Highlander

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Highlander

R

Released Mar 7, 1986

1h 51m

Fantasy

Adventure

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

When the mystical Russell Nash (Christopher Lambert) kills a man in a sword fight in a New York City parking lot, he leaves a sliver of an ancient weapon lodged in a car in the process. After brilliant forensics specialist Brenda Wyatt (Roxanne Hart) recovers evidence of the mysterