Highlander: The Source

Plot synopsis:
A group of Immortals quest to locate the mysterious "Source" of immortal power in the near future. One member of the group, Zai Jie, breaks into a communications tower in Eastern Europe and contacts his associates to give them the location of the Source. The Guardian of the Source, who has supernatural speed, confronts and decapitates him. Reggie, another group member, discovers that the planets are moving from their orbits into a cosmic alignment.
Former Immortal Watcher Joe Dawson is called by group member Methos to find their mutual friend Duncan MacLeod. Joe finds MacLeod in a fight with the Guardian, shoots Duncan, hauls him into a truck, and drives off. They rendezvous with the others at a monastery in order to meet with an ancient being known as the Elder so they can locate the Source.
At the monastery, they meet Anna Teshemka, Duncan's mortal wife, who is having visions. The Elder meets them all as a group and tells of how, in ancient history, another group of Immortals sought the Source. Upon slaying the Guardian, two of the three survivors were cursed with decay, with one of them becoming the new Guardian, and the other being the Elder (the third, a woman, is later implied to have been reincarnated as Anna). The Elder tells them all to follow Anna who knows the way. She, in turn, receives a vision from the Elder. Meanwhile, the Guardian arrives and attacks Reggie and Joe Dawson on holy ground. In an effort to save Dawson, Duncan throws his katana at the Guardian, temporarily wounding him. The Guardian removes the sword from his neck and breaks it before killing Joe with the broken blade and escaping. After burying Joe, they leave to find the Source, which they have determined to be on an island off the coast of Lithuania in the Baltic Sea.
Approaching the island, the boat's captain tells them that the "maniacs", gangs of cannibals, rule the island. After fighting locals who were poised to immolate a man to death, they obtain a van and drive to a deserted house a short distance away from where they believe the Source to be. That night, the Guardian kills Reggie by slashing him to death — the Elder had warned them that the closer they get to the Source, the weaker they would become, meaning that they would lose their immortality. Duncan has replaced his broken katana with a pair of butterfly swords. The group takes Reggie's body with them until they ultimately discover that he will not revive.
After burying Reggie, they continue on their way. During their journey, Duncan and Methos conclude that the expression "there can be only one" was in fact never meant to mean that all Immortals must battle and behead each other until only one remains, and that it truly means that only one Immortal can claim the Source. They then find the road blocked, and are captured by cannibals. While the cannibals are distracted by their drunken carousing, the Guardian frees Anna and forces her to accompany him to the Source. Later, Giovanni escapes and takes a sword, hoping to be "The One." Duncan frees himself and Methos, and sets off to rescue Anna. Giovanni gets recaptured, and Duncan goes in to save him. Methos arrives to assist Duncan at the last moment, and tells him he believes Duncan is "The One" due to his incorruptible nature. He rides off on a horse to distract the cannibals, allowing Duncan to chase after Anna. Giovanni, who had run off when Duncan came to his rescue, is decapitated by the Guardian.
Duncan finds Anna in a clearing by a sandy pit illuminated by starlight. The cosmic convergence is happening directly over them. The Guardian appears and challenges Duncan. MacLeod finds that he now has the same speed and power as the Guardian, and manages to get past the foe to reach Anna. However, an energy barrier appears to bar his way. After continued fighting, the Guardian ends up buried chest deep in the dirt. Bound and defeated, the Guardian demands that MacLeod behead him. Duncan refuses, and the Guardian vanishes in a blast of light. Before he goes, the Guardian screams that he is "cursed forever." Duncan enters the Source, qualified to do so by his pure heart. In the Source, Anna reveals that she is pregnant with their child. Of the child, Duncan declares that "he is the one."

Tags: comedy, murder, paranormal, cult, violence, flashback, good versus evil, psychedelic, humor, action, romantic, revenge

Review:
we'll act like this didn't happen if you promise not to produce another movie to finance a new house.2 thumbs, way down.Such a cool series, such a bad movie..
As it is, I want back the time I wasted watching this dreck.I'm giving up Highlander movies for good.
The dialogue is cheesy, not one of the characters approaches anything like three-dimensionality (other than the recurring trio from the series - and that's only by virtue of fans' past experience with them), and there is no real motivation given for any of them aside from lame "having visions" plot.Like the last Highlander film that attempted a futuristic setting, this one misses everything that made the first film and the series great.
