WEBVTT - Matinee Science Playlist, Part 3: ‘Highlander 2’ 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:05.840 Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:14.239 Works dot com. Hey you welcome to Stuff to Blow 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:16.600 your Mind. My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.640 McCormick and Robert. I just have one thing to say, 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:26.000 and that is remember Highland. Ah, Yes, your home five 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:31.720 years ago on the planet seized. Yes, you're referring, of course, 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:36.680 to the film Highlander to one of the most Uh wait, 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.320 you're forgetting the most important part of the title, Highlander 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:41.760 to coal in the Quickening. I've lost track of all 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:44.360 the subtitles for this film. There's like because it's like, 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:47.760 there's Highlander to colon the Quickening, colon the Renegade edition. 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:50.280 I mean, there's been so many cuts of this over 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.680 over time, but for the most part, in this episode, 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.720 we're getting back to the theatrical cut of Highlander two. 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.280 We're talking about Highlander two as presumably somebody we saw 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:02.560 in the theater when it came out, and then a 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:05.960 lot of us saw on VHS when it hit our 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:09.399 local video rental stores. Now, we've been threatening to do 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:13.000 this episode on Highlander too, Nate, not just threatening. We've 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:16.839 been promising to do it for probably over a year now, 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:19.600 and people. Some people say, what are you talking about? 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:21.800 Why would you do that? And other people say, when 0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:24.800 is the Highlander too episode coming? So that latter group, 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:27.880 you're about to be very happy that former group. Here 0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:31.000 we are and you're gonna listen and you're gonna like it. Well, 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:33.920 we're gonna catch up to speed on what the Highlander 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.759 one was all about, what Highlander two was seemingly about, 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:40.760 and there is going to be discussion of science in 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:42.920 this episode. There is a lot of science to discussed, 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:46.759 and in a way this allows us to tackle at 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.120 least a couple of subjects that we've just never covered 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:52.600 on the show before but are certainly of scientific interest. 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:55.200 But before we get into all of that, let's just 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:58.480 go ahead and have a taste from the original theatrical 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:04.040 trailer for high Islander. To taste the quickening. That has 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:09.520 some fun. There's centuries among the first nothing could have 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:18.919 prepared them for quickening. Christopher Lambridge, Sean Connery Highlander too 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:27.360 quickening alright, well sounds intriguing. Perhaps everyone out there can 0:02:27.440 --> 0:02:31.520 understand a little bit, uh why there was some excitement 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:34.680 about this film for for fans of the original Highlander. 0:02:34.760 --> 0:02:38.200 Now I will say as concerns of fandom of the 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.440 Original Highlander. The Original Highlander is a very fun movie, 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.399 but it is also also a very bad movie. Well 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.840 it is, it is. I definitely would argue that the 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:52.120 film is far sillier than a lot of people. Remember, Yes, 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:54.840 I mean I loved it when I saw it in 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:58.320 goodness early junior high or whenever I saw The Highlander 0:02:58.400 --> 0:02:59.919 for the first time. I'm just like, this is a 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:03.560 amazing It's you know, it's it's fantasy, it's it's kind 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:07.079 of historical, it has all these art wrestling it's good. 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:08.840 Well did every I don't think I was really a 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:10.239 fan of wrestling at the time, so I was just 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:13.000 kind of I kind of glossed over that aspect of it. 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:14.880 I didn't know who any of those guys were, but 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:16.680 but I knew who the other guys were, you know, 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:20.240 Sean Connery. And then then it's this weird uh Christopher 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:24.920 Lambert or Lambert character, and then the Kurgan played by 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:28.720 Clancy Brown. I just had a just so much scene 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.400 chewing energy in this film. And then a magnificent score 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:34.960 by Queen The Queen really ties it all together. But 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:39.040 it's also just that blood bath of ridiculous acting that 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.920 sells the movie. You've got Christopher Lambert or Chris Stophe Lambert, 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:46.640 who is doing in Highlander one and two, both of 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.160 which he kind of does like a Peter Laurie sort 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:52.000 of thing. He's a little bit like, yes, I'm a 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:57.320 Highlander and he's basically Peter Lori's handsome younger brother. Yes, 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:59.080 that's