...	Doctor

Storyline

The second "Highlander" movie, again with Christopher Lambert and Sir Sean Connery. It's the year 2024, and all of the ozone above Earth is gone. To protect people from dying, MacLeod helped in the construction of a giant "shield", several years ago. But, since there isn't anyone left who's Immortal after MacLeod's victory in the previous movie, he has stopped being an Immortal. Now he is just an old man, until one day some other Immortals arrive on our planet. You see, the Immortals come from another planet.

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Plot Keywords:

horatio character | highlander character | immortal | katana | planet | 

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Taglines:

It's a kind of magic.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, and some sexuality and language

Details

Country:

UK France Argentina

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Highlander II: The Renegade Version

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,982,370 (United Kingdom), 18 April 1991, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,280,490, 3 November 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$15,556,340

Company Credits

Production Co:

Davis-Panzer Productions, Harat Investments, Lamb Bear Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 109 min (director's cut) 86 min (DVD) 100 min (theatrical) 100 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Dolby DTS (director's cut)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was released on November 1, 1991, the same month that Freddie Mercury died of complications from A.I.D.S. He and his bandmates in Queen had enthusiastically contributed several original songs to the soundtrack of Highlander (1986).

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Goofs

When Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez was killed in the prison, he had the Samurai sword with him, and Connor MacLeod ran out of the prison with his other sword. In the final fight, MacLeod has the Samurai again.

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Quotes

[U.S. Cable-TV Version]
Louise Marcus: Okay, now let me just see if I can get this straight. You come from another planet, and you're mortal there, but you're immortal here until you kill all the guys from there who have come here... and then you're mortal here... unless you go back there, or some more guys from there came here, in which case you become immortal here... again.
Conner MacLeod: Something like that.

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Alternate Versions

In addition to the extra footage, the "Renegade Version" of Highlander II features a different sequence of events, providing continuity lacking from the theatrical release. These changes along with the extra footage allow the movie to follow the plot of the original Highlander movie. The idea of the immortals being from another planet has been done away with, and answers questions such as the fate of Brenda, Connor's love interest in the first film.

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Connections

Edited into The Unauthorized Hagiography of Vincent Price (2014)

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Soundtracks

Bird Flight
Performed by The Seattle Symphony and Symphony Chorale
Produced by Stewart Copeland and Jeff Seitz

User Reviews

An unfortunate downgrade but not THE worst sequel in history

Sequels are difficult to make right especially when their parent film made such a high impression on its initial fan base. The crew who made Highlander (1986) were almost entirely against making a sequel because of how well received the original was. Unfortunately when it comes to film contracts, it's not so easy go against what is wanted. So that already created friction between the film crew and the studio itself. Then on top of that, deciding to drastically make edits to the finished script last minute is never a thing that's going to roll over well. Nobody was happy with how things were being changed so frequently and it led to one of the most disappointing sequels to a promising start up franchise. Many fans considered it to be a lot like Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), where it completely ignored anything that was setup in the first film. Thankfully over time Mulcahy was able to form his own cut of the film. It may not be good but it is also not the worst sequel in existence.

Being written by Brian Clemens, William N. Panzer and Peter Bellwood, the story has some points that are good, but most of it is completely deviant from that of the first film. What's even stranger is that both Panzer and Bellwood had worked on Highlander (1986); producer and writer respectively. Clemens had certainly enough years of experience to help in the writing process but it's unknown how much he contributed. The story takes place in 2024 where the ozone has depleted and shield has been placed around the earth to protect it from the sun. The person behind this successful project is none other than Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert). However there's a resistance group lead by Louise Marcus (Virginia Madsen) who believe the shield can be destroyed because the ozone has recovered. Meanwhile an antagonist by the name of General Katana (Michael Ironside) is out to kill MacLeod because as the tag line goes, "there can only be one". This is the simplest way to describe this and it certainly needs work.

From what is elaborated on, it turns out both Ramirez (Sean Connery) and MacLeod were sent from another world to earth. This place is where all of these immortals come from. However with that said, it entirely negates and washes out any heart Highlander (1986) had to begin with. What was the point of killing Ramirez in the first film only to bring him back again? Not that viewers wouldn't want to see Connery again, but his exit was in such poignant way, it's weird to resurrect him. Having the script explain the background to MacLeod's situation was fine but it gets lost really fast with the inclusion of the sci-fi element of ozone depletion and shield use. It just feels like the wrong genre considering what the first film had established so well. The script does however reference the history of the first film so it's not like omits everything, which is why so many people make the claim that it is the worst sequel. Thankfully the writing for the characters is half there too.

Christopher Lambert maintains his character's personality even with the odd story he's given to work with. Sean Connery although having him return in general is off putting, has a performance that is very affable. He has a number of good scenes that involve him getting familiar with the new surroundings of the future. Even Virginia Madsen, who doesn't do a whole lot at least has a few lines that can grab a viewers attention. On the other hand, all the villains on screen are way over the top than they should be. Michael Ironside can be a menacing villain but here he walks around with a wide grin overacting every line. The same could be said for his henchman. There's also a subplot about the head of the shield business David Blake (John C. McGinley) wanting to overthrow the co-creator of the shield, Dr. Allan Neyman (Allan Rich). McGinley is about as evenly matched to Ironside in this movie. Every bit of dialogue from this guy was given way too much energy.

Speaking of energy, the action is also lacking in that too. For a story about an immortal swordsman, there's only a few scenes that involve sword fights. Other times its gun fire or not at all. And when these scenes do occur, they aren't that exciting. Old fashioned action should be though. It's sad when even that becomes boring. Unfortunately camera-work wasn't all that impressive this time round either. Captured by Phil Meheux, the shots are uninteresting. Most likely because the setting is so different from that of the original. Meheux did however work on The Mask of Zorro (1998), Bicentennial Man (1999) and Casino Royale (2006). The music was a little better though. Composed by The Police Band member Stewart Copeland, the score to this film is unfortunately hard to find but does provide some adequately constructed material. Even if some of the original themes Michael Kamen created seep into the cracks as well. That's cheating. Copeland also scored Wall Street (1987) and Taking Care of Business (1990).

Some say this is the worst of the worst. Not so, there are sequels that far surpass this. Sure, the antagonists are way too silly and the script makes significant changes to what the original film laid out. Even the sci-fi edge is all wrong and really should have been omitted or worked in another way. Still though the protagonists are likable and the music is acceptable. It's not a good story at all, but it's not the worst.