"Highlander: The Source" is to "Highlander: Endgame" what "Highlander II" is to "Highlander".I really liked "Endgame", I thought it was a good way to continue the story set by the TV Series and Adrian Paul proved a more than worthy successor to Christopher Lambert.
I ordered a copy from XploitedCinema.com (a great website, BTW) and watched it last night.Initial fears were realised when it was revealed that the film was set "In The Near Future", which stirred up bad memories of "Highlander II".
Speaking of The Guardian being bad, it's really hard to fear a villain when they talk in a funny voice and act like a complete tool.The Director, Brett Leonard, overuses trendy editing techniques that modern filmmakers are so eager to apply, giving it a "music video" style, essentially making the direction seem trite and cheap.The sad thing is that this film has/had potential.
While I'm glad to hear that it is currently being re-edited before a general release, I fear that without some re-filming, which I believe is not happening, certain flaws can never be rectified.Overall, "Highlander: The Source" is a great disappointment, especially to a fan of the Movies and the TV Series..
I thought that Highlander II and the animated Highlander series were the most horrible incarnations ever created, but Highlander: The Source proved to be truly horrible and might win the award for "Worst Highlander Film Ever." The dialogue reads like unedited fanfic, continuity gaps and non-sequiturs are frequent, the special effects are laughable (as in, so bad that they induce involuntary laughter), and the sword fighting sequences -- which make Highlander what it is -- are too painful to watch.The sad thing is that there was a lot of potential for this story.
First it was the main protagonist that really got into the role of the highlander, second it was the fact it it had very good swordplay and martial arts action and third it was those well done flashbacks into history, that showed many different time-lines and presented conflicts that lasted for centuries...So, what is wrong with this movie?
Obviously the movie hasn't got a big budget but it would have been adequate if it was used properly and with a story that didn't involve guardians with superpowers and other cosmic forces.In the end it just feels sad that the Highlander franchise probably ends with such a bad movie.
There is nothing special about it, its seems half ass way of producing it with the effects and location, gives the feeling they had £20 to play with and they seemed to have gained £19.99 back in change.the effects of the head slicing is better and i was surprised it happened, but from that the special effects are half ass , the story line is boring and tiring , there is not one single section of the story or visual that makes you actually want to stay in the cinema to watch the film, it simply gives you the feeling of when you were watching a bad b movie in the 80's where the budget was extremely low and with no talent behind the camera.considering AP took over production near the end f the TV series i was strongly expecting lots more from this....
Hell the team and even him don't seem to be bothered with doing the production notes and b lo g on their own official site, so from that are we to take it they are re doing the whole thing to actually drill in some intelligent action with a spot of special effects and dash of story line that will blow our socks off, or should we take it that they simply have given up and are now hoping they can get away wit the slow progress of a crappiest produced film of the 21st century and I've now just read that its in fact going straight to sci-fi channel, How pathetic is that Im highly saddened by this because this was going to be the ultimate film for me to watch, I've been a highlander series fan for years and just gained the box set, so to know that they have simply destroyed and made a film worse than end game is soul destroying..
Duncan, we are informed, does not believe it exists.There is a new cast of Immortals, plus the trusty Methos, and I have to say British TV Actor Thom Fell as Cardinal Giovanni is great, understated and enjoying himself, and he would have been perfect as Jacob Kell in Endgame, instead of the pantomime villain we got.Others include Stephen Wright as Reggie Weller (supposed to be an astronomer, more like a Cockney barrow bow) who is terrible, as is Footballers' Wives Cristian Solimeno as the Guardian.Several of the cast seem to be enjoying themselves putting silly voices on.Thom, according to my research, does not get much film work, but I think he did a fine job, and should be up for Orlando Bloom type roles.The group of immortals already know one another, though where from is not explained, odd as they are not in any movie, or the series.There are some excellent fight sequences in the film, and I have to say Methos kicks some serious bottom.Duncan's love interest Anna Teshemka (Thekla Reuten) is gorgeous, and like Thom, acquits herself with dignity.Peter Wingfield has recently become a British TV stalwart in a year's appearances in BBC hospital drama Holby City,but for some he will forever BE Methos, and Peter is excellent in Highlander The Source, he seizes the attention in every scene, and his acting is less mannered than it once was.One of the highlights of the movie is the soundtrack with some storming new versions of "Princes Of The Universe" and "Who Wants To Live Forever" with vocals by John Sloman (Ex of Lone Star (the Welsh one) and Uriah Heep).The film, on DVD, billed at 86 minutes, clocks in on my machine at more like 79, and some of the latter minutes are mere clips of earlier scenes.There is a revelation, though the film seems to terminate early, and as there is no theatrical release that I am aware of, running time should not have been an issue, in my view.The film, of course, leaves things open for the supposed trilogy of Highlander The Source parts 2 and 3, though I don't seen how they would ever get made (there can be only one!), as they were not shot alongside part 1.It feels almost as if the series carried on running for another 10 years, and we've somehow missed all those episodes, and now we get this.