that's the kind of vibe I always get off 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:01.800 of it. But so let's let's rehash who the characters 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:06.040 are versus the accents. So you've got, uh, Christoph Lambert 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:09.920 plays a Scotsman and he's got a French accent. That's 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:14.960 Connor McLoud, right. Sean Connery plays a Spanish Egyptian person, 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:18.080 but he's got a Scottish accent. That's Ramira. It seems 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.840 a little backwards. But then you've got Clancy Brown who 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:24.520 plays like a like a Central Asian Russian kind of guy, 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:29.159 but he has an American accent. Yes, this is definitely 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.719 one of those areas of of of Highlander mythology that 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:36.599 it it doesn't it doesn't pay off to think too 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:40.400 hard about it. It gets confusing rather quickly. But let 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:42.960 me just go ahead and rehash what the basic plot 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:44.640 is for Highlander one in case you haven't seen it 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:47.240 before or you've never seen it at all. Okay, so, 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:50.120 first of all, film came out in nine six, big 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:53.320 year for genre films. Uh. You know, if you were 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:56.400 to make a like top ten genre films of eighty six, 0:04:56.839 --> 0:04:58.840 I don't even know that The Highlander would make the cut. 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:00.839 There were just so many great flicks that came out 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.120 that year. Is that the year of Aliens? Yeah, that 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:04.840 was the year of you two. I think you you 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.240 entered the world that year. Maybe that's if I recall correctly. 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:14.239 So in this movie, certain humans are randomly or seemingly 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:17.800 randomly born imbued with this immortal energy that's kind of 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:21.320 immortal fire, and that fire can only be snuffed out 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:25.000 if they're just outright decapitated. And then that fire, that 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.799 that immortal energy can be absorbed by another immortal Okay, 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:32.120 So they're invincible except for decapitation, right, And they run 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:35.920 around decapitating each other, right, hunting each other out, kind 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.120 of sensing each other's presence. They're like playing their own game, 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:42.400 and so they have these magical beings they battle across 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:44.920 the ages, and the ideas that they're gonna keep doing this. 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:47.280 They're gonna keep hunting each other down and engaging in 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.200 sword fights, and and one of them wins and absorbs 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:53.400 all the energy. They're gonna keep doing this until there's 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:56.720 very few left on the planet, and then those few 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.560 remaining individuals are going to go to some location on 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.760 the Earth ends up being New York City, and this 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:06.840 is going to be the gathering where the final immortals 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:09.599 duke get out. There can be only one left at 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:12.560 the end, and that final immortal is going to have 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:16.440 all this collected energy of all those deceased immortals, and 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:19.200 in doing so, he's gonna win the prize. The complete 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:22.880 allotment of the immortal fire. You will presumably allow them to, 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.640 you know, the wield godlike power, achieve great and terrible 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:29.800 things depending on their individual temperament. This is like a 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:33.279 really awesome idea for a fantasy movie that would be 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:38.200 dreamt up by a high school sophomore. I mean, it's 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:41.360 there is something wonderful about it, I have to say, 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:43.919 like the idea of of and I do think that 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:48.880 there is perhaps a deeper subtext to that that the screenwriter, 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:53.120 especially director Russell McKay um, was perhaps getting into like 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:57.279 this is feeling of like outsider individuals, um, you know, 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:00.640 trying to you know, to find each other and and 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:03.760 and and and battling for how they're perceived by the world. 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:08.159 I would love to see somebody do like deeper, read 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:12.880 some sort of film theory um uh l g B 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.840 t Q reading of Highlander. Um. I myself, I'm not 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:19.560 a film theorist, but but I would love to read 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.360 the work of somebody who is on this matter. Yeah, 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:23.480 I could see that there's some subtexts like that there, 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:26.520 especially in the first movie. But so you've got literally 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:30.080 the character Christoph Lambert, with his French accent, plays the 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:35.160 Scottish Highlander Connor McCloud. Right, he's Connor, He's he is 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:38.760 our our hero and he we we we we get 