Dir. Andrew Morahan. Perf. Christopher Lambert, Mario Van Peebles, Deborah Kara Unger. Dimension Films, 1994. (Trailer)
Highlander was a great concept, although Sean Connery as an Egyptian-Spainiard-something-or-other is a slight blemish. Still, I love that movie. But did you know it had a sequel? Long before George Lucas ruined the Force by revealing it to be biological instead of mystical, Highlander II: The Quickening ruined the mystery of the immortals by making them mere ETs. If this second sequel achieves anything -- if only being a mediocre action/fantasy movie -- it jettisons the jaw-droppingly incoherent garbage from Highlander II altogether. Retcon, baby!
A few years after his first wife Heather dies of old age, Connor Macleod (Lambert) travels to Japan seeking the wisdom of fellow immortal and master swordsmith Nakano (the ever-awesome Mako). While he's sweating in a mountain cave, the zen vibe is busted up by asshole immortal Kane (Van Peebles); when the old wizard is beheaded, his essence forces a cave-in, trapping Kane and his cohorts for 400 years as Macleod escapes into the night like the filthy Scotsman he is. In 1995, the ruins are excavated, Kane emerges, and vows to kill Macleod and claim the Prize, which is apparently now the ability to die and not receive all-encompassing knowledge like in the first sequel.
The Final Dimension borrows heavily from the plot of the original movie, from Macleod facing another raspy-voiced barbarian, to him meeting a woman who's a historian and who easily deciphers his real identity, to a laughably over-the-top scene toward the end where Kane terrorizes Macleod's adopted son by driving like a maniac.
The aforementioned woman is an archaeologist played by Deborah Kara Unger (who, bless her, is never one to shy away from gettin' buck naked). She also resembles one of Connor's many past loves, and they become intimately linked during a Playboy VHS sex scene. Kane can shapeshift into anything -- which seems a totally overpowered skill to have since Macleod can still only swing a sword in a bomber jacket and white sneakers -- but it's used mostly to show off special FX. During a decent highwire fight, Ramirez's blade is shattered, and Macleod must reforge it using adamantium or whatever during a vacay in the Scottish highlands.
After the sword is once again whole, Macleod goes through a Rocky-esque training montage set to Loreena McKennitt instead of Survivor. Kane kidnaps his son to draw him into a final battle, like it wasn't going to happen? He coaxes Macleod to a church that was fortuitously built right beside a sprawling petrochemical plant, the de facto setting for any Highlander duel. Inside, the two remaining immortals clash, backed by a muzak version of "Dr. Feelgood" and, well, you know what happens.
The Final Dimension isn't particularly poor, nor is it great. It's a bit slow and a bit light on the swordplay, but is a passable replacement for the awful Highlander II, and despite the obvious tie-ins to the then-popular TV series, it stands on its own as a concluding chapter to the Connor Macleod legend. Unless you count the third sequel co-starring the ponytailed guy, but who does?