The Highlander franchise is known for a very notorious and often troubled continuation in certain areas, the concept of Immortals living through the centuries fighting until “There can be only one” has so much to offer in a fantastical way. What started off as a film that gained a cult status and what was remembered for its songs by Queen then slowly became a series that gradually overtime began to change through film and television and overtime retconning the series through drastic and absurd changes making the series a mere shadow of its former self. With that said however making an anime out of this series and its fantastical concept has some redeeming qualities, but a handful of glaring faults.
Highlander: The Search for Vengeance tells the story of Colin McLeod who became an immortal after his death in 125 AD Roman Britain at the hands of Marcus Octavius whom murdered Colin’s wife Moya, however as Marcus was not able to kill Colin his lifeless body is brought to Stonehenge (Holy ground where immortals are forbidden to fight). Colin is then brought back to life where he learns from the spirit of an ancient druid Amergan of Immortality and “The Game”. Fast-forward through the centuries as we see Colin on his relentless quest for vengeance on Marcus, through all the wars and rising and falling empires finally to present day in the Post-Apocalyptic future of 2187 where Marcus has now set himself up as tyrannical ruler of a ruined and dystopian New York where he plans to release a deadly virus which will further his goals of conquest and the creation of a perfect utopia. So now as the years have passed, the final showdown between Marcus and Colin begins…
As an adaptation this movie does a decent attempt of being part of the Highlander lore and its mythology better than its sequels. It stays true to concept of Immortals fighting until one remains, the quickening, the flashbacks through history and good elements in between. On the surface the foundation and what makes Highlander good are there, where the movie fails however is with its characters are and how the story for this is written.
Compared to the other protagonists in the series, Colin McLeod is the easiest character to write for and really not the most interesting. His main goal is avenge his wife and his clan and kill Marcus and that’s about it. We never really get to see him enjoy himself in anything or whatever he does through the passing centuries and his development feels very uneven, it’s made even worse when Colin comes across as both stoic and morose and doesn’t display much emotion beyond that. The main antagonist Marcus, while he’s got a goal in mind which by extent is evil isn’t that memorable of a villain but at least he manages to enjoy his place of power in the little areas we get to see. Weather it’s painting or playing electric guitar or even making love there is something at least decent about his character. Additional characters in this movie such as Dahlia which serve as a love interest, fall into the category of action girl manage to do okay but don’t add much to the film, even the characters that Colin has very minimal interaction with in present day and in the past really feel like a missed opportunity.
This film has 3 big problems, its characters, story and setting. The story written by David Abramowitz feels too rushed in places and very basic, Highlander at the end of the day isn’t about revenge or about decapitation of the immortals. The concept of being immortal and watching as the world changes around you, people and loved ones die off through the years and you are the only one who remains the same is a melancholic and very interesting story and the original film managed to do a good job of that, while the movie stays true to its flashbacks through history it’s really hard to care about any of the characters or feel the impact that much when someone dies as the development is minimal and the writing is thin and very dull. On top of that the setting of this film being in the post-apocalyptic future really doesn’t add much to this, Highlander as a series works better in present day where upon you can see how much time has passed and how the immortals have adjusted to the modern world. Highlander isn’t a series where the post-apocalyptic future translates that well.
So with the film’s negatives of being a mess in its story, characters & setting, the positives are its production.
A collaborative film by productions Madhouse & Imagi Studios and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance for all its faults is a really well made film. The production design for this manages to look as detailed and very well presented, the landscapes, vehicles, weapons and settings past, present and future are really pleasing to look at for what length of time you can see them. On top of that this film has some satisfying action that due to its setting feel out of place for Highlander work just as well for Highlander, when you see Marcus and Colin fight through the centuries from Ancient Rome, to Feudal Japan and even WWII the weapons they use in the action set pieces and how the flashbacks are handled are well captured here. The character designs by Hisashi Abe (Devil May Cry, Chobits, Pet Shop of Horrors) manage to mimic the disproportionate and angular beauty of Yutaka Minoawa’s art style and it works very well for Highlander and provides a level of realism to a fantastically absurd story.
