HIGHLANDER 2: RENAGADE VERSION

The theatrical release of Highlander 2 is considered one of the worst films of all time. Shitting all over the wonderful creations and concepts of the first movie the theory put to viewers is that the immortals come from the planet Zeist, 500 years in the past. As a sequel to a great movie, it really is an audacious and monumental epic fail...but standing on it's own it's not too bad. To director Russell Malcahy's delight he was given the chance to restore the movie to his original vision. This was called the Renegade Version and it is an entirely different movie. The planet Zeist references are removed altogether and the structure of the narrative is new. My problem with this new version is that it makes even less sense than the theatrical cut. The immortals now hail from "a long time ago" in a distant past which seems more advanced than our own future. The introduction of a time travel explanation completely debunks everything that happens. The movie has been turned into 100 minutes of impossibilities, improbabilities and ridiculousness. For years I thought the Renegade version to be superior but having watched both back-to-back I find myself liking the Planet Zeist version more. Sure it leaves a steaming turd on the chest of part 1, but at least it expands the immortals back story... a futuristic past that's offered in the director's cut is far more absurd. What baffles me more is that while Highlander 2 all but ruined the franchise, it's still a movie I revisit with a guilty pleasure. Call it masochism or plain stupidity but I love this movie as much as I hate it. And hey, any movie that has Sean Connery say "all of the most beautiful women had dark hair. Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Joan of Arc to name a few. In fact, it's well known that these dair haired ladies... like to sit on men's faces" and then to follow it up with "I never eat anything I cant identify... well almost anything" has to be admired. ROFL

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