Highlander: Endgame (**)

HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME

Though a terrible movie by objective standards, Highlander: Endgame stands as the second best Highlander movie ever made. The cinematic coming out party of Adrian Paul, bringing TV's Highlander Duncan MacLeod to the big screen after 5 seasons, is typically sabotaged by a typically rotten script and a typically incompetent director. I like to think that if Highlander: Endgame had a better script and director, Paul could have had a breakthrough in the way the late Brandon Lee would have had from the first Crow movie. For Highlander fans, Endgame is a frustrating yet fun hodgepodge of items and characters from the series and the original movie. Dragon's head katanas? Check. JVC sign (standing in for Silvercup) on the rooftop? Check. Bonnie Heather in flashback? Check. Joe Dawson and Methos? Check. "Bonnie Podmore" playing at the end? Check. Sex scene with the girl riding MacLeod cowgirl? Oh yes, check. Kell, the villain, was yet another over-the-top Kurgan proxy played by Bruce Payne. The cameo from 'special guest star Edge' of the WWF totally reeked of awesomeness; he SO stole the movie in the most important scene. Visibly long in the tooth as he was, it was still a joy to see Christopher Lambert portray the supposedly-eternally 35 year old Connor MacLeod one final time. Sadly, Endgame rendered the once mighty Connor as an inert has-been counting the minutes to his own death. Connor and Duncan MacLeod share several extended sequences, including their final sword fight that ends with the immortal line, "I love you, Connor." Aw. Duncan was speaking for the fans as well. Right back at you, Highlander.