Then came the series that took some time to establish itself but with six seasons of Duncan Macleod of the clan by the same name he had created a character that had surpassed the original Connor and shown an immortal that wanted to leave the game and was sorely tested by its bloodthirstiness.
Yes it is a dark tale that lacks the great fights that the series always gave us, but then again this movie was never about death and killing but about hope, love & life.For folks expecting a Connor Highlander story, they are in for a bad surprise.
I am a huge fan of the Highlander Series and the movies and thought "End Game" was the closure we were looking for and then this showed up, a huge, huge disappointment.The characters to me with the exception of Mac, Metho's and Joe were comic book like especially the "Guardian" and what was that on his head?
Yes Duncan seems a bit glum and miserable throughout, but he had become that way by the end of the TV series, so it makes sense.Granted this was not a high brow attempt to bring the franchise to a conclusion, but hey it's a movie not an episodic ongoing saga and as a movie it conjured up a good looking dark twisted and evil world with some larger than life characters somewhat akin to 18 rated comic book characters, plus some decent sets and FX.My god I have seen lots of really bad reviews for this, people take things too seriously, it's basically an action/fantasy/horror movie and as such was fun too watch which I believe is the point to such movies.So not an intelligent conclusion but what the hell, it was fun and remember the whole idea of Highlander was always insane with inherent floors all over it so come on you die hard 'Trekkie' type people, lighten up and don't take such a rigid approach to mythical fantasy icons.
The "Russian Pre Final Cut" version does not destroy the previous releases, but rather adds another dimension to it, and since it leaves so many questions unanswered and gives only enigmatic hints at what is happening, the Highlander universe remains intact (with all its flaws) and a sequel could easily unexplain all the weird stuff that happened in this movie.
Now THAT I would buy all over again on HD-DVD or Blue-Ray. The Source "Russian Pre Final Cut" is bad but was so enigmatic that, as a Highlander fan, you could just make up your own ideas about what is happening and, as such, somehow find a way to live with it.
With no direction to speak of thank goodness for Adrian Paul and Peter Wingfield knowing what they were doing behind the camera otherwise this movie may never have seen the light of day.The character of Anne to me left so many holes that it felt like Swiss Cheese.
If I was to say it, there are only 3 Highlander films worth watching (Highlander 1, Highlander: Endgame & Highlander: The Search For Vengeance) and this movie makes them look like they should be in the Hollywood hall of fame.Before I start, let me say it is nearly impossible for me to rate something 1/10, I try and find something to compliment even if I thought it was crap (so much so that I gave Highlander 2 a 2/10).What makes this film so bad that Highlander 2 fairs a better rating?
Adrian Paul is a good actor but like Christopher Lambert is overshadowed by a really awful script that highlights him for no reason, "your impossible to corrupt", Yeah, Byee.Everything a Highlander fan will tell you about this is probably true, a priest with a blonde Mohawk, a guy that moves faster than the speed of light gets knocked down by a car, Post apocalyptic world where everyone can get enough fuel, red mist appearing and disappearing while inside a cemetery etc.
3) Thats pretty much itIn order to bring this pile of crap up to a proper run time about 50 percent of it is in slow motion set to crappy 80s music ( note if immortals have lived for centuries why do they consider 1985 the greatest period in musical history in every highlander film?.I did a sick in my mouth watching it.
I never really got to watch the series though as it was Broadcasted in Sweden during all the wrong times.A few years later, i discovered the next movie, Highlander: Endgame.
I mean you think oh great another highlander movie I can't wait to see it, then you find it is so bad, your not sure if you can sit and fully watch it, back your glad you did because of the ending.
