Highlander is magic juice for all us geeks. Or at least I think it is. I grew up watching these movies and they have been good and they have been bad. We had a chance to talk to Adrian Paul and perhaps we caught him in an off moment but he had less then full out praise for the new Highlander flick that exploded onto DVD Feb 26th. Then again maybe hes just incredibly honest all the time. Adrian Paul is a super nice guy who is frank, to the point and comes off as a big fan of the film franchise and wants to deliver a great experience for fans. Perhaps that is why although he had great praise for the new film he also had some negatives.
This new Highlander movie is a big departure from the last ones and in many ways its a good thing. Although its the same characters, it has a new character 'The Guardian' which is easily the coolest character ever in a Highlander movie and also a very new and distinct look to it that I really liked.The story of The Source goes like this;
Immortals have secretly dwelt among us for thousands of years, locked in an eternal game of combat. Their origins have been shrouded in mystery. The answers, Prophets say, are to be found in The Source. As The End of Days approach, the last band of eternal warriors led by Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander, have set out on a treacherous quest to find the origin of their immortality. However, to learn the ancient truth, they must first defeat The Guardian of the Source, a powerful and ruthless killer who’ll stop at nothing to bring them all to a painful end.
When Adrian Paul spoke to us he told us that the film was good, but may have missed the mark in some areas. During our brief chat he told me;
I think it looks amazing but missed the mark. I think it worked well in the look and the relationships if you understood the concepts of the characters and their relationships. I think if somebody came on not knowing what the film is about they would have a hard time understanding the movie. I dont think it was fleshed out enough.
It was not as complete as we would have liked and we struggled to really work out the linear structure of it and what the source was all about. We ran out of time shooting the film and didnt have an opportunity to properly explain the source. I think thats where the movie fall's down.
The biggest problem was not seeing the very last scene which nobody got to see. The film ended abruptly and that process was to quick. The whole idea was to tie this back to the highlands of Scotland.
We had 3/4's of the script and the linear direction of the characters, but when it got to the last quarter we were rushing and ran out of time to finess it. We ran out of time and money to shoot.
It is very rare that an actor has such balls in being honest about a film, rather then just blowing smoke at press. I told him as such and he told me he has no reason to sugar coat things.
I have seen the movie and agree with what Adrian is saying. Visually its a damn cool movie but it also falls short in some areas. It starts out very strong and it runs to the end and seems to run out of direction and steam. So although I felt it was a good twist on the Highlander franchise if your not a Highlander fan you might be confused with the story. On top of that if you are a Highlander fan the ending might very well have you scratching your head to.
Probably one of the most defining factors in this film is the new look it has. Its a SciFi project so yes it doesnt have the big show stopper budget but it has a VERY unique and distinct look to it. Adrian talked about that.
I think they did a great job on the visual side of it. Its a different twist on the story. They tried something different to give it a really comic book, superhero type of feel in the way that they used lenses and filters. So they tried a specific look to hte film which is really different.
Finally without pulling any punches I asked Adrian what he thought fans and film goers would take from this film and whether they would enjoy it. Afterall he had been incredibly open about the project and revealed some big turn off's in the project as well as some good points. His response was candid.
I think their will be a mixed reaction. Some will like it , some will be confused with it, some will be happy wtih the look and some wont know what the action is all about since its all mixed up.
Highlander the Source is on DVD and available everywhere NOW! If your a Highlander fan I would suggest you watch it. If you like apocalyptic tales with demon guardians, and a comic book feel then yes you should also check out the film. seen it? Liked it ? Hated it? Sound off. Thanks to Adrian for talking to us and being so damn honest! It was refreshing.
 Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to leave some comments and of course if you have a geeky news submission be sure to shoot it our way. ( 4 Comments )
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