Russell Mulcahy’s “Highlander” (1986) begins with an awesome opening crane shot.
The camera spins around a packed Madison Square Garden crowd during a wrestling match, swoops upward into the cheap seats and finds our main character sitting by himself.
The protagonist is Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), a handsome, intense man wearing a trench coat. We follow the suspicious-looking Connor as he cautiously enters the parking garage below, where he encounters a sword-wielding assassin.
Connor, not to be outdone, is also carrying a sword and the two engage in a blade battle of mythic proportions.
The garage fight opener is quite the set piece, complete with clanging swords, exploding cars and, of all things, multiple backflips. From the first scene on, it’s clear that Aussie director Mulcahy (whose prior film was the 1984 Outback killer pig thriller, “Razorback”) is really going for it.
The introductory swooping camera moves, flying across a wrestling arena and finding Lambert in the audience, are unnecessary but electrifying.
The scene is like the film overall: goofy, overdone and thrilling. Yes, it’s style over substance, but the showmanship is undeniable.
Connor MacLeod is an antique dealer in the late 1980s, with an accent that suggests a colorful background. We know from flashbacks that he is an immortal who originated from the Scottish Highlands. After losing a battle with a ferocious warrior called The Kurgen (Clancy Brown), Connor miraculously heals, is deemed a monster by those who saw him mortally wounded and flees his village.
While out in the wilderness, Connor falls in love and is mentored by Sanchez, played by Sean Connery, who, curiously, isn’t playing a Scotsman but an “Egyptian Spaniard.” In a film about mystical Scotsmen, Connery, arguably the most famous Scottish actor ever, has been absurdly cast as “Juan Sanchez Villa- Loboz Ramirez.”
Um, okay.
“Highlander” is utterly confusing if you’re seeing it for the first time. Thinking back to my initial viewing on HBO during the 1980s, I was delighted by the mayhem and showmanship but found the story dreamlike and vague. Screenwriter Greg Widen is taking on the vampire legend, something he did in a different way later on with his angels vs demons “The Prophecy” (1995), another cult film.
Russell Crowe will instruct Henry Cavill in the ways of the immortals in the remake of “Highlander.”
The Oscar-winner will play Cavill’s mentor in a variation on the part played by Sean Connery in the 1986 original.https://t.co/zobZgMA9mQ
— Variety (@Variety) June 20, 2025
Oddly enough, despite multiple viewings, three sequels and a long-running TV series, I still find “Highlander” a dense chore to discuss on the story level. Another puzzling detail: despite the many sequels and spin-offs, the main characters are constantly reminding us that There Can Only Be One.
Indeed…until the next one.
The Michael Kamen score and Queen songs are, in a word, awesome. Mulcahy leans into comic book-like transitions and reflections, a perfect touch. The flashbacks are flush with gorgeous location shots. While Mulcahy’s career never rose to the level of Ridley Scott or Luc Besson, this film and his later “The Shadow” (1994) indicate he had a keen eye for rich detail and grandiose storytelling.
Mulcahy’s ’86 box office flop became an in-demand rental and cable favorite, leading to three mostly unloved sequels (I have a soft spot for the uneven but robust “Highlander: Endgame” from 2000), the 1992-1998 Adrian Paul-led TV series and the forthcoming Henry Cavill-led remake.
It’s not hard to see why Russell Mulcahy’s “Highlander” bewildered audiences in theaters but gradually found a ravenous cult following afterwards. While an instant bomb and a real oddity in theaters, Mulcahy’s Scottish-infused update of the vampire legend gained serious traction on VHS and repeat cable airings.
Whatever it was that lured movie lovers to this goofy epic (Connery, the music of Queen, the sword and shield fantasy genre, etc.), most were able to accept the far-out premise of immortal warriors in century-spanning battles and took it at face value.
Through a series of flashbacks, we witness McCloud’s education on the ways of the Highlander by Connery’s character and get glimpses of the several lifetimes he lived through. McCloud’s relationship with a nosy reporter (an appealing Roxanne Hart) causes him to ponder settling down, though we know what happened to the last lady who stuck with McCloud until the end.
Mar. 7/1986 – The movie Highlander is released. Starred: Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown & Sean Connery. pic.twitter.com/elJpRCEl8Y
— Today In History (@TodayThatWas) March 7, 2026
Connery is the film’s secret weapon. Lambert has a strong presence, but he can’t carry this by himself. Nevertheless, the former, original and arguably greatest 007 brings his expected gusto, 100-watt movie star presence and professional dedication to a movie that doesn’t fully deserve him.
You can never quite believe Connery in the role, but his charisma is so razor sharp, it doesn’t matter. He’s the best special effect here.
I realize I haven’t mentioned a key detail: the only way to kill immortals is to chop their heads off with a sword. It begs this question: if this is the only way these guys can be killed, wouldn’t they invest in a steel neck brace to wear in public?
As always, the dependably wonderful Brown is solid, but The Kurgen is a bit much. He’s more of an annoyance than a compelling character and you count the minutes until he finally gets his comeuppance. Mulcahy sometimes indulges in Terry Gilliam-esque fish-eyed lenses, which is too much for a movie already overflowing with flamboyant touches.
The screenplay, while ambitious, is ridiculous, and the dialogue is even worse. “Highlander” aims for a comic book feel but the lines are consistently dumb. While I can’t get behind any of the sequels that followed, it’s worth noting that the subsequent “Highlander – The Series” effectively infused this with the scope, seriousness and sense of fun the movie doesn’t always reach.
Purely as a cinematic experience, it’s an addictive action movie. The sweeping camera moves, Queen’s soaring tunes and the excellent swordplay sequences elevate it. Little of this pulled me in emotionally (aside from a nice subplot involving McCloud’s saving a little girl), but the visuals are so awesome, it works as ’80s mythmaking.
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