he immortal Connor MacLeod of the clan MacLeod (Lambert) watched as his beloved Rachel died in a massive explosion set by an old enemy. His grief drove him underground, to a mysterious place called Sanctuary.
Ten years later, that old enemy has tracked him down, as well as the other immortals who have sought refuge from the violence of the never-ending "game." The enemy is the immortal Jacob Kell (Payne), once a priest in 16th-century Scotland, where he helped a mob burn MacLeod's mother at the stake. In revenge, MacLeod killed Kell's mentor, and Kell has sought retribution against the Highlander ever since.
Duncan MacLeod (Paul), meanwhile, has premonitions of evil. He consults his old friend, the 5,000-year-old immortal Methos (Peter Wingfield), who tells him about Sanctuary. Kell has slain them all, Methos says. Duncan travels from London to New York to find Connor. He reminisces about their history, such as the sword lessons in 17th-century Ravenna and the chance encounter with Duncan's future wife, Kate (Barbuscia), in 18th-century Ireland.
In the ruins of Connor's antique shop, Duncan's immortal wife appears, still carrying a grudge against Duncan. She blames Duncan for saddling her with eternity, a gift she never wanted. Duncan fights Kell's men, including a kung-fu master, Jin Ke (Donnie Yen), but Kell stops the fight because he has other plans.
Duncan is captured by the Watcher's Council, but rescued by his former Watcher, Dawson (Jim Byrnes). Dawson takes him to Connor, who has survived Kell's attacks. Connor wants redemption, and needs Duncan's help in a way Duncan can't accept. But they must act quickly to stop Kell, who seeks only destruction.
A sorry mishmash
Highlander: Endgame, the fourth installment in the popular movie franchise that also spawned three television series, comes from first-time director Aarniokoski and longtime Highlander producers William Panzer and Peter Davis.
By bringing Lambert, the films' star, together with Paul, the television headliner, the filmmakers seek to give the franchise a Star Trek: Generations kind of treatment. In wisely ignoring the fanciful events of Highlander II: The Quickening and Highlander III: The Sorcerer, the producers also seek to return the story to its roots.
Alas for good intentions. The movie ends up a mishmash of film and television plot points that is downright confusing to the uninitiated and liable to be frustrating to all but the most die-hard fans. On its own terms, the movie fails because of a choppy and meandering narrative, cheesy production values and Bruce Payne's awful acting.
It's a shame, because the film starts off with pleasing echoes of 1986's classic Highlander, with cameos by Sheila Gish as Rachel and Beatie Edney as Connor's doomed wife, Heather. When it switches to Duncan's point of view, the movie offers brief glimpses of several series regulars and even mimics the series' style of period flashbacks.
But when the film's plot takes over, it introduces a new villain, a new wife for Duncan and a mystifying explanation for Connor's absence during the last decade. The film's theme of retribution and redemption gets lost amid the fortune-cookie aphorisms spouted by Duncan and Connor. The theme doesn't matter much anyway once the swordplay begins. Overall, the film boils down to Duncan and Connor against the badass of the moment.
To their credit, Lambert and Paul work well together, and both show great skill with the blades, though their Scottish and other accents fade in and out. The movie also contains some stunning kung-fu work, choreographed by Yen.