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.520 flashbacks from the president. We would find out this is 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:44.920 how he learned that he was immortal. And then he encounters, uh, 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:48.200 first the Kurgan, who is out to just decimate him 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:51.040 and absorb his energy, but that Clancy Brown, right, and 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:54.840 then he runs into Sean Connery's Ramire's character who schools 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:56.560 him in the ways of the immortal. He's like, this 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:58.280 is how we operate this is what we do. This 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:00.120 is what you need to be careful about. The is 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:03.240 who you need to beware of, and you know it 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.880 prepares him. But then Kuragan comes along and kills Ramiras 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:09.360 and uh well, anyway, we get to the end of 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:13.560 the film. The inevitable final showdown is between Connor McCloud 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:17.840 and the Kurrigan. They have a ridiculous sword fight that 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:21.240 goes on forever. Lots of sparks. I mean, Russell McKay 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.600 was was and is one of the great music video 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:28.000 directors of the nineteen eighties, right Wild Boys, Wild Boys 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:30.160 from Duran Duran I think he did. He did multiple 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:34.679 Duran Duran videos. He did Total Eclipse of the Heart. Yeah, 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:38.120 so he has this, he always had. This is fantastic 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:42.360 visual flare and it is in full effect in Highlander. 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.120 I would say that his music video of the Wild Boys, 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.720 for me somehow slightly pre figures the aesthetics of the 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:51.880 mad Max Fury Road war Boys. Yeah, to a certain 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:53.839 ex Yeah, I could see that being the case. They're 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:56.480 they're kind of like violence swinging about in a in 0:08:56.520 --> 0:09:01.920 a grimy industrial future. Absolutely so. Anyway, spoilers for Highlander one. 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:06.080 He wins Connor wins, spares the world that a terrible 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:08.800 fate at the hands of the Kurgan, and we're told 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.560 that he gains the ability to read people's thoughts around 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.400 the world. It's kind of tacked on, you know, that's 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:17.280 certainly the exact nature of the prize is kind of 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:20.200 an afterthought because the movie is ultimately not about that. 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:23.320 It's it's about it's about style. It's style over substance. 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.080 It's a fabulous style. But yeah, when at the end 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:28.079 you have to realize, oh, yeah, he's supposed to win something, 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:30.320 what is it? Well, now he's psychic and you can 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:33.200 connect people. I completely forgot that element. All I remember 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.480 about the end is like explosions and queen yes and 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:39.440 ultimately like that's that's all you needed has to play 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:45.800 is your fabulous, fabulous soundtrack. Wonderful explosions. Uh, some goofy funds, 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:48.880 some very some some nice dramatic moments, and some very 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:52.120 charismatic performances. You know, we'll spend a little bit of time, 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:58.520 uh having fun with Sean Connery. But but Sean Connery 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:00.480 was great in Highlander one, like he is he was 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:04.520 at like peak silver Fox charisma level. Uh and uh. 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:06.520 And he's just a joy to watch in that film. Oh, 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:10.640 he's the perfect charismatic yet silly character actor. Yeah. And 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:14.320 it was well balanced and you know, the Kurgan was appropriate, 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:18.840 appropriately fearsome. Uh. And everything I feel like Highlander one 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:22.240 is is ultimately a well balanced cocktail. It is. It 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:27.440 is a silly but entertaining, stupid movie. Yes, absolutely, and 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:30.240 it ties everything up at the end. At the end 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:33.800 of Highlander one, there's no reason to do a sequel. 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:37.160 There's no reason to do um. Uh. You know a 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:40.520 two animated films and animated TV shoots show, a hundred 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:44.520 nineteen episodes of Highlander, the series, twenty two episodes of 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:48.360 Highlander The Raven, which I've never even heard of. That 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:51.280 and four additional live action sequels as well. So obviously 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:56.080 the we we know, nobody can get enough Highlander after 0:10:56.160 --> 0:11:02.480 it's done, quoth the Karragan nevermore. I'm to understand The 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:07.840 Raven is like an immortals cop show basically. Um that 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:09.760 I've never seen it, so I can't really vouch for. 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.320 But the TV show I watched a little off and 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:14.079 that was that was that was pretty good at times. 