As of 2019 however this is to date Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s last film that he’s directed, while he still remains involved in Madhouse he has recently gone onto to be storyboard artist for works such as Btooom! and One Punch Man.
As of 2019 however this is to date Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s last film that he’s directed, while he still remains involved in Madhouse he has recently gone onto to be storyboard artist for works such as Btooom! and One Punch Man.
On the audio side this film falls just a little bit flat.
As this is a Highlander film, you’d expect to hear some involvement much like the first film of the iconic a British rock band Queen. Sadly they aren’t present in this, what you have instead in form of lyrical music is the song "Sacrament" by the band HIM played in the end credits. Which isn’t a bad song but it’s very jarring to hear a song like this to be in something like Highlander when the song itself really doesn’t attach itself to anything Highlander involves. For the score you have Jussi Tegelman & Nathan Wang composing and it’s really nothing special and feels very weightless.
The English dub for this does have some good talent assembled but it lacks direction in areas where emotion could have been brought to the forefront. You have Alistair Abell as Colin McLeod who has only two settings of emotion, morose and stoic and on occasion shows some level of anger, Nolan North gives a rather okay performance as Marcus Octavius and sounds really withdrawn from much of what goes on but this was Nolan North at the time when he was still building himself up as a dominant force in voice acting for video games and here he’s doing okay, Debi Mae West who voices Dahlia as a hot-headed but brave action girl much like how she played Meryl in Metal Gear Solid series except here character isn’t developed nearly as well so it’s hard to get invested but she does okay. Highlander acting veterans such as Scott McNeil & Jim Byrnes show up to provide voices rather well in this, although their line delivery is off and their characters are very much disposable their presence here as brief as they are makes a small difference. Additional talents like Janyse Jaud, Kathleen Barr and Ogie Banks for the roles they play feel underwhelming and not well directed here and it’s sad when you’ve heard them in better works where their presence really shines.
The English dub for this does have some good talent assembled but it lacks direction in areas where emotion could have been brought to the forefront. You have Alistair Abell as Colin McLeod who has only two settings of emotion, morose and stoic and on occasion shows some level of anger, Nolan North gives a rather okay performance as Marcus Octavius and sounds really withdrawn from much of what goes on but this was Nolan North at the time when he was still building himself up as a dominant force in voice acting for video games and here he’s doing okay, Debi Mae West who voices Dahlia as a hot-headed but brave action girl much like how she played Meryl in Metal Gear Solid series except here character isn’t developed nearly as well so it’s hard to get invested but she does okay. Highlander acting veterans such as Scott McNeil & Jim Byrnes show up to provide voices rather well in this, although their line delivery is off and their characters are very much disposable their presence here as brief as they are makes a small difference. Additional talents like Janyse Jaud, Kathleen Barr and Ogie Banks for the roles they play feel underwhelming and not well directed here and it’s sad when you’ve heard them in better works where their presence really shines.
Highlander: The Search for Vengeance is not a great movie by any definition. The plot is very brittle, the characters aren’t all that interesting and story development is barely there. That being said however this movie manages to be a rather enjoyable if not okay action film that wears the skin of the Highlander series and what made the story so memorable and iconic, everything from the flashbacks and the action choreography really make this film enjoyable despite it’s flaws. It even goes so far as being close to being as good as the first Highlander and does a better job at telling a story of the mythos far better than it’s sequels, most notably Highlander II: The Quickening.
Even if you don’t know anything about Highlander or even if you are not a fan of the series alone, this is worth a few watches.
Recommended.
Even if you don’t know anything about Highlander or even if you are not a fan of the series alone, this is worth a few watches.
Recommended.
Sami Sadek is a lifelong Transformers and Anime fan, and can often be found propping up bars or appearing in the background of Auto Assembly vids. He has also talks on Youtube, Tweets on Twitter, doodles on Deviantart and is a regular co-host on this very site's Cyberritz. He has never had a swordfight atop a church whilst a crow watches. Honest.
