by Brian Ragle

Created on: April 04, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

The following was written directly after viewing a pre-release version of Highlander: The Source. From all indications, it comes from a Russian DVD release and prior to the actually theatrical and/or DVD release in the United States in September of 2007.

Before I begin, I want to pre-qualify myself for this review. I am not just a fan of the Highlander story line. It has actually been a very big part of life for the last 20 years. By that, I do not mean I am a fan of the WAY the Highlander story has always been told. The story itself, it's themes and implications are are what have stirred my imagination and passion for that time period.

The original Highlander was presented very simply, yet profoundly. The idea of living forever is ostensibly to be desired. Consider our culture of youth. We have an entire market, many markets in fact, devoted to longer life. We all desire immortality via drugs, exercise, or even spirituality. But what are the implications of such a wish? What is immortality except a longer period of loneliness than we would otherwise have?

The Highlander storyline touches this question deeply and has explored it through many methods and mediums during those decades since it first debuted. As such, I encountered a young and handsome Christopher Lambert playing Connor MacLeod in 1986 and saw his character, played by that same yet aged actor, die in 2000. In between, I grew to know and identify with Duncan MacLeod, played by Adrian Paul. I lived, as a teenager, the vicarious life of a man far older than me. The realizations this brought impacted me deeply and I carried a fascination with all things related to immortality and its inherit loneliness from that time forward.

As such, when it comes to the Highlander canon, I feel as uniquely qualified to judge the current movie as anyone could be. I know the stories. I was there and shed real tears when Tessa was killed. I watched Duncan evolve, as a character, from someone afraid of his destiny into someone consigned to it. Along the way, I grew up and found myself confronting life in a similar fashion. There is a shared despair among us who are called "gifted" from a young age. It is a sense of impending doom from expectations we never feel adequate to meet.

So, to the movie and warning. I will divulge plot points, references, and screen captures from this current release. If you do not wish for spoiled surprises, do not read further.

Overview:

Unlike some fans, I can appreciate the method in which the

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