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.600 That's a great genre direction to take any previously existing 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:22.040 genre franchise, like you go from Scanners to Scanner cop. Yeah, 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:25.600 well it it's a more sensible move. Well that the 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:28.200 TV series was a more sensible move because they said, 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:31.360 let's not try and pick up afterwards, Let's just do 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:35.200 a new character with lots of flashbacks. Each episode is 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.920 a mix of coming to terms with old trauma and 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:42.480 old enemies or old friends and then um and then 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:44.720 and then hammering it out in the present or you know, 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.440 sword fighting it out in the present. But that's not 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.520 what they did for Highlander two. The sequel which comes 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:55.240 out came out, continues where the first film left off. Uh. 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:58.959 And that's an ambitious task to begin with, especially if 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:01.520 you insist on fee during Sean Connery in it, which, 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:06.160 if what I was reading was correct, that was Lambert's insistence. 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:09.480 You can't see it at home. But I'm rubbing my 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:13.320 fingers together in the Money signal, the international gesture for money. 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.880 Of course, Sean Connery is gonna want millions to come 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:19.640 and reprise his role as Ramirez in this film. Uh. 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:22.240 And it especially doesn't make sense because he was just 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:26.000 conclusively murdered in the first time he's been dead for 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:29.920 centuries first, but they said, all right, we gotta bring 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.079 him back. Okay, if you read a lot about the 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:35.679 production of this movie, it seems like the creative decisions 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:39.800 about it were largely very investor driven. So there were 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:42.240 some sort of like money dudes who were making a 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:44.600 lot of the calls about what the movie would contain 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:47.480 and be about. Right, and and then I think it 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:49.600 seems like a lot of creative decisions ended up being 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:53.160 made for the wrong reasons. Like I did read that 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.440 Lambert was like, yeah, you gotta bring Connrey on and 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:57.640 he was great, We had a great time. He should 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.480 be in the sequel. But even though he died, you know, 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:02.920 and then I'm sure the industry folks were like, yeah, 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:05.079 Connery is a bankable star, let's get him in there. 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:10.520 So in order to continue the story of Highlander, it 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:15.400 is necessary then to expand the mythology, because again it 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:17.720 was all tied up in a neat little bow. Uh, 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:21.080 there's no there's nothing left to continue. So they decided 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:24.600 to come up with a twist, a new way that 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:27.559 we can expand Highlander into a sequel, and that twist 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:32.320 was that the immortals are aliens. It's so good. They 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:35.120 should have just gone with Highlander cop but they didn't. 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:38.960 Instead they went with aliens. Yeah, and you know I 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.680 and I ultimately think it's not a bad idea. It 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.880 gets a bum rap because most people hated Highlander too, 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:47.840 But if you've got to come up with something, why 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.960 not aliens? Why not them being beings from another world? 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:53.400 And it's right there in the Queen theme song. Here 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:56.200 we are Princess of the Universe, Princes of the Earth, 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.360 Princess of the Universe. Okay, I can see you there. 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:01.880 I mean, it all depends on how it's handled, right, 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:04.679 But I think part of the reason people react with 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:09.400 such uh incredulity to the sudden revelation that they're all 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:13.000 aliens is literally just the way it's introduced in the film. 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:15.680 So we're talking about the original Highlander to the quickening, 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:19.200 the theatrical cut, this has been butchered and edited out 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.760 of these re releases that you can get in digital 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:24.200 form and on DVD and stuff today, which are now 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:28.840 they remove references to the alien planet. But so the 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:32.480 way it's introduced is you've got Christopher Lambert. Uh Lambert 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:34.760 is an old man makeup sitting at an opera and 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:37.280 suddenly the camera just like zooms in on him while 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:40.320 fans are blowing his hair, and he looks confused, and 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:44.080 you get voiceover from Sean Connery saying, remember Highland of 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:47.760 your home the planet Zeist, and then it cuts to 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:52.920 this flashback and he's going, yes, I remember Zeist, and 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:56.880 it's it's