I remember as a kid in the 80’s that the other kids were obsessed with this movie. I think I saw it once back then and wasn’t overly impressed. I remember thinking it was OK but I just wasn’t into it like the other kids were. And you can understand why they were. Sword fights, decapitation, magic, it had all the things boys and teens like.
I watched it again last night for the first time in decades and although the movie isn’t bad, I definitely had at least 6 or 7 eye-rolling moments. On paper the movie should have been a home run. But in execution it lacked various ways.
Why did they choose an actor with an obvious French accent to play a Scottish guy? That is the most unforgiveable part for me. Christopher Lambert (who played the lead role of Connor MacLeod) is a good actor and he did well in this role, but the accent. Why!?
The cinematography of the scenes in Scotland were great. It looked way more realistic than even Braveheart which was made ten years later and won an Oscar. The final battle was shot very good as well. There were scenes scattered through the movie which were impressive. Like when MacLeod was in World War 2 and saved the little girl from the Nazis. But other scenes were not great at all.
The battle between Sean Connery’s character and the heavy where Connery loses his head was pretty bad. The practical effects of the rocks exploding from the wall looked really cheesy. Later in the movie there is some military wacko driving around with an Uzi looking for trouble and he stumbles upon a battle between two of the immortals. That entire scene felt contrived and silly.
The scene where the bad guy is driving through the city all crazy with the lead female actor was very cheesy as well. There were just too many of these cheesy scenes for me to consider this a good movie.
Still, in the end, I was entertained so I will give this one a positive score. This feels like a movie that they should remake. If done properly it could be a whole helluva lot better. And I am not a huge fan of remakes. 70/100 potatoes for me.