I don't know why such great characters and a great story line ends up being so horrendously butchered, but the Highlander franchise, seems to be particularly plagued by this problem.At least they didn't try to turn this into some sci-fi adventure rather than a fantasy adventure like they did with Highlander II, but everything else about this one was even worse, which is a shame because the Adrian Paul series had finally given me hope that the writing curse was over.I think this movie fell victim to the same fatal error as the aforementioned second film, Highlander II: the Quickening.
Highlander: The Source takes place in the near future, in Eastern Europe that is going to hell with crime, gangs and riots.The first thing that comes to mind watching this movie is that is must have been a fan-flic.
And not from fans of the actual movies, but rather from the series instead, which was mildly entertaining but had no real story to it.The same goes for Highlander: The Source.
Besides the first movie with Lambert and Connery, all of the successors have been far-fetched with poor acting and even worse screen writing.This movie is not much different, but it does offer an answer for the average highlander fan as to why more and more immortals keep popping up in movies after, they keep saying there can only be one.This movie offers a conclusion to the series that looks as if it will be final.
For a low-budget action film, the last fighting scene with the villain (guardian) is actually quite enjoyable and really well choreographed, despite extremely cheesy special effects that can be expected from a low-budget film.Overall, this movie was not quite as bad as the last two installments, and I would say that it is somewhat enjoyable.
Considering this was the 1st real Highlander film in 7 years and direct to video at that, this movie was much better than it had any right to be.
I was never a fan of the TV show and these latter productions just feel like extended episodes, complete with cheesy TV-movie atmosphere.HIGHLANDER: THE SOURCE is particularly bad, full of cringe-worthy romantic interludes, awful effects and some bad guys who'll make you chuckle at the ridiculousness of it all.
I am a big fan of the original Highlander movie as well as the first 4 seasons of the TV series.
There were some bad spots/rehashed plot points: Duncan in an Endgame-Connor-like funk, the montage & wailing guitars after the dock fight, another Kurgan rip-off (please go in another direction), the movie recap-clips at the end, some graphical effects, and the apocalypse thing is getting old.
the first highlander film was great the second and third were not bad but now its just completely lost its way.
If, like me, you were a fan of the Highlander franchise, especially the TV Series, I strongly urge you to skip this film.Not only does it completely and utterly destroy the franchise (really) but it's got to be, and I use this phrase lightly, "one of the worst films I've ever seen." I worked for 10 years in independent film production, on some of the worst Sci-fi and horror B films known to man and yet I find myself with nothing positive to say about Highlander: The Source except for the last 5 minutes.The film has the feel of a horrible direct to video production that was shot entirely by an out of work music video director, the score is _even worse_.There really are no redeeming qualities about this film..
Adrian Paul is an actor who never lived up to his potential- Highlander The TV Series was a great contrast to the classic original film.
The only good news that can come is that The Source has now been reached, and the series can now end, like another beheaded immortal or whatever the hell..
i know everyone else seems to hate this film but they wouldn't know a good film if it jumped up and bit them on the you know what, i loved the first highlander but the second and third are utter guff the second makes me violently sick, this film is amazing the bad guy is well cheesy but great when he first meets macloud some of the stuff he says made me laugh for a week, the acting is a little poor but i loved the idea of the source and its power and the guardian being very hard, even his gimp suit cracked me up followed by him singing the old films theme tune utter genius, duncan is the man especially after the end game which was cool, i hope they bring out more if only for my benifit, i am also known for watching millions of films from pans labryinth to usual suspects to predator aliens and many more awesome films so trust me this is great fun peace out brothers and sisters.
The series was good, the original was good, but they never seemed to actually make another good Highlander movie.But, at the same time there was no Connor.
I am only going to watch The original, Endgame and The Search For Vengeance and if you want to watch the only good Highlander films then even if you don't like them they'll be better than this..
This movie had none of the sword fighting that Highlander is known for There was only 1 quickening and the effects were so cheesy it made the TV series look like million dollar FX.
Surely Highlander: the Source finally did it in.Poor effects, poor acting, poor script, HIDEOUS ending to an otherwise great series of movies/TV episodes that I loved so much.to Adrian Paul...Why?
i loved the movies and the TV series and i thought that "end game" was really a good movie that almost made me cry when duncan kills connor, but this, the source is just....