impossible not to laugh while watching this. So 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:00.120 the basic idea that is then uh presented or on 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:03.920 in Highland or two uh in the theatrical cut anyway, 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:08.400 is that the immortals of Earth, we're all exiled immortals 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:12.960 from another world, planet Zeist, following a failed rebellion, and 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.160 the rebels here that basically the ideas instead of being 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:17.600 put to death, they're sent to Earth and they have 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.480 to battle each other across time to only one remains, 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:23.440 and then the winner will have the choice between staying 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:26.760 on Earth and growing old or returning to Zeist and 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:31.840 becoming immortal again. Uh. So, I know that's confusing. The 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:36.160 first one was contrived, so you know there's a lot 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:39.240 that that doesn't work with that that concept, but but 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.640 I don't know, I still kind of like it. Exiled 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:45.680 immortals from another world? Fine, uh In the more recent 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:48.000 cuts of it that you'll find, including one that was 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:52.240 at least recently on Amazon Prime. They changed it from 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:57.160 Exiles from Another World to Exiles from the Distant Past. 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.880 So and so, if someone rebels against them, instead of 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:03.760 sending them to another planet, they send them far into 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:06.320 the future. We're gonna punish you by sending you to 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:10.560 a time with indoor plumbing. Oh no, no, don't send 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:14.680 me to a time after penicillin. But that's that's apparently 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:18.800 what they did. Um. So, for my money, there there 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:21.440 are some positives about the film, just to run through 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:25.400 really quickly. Um And besides the obvious being that I 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:29.200 enjoy watching bad films, first of all, I would say 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:31.920 that it was at least ambitious enough to expand and 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.160 take a sci fi twist on the original film rather 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:37.520 than just redoing it, which is, you know, often the 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:39.320 way you do a sequel, you're just like, all right, 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.600 do it again, except bigger, and they didn't do that. 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.960 I will say that Russell McKay created an interesting sci 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:48.320 fi and war look for much of the film. Yeah, 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:50.280 a couple of the sets are really good. Yeah, there's 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:53.720 especially you know, the very Blade Runner esque Uh, you know, 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:57.640 kind of blade runner with more Casablanca heaped on top, 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:00.680 and then hoverboards and swords. I think these were the 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:03.160 sets that were built earlier in the production. I mean, 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:05.320 one of the stories about the production is that the 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.359 movie was made in Argentina. They were like lured there 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:10.320 because it was like, hey, it's much cheaper to make 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:12.320 a movie here. You can build elaborate sets and all 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:14.520 that for half the cost. So they went there, and 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:17.240 then suddenly there was there was an economic crisis in 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:20.080 Argentina while they were filming the movie. There was like 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:22.720 hyper inflation, and then they didn't have any money to 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:25.359 finish the movie with. Yeah, so so yeah, I guess 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:27.760 some of the these scenes and some of the sets 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.639 better than others. But but certainly the sequence where the 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:34.560 assassins from the future show up to fight Old Connor, uh, 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:38.520 that sequences a lot of fun. I enjoyed that one. Um. 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:42.400 There's also some goofy scenes with Ramira's buying a suit 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.120 and watching a flight safety video efter he comes back 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:47.840 from the dead. Highlight of the film is just Sean 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:51.400 Connery's high jinks in Future Scotland. Yeah, and then there's 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:55.000 yeah that there's that in addition to that flight safety video, 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:57.840 there's also and that you only find this in later 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:01.280 cuts of the film, but there is a fake commercial 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:03.359 kind of like from you know, something from RoboCop or 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:08.160 Total Recall for something called Psychic Chef just pops up 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:11.360 in the middle of the film and it's completely bonkers. 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:12.919 Like if for anyone out there is a fan of 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:17.520 the film, Mandy, it's um it's cheddar Goblin esque in criticulousness. 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:21.400 So it's one of the definite pros to checking out 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:23.720 a more recent kind of Highlander. Two. I would say 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:28.040 another huge highlight of the film is the villain Michael Ironside. 