Highlander: The Search for Vengeance

Colin McLeod (he is now named, voiced by Alistair Abell) has for centuries hunted former dictator and fellow immortal Marcus Octavius (Nolan North), who took the life of his wife in medieval Scotland. In the future, McLeod is in a decimated and submerged New York, where just one monumental tower now rules the skyline, commanding dictatorship. A group of survivors go to him for recovery, but McLeod is only out for vengeance.

Justin Bowyer said in his review, “Seldom has a franchise nosedived like Highlander. Since the cult success of the 1986 original, various attempts at reviving the neat idea of immortals whose only weakness is beheading have been thrust clumsily upon us.”

Now, thanks to anime director Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who directed “The Animatrix,” new excitement is brought to the fans who have been disappointed. Taking place in a futuristic New York where Colin MacLeod wants revenge for his wife’s murder, this gives enough impressive set-pieces to revive the enjoyment of the original. Bowyer said, “The plot and dialogue are stodgy, but there are thrills and bloody spills aplenty.”

Bowyer ended his review by saying, “Despite some clunky storytelling, there's enough visceral action here to revive a franchise long thought dead.”

“Highlander: The Search for Vengeance” came out in 2007 and it was a welcome return to what was thought to be dead. I have to admit, if you have been very dissatisfied with what the franchise had been giving you, you can skip the sequels and just see this one because it feels like a true follow-up to the original.

Sadly, this doesn’t end here. There was one more attempt at the franchise that was released later in the year, but on TV. Check in this Friday for the conclusion of “Highlander Month” to see for yourself how it was.