Search - Highlander - The Search for Vengeance (Animated) on DVD

Highlander finally gets done right

Charlie Brooks | Vermont | 01/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Since the original film was released in 1986, Highlander has seen four movies, two live action TV series, and a children's animated series. With the exception of the first TV series, all of those spinoffs were universally terrible. Luckily, Highlander: the Search for Vengeance finally dusts off the franchise and realizes its potential.



This movie is not a children's show. Don't confuse it with the animated series years ago. The film involves on-screen beheadings, mutilations, and sex. It also doesn't explain much about the immortals that serve as the focus of the movie. It's assumed that you're already familiar with the long-running franchise, and that you don't have to be brought up to speed.



The movie itself is fantastic. It takes everything that Highlander has traditionally messed up -- a post apocalyptic environment, an immortal supervillain, and ghosts, for example -- and makes them fit naturally into the world. It retains the awesome action that made the first movie a hit, and includes the moral ambiguity that served as the appeal of the first TV series. The main character, Colin MacLeod, is a man obsessed with killing the immortal who crucified his wife thousands of years ago. On his journey to finally get revenge, however, he becomes an inspiration and a hero to the people that his foe Marcus Octavius is now oppressing. The immortal must leave two thousand years of vengeance behind to save the day.



With a terrific plot, excellent art direction, and solid voice acting (including an appearance by Jim Byrnes, who played Joe Dawson in the series), Highlander: the Search for Vengeance finally takes the floundering franchise and produces a gem that hasn't been seen in over a decade. The only thing it's missing is Queen on the soundtrack."