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:31.800 He's this guy from planet Zeist who is their enemy 0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:35.000 who eventually gets tired of waiting on Christoph Lambert to 0:18:35.080 --> 0:18:37.920 just die on Earth and uh and he like goes 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:40.920 there to fight him. Uh and he you know, there's 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:43.840 the expression chewing the scenery, but Michael Ironside and this 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:46.399 is not really he's like a shark, you know, the 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:49.080 way shark teeth are just always coming out in the 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.600 things they buy it, So he's leaving his teeth all 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:55.119 over the scenery. Yeah, it's very like skull far Forward 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:59.719 Scanners esque acting for Michael Ron's side, I saw an 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:03.919 inner view with him where he basically said, yeah, I 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:07.000 wasn't a fan of the script. The production was kind 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.520 of a wreck. But I decided like, if I'm going 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:11.480 to do this, I'm going to be the most memorable 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:15.040 thing in the film. I'm just gonna go you know, completely, 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:18.720 you know, crank it up to eleven on the scene shooting. So, yeah, 0:19:18.760 --> 0:19:21.200 he's a he's a tremendous amount of fun. Anytime he's 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:25.879 on the screen, you can't help but but invest yourself 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:28.280 and know what he's doing. Oh wait, we haven't even 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:31.080 mentioned yet the sci fi premise of the movie, have 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:33.280 we No, we haven't, And this will be something that 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:37.080 we'll discuss uh later on a little more depth. Because 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:38.840 one of the ideas here is that what what does 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:41.199 Connor do with the prize? Right, so he's got this 0:19:41.359 --> 0:19:44.120 great power and wisdom after cutting off all the other 0:19:44.480 --> 0:19:48.040 Zeistian heads we find out that they're from Zeis the heads. 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:50.480 What does he do with it? Well, apparently he becomes 0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:54.119 like an atmospheric or geoscientist of some kind. Yeah, or 0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:57.480 at least he uses his psyche powers to connect important 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:01.640 people who are and yeah, he ends up bringing them 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:05.840 together to solve the problem of Earth's depleted ozone layer, 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:12.160 and ends up called found founding the Shield Corporation, which 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:16.000 creates these enormous machines that beam some sort of energy 0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:20.879 up into the stratosphere and create an artificial ozone layer 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:24.520 of sorts, like an energy layer that protects the Earth 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:28.280 from UV rays but also makes everything. It makes the 0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:33.639 whole world like permanent Casablanca climate, So everything is dark 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:36.880 and everything is sweaty everywhere all over the Earth. It's 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:40.359 a perfect way to justify your like dark and war sets. Yeah, 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:42.159 and it does create this. You can see where they 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:44.359 were going with this idea of like Connors, this was 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:48.760 the savior, but now he's he's vilified, you know, which 0:20:48.800 --> 0:20:51.959 is an interesting trope. You know they sometimes rolled out. 0:20:51.960 --> 0:20:54.639 You see shades of that, certainly in uh in the 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:58.399 Dune saga. But yeah, so now he's this guy that 0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:02.400 people curse because yeah, he's the planet from UH from 0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:04.840 It's it's o's own problem. But then you replaced it 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:07.560 with this weird thing that nobody likes. I hate sweating. 0:21:07.640 --> 0:21:11.159 I'd rather be burned alive by UV rays. And so 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:14.760 that's the sci fi in war World that the bulk 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:17.359 of Highlander two deals with. Okay, well, now that we 0:21:17.440 --> 0:21:21.280 have described perhaps the most awesome bad movie of all time, Like, 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:23.680 would you say for me, it's like a top five 0:21:23.800 --> 0:21:26.640 all time bad film. Yeah, it's pretty great, and we 0:21:26.720 --> 0:21:28.919 don't even have time to get into all the ways 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:31.119 that it is is bad and all the ways that 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:34.720 it's it's it's ultimately fun to watch. But but yeah, 0:21:34.760 --> 0:21:36.120 at the end of the day, it's not a good 0:21:36.119 --> 0:21:38.800 film by anybody's standard. But hey, if you can get 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:41.480 you one of those pristine VHS tapes that's got the 0:21:41.480 --> 0:21:44.399 original cut, I highly recommended if you're a fan and 0:21:44.440 --> 0:21:47.359 you want to treat yourself to a brain self funeral. Um, 0:21:47.680 --> 0:21:49.919 now we should take a quick break and then when 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:52.159 we come back, let's start to discuss the science of 0:21:52.240 --> 0:21:57.040 Highlander two. All right, we're back. Yes, we're gonna do it. 0:21:57.080 --> 0:22:00.879 We're going to We're gonna reach into the corpse of 0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:04.320 this movie. We're gonna pull back the ribs and wrench 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:09.160 out some juicy, um, you know, moist portions of actual 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:12.879 science to discuss. Wow, where did that description come from? 0:22:12.920 --> 0:22:16.040 That was? I'm riveted. Now I gotta see what we're 0:22:16.040 --> 0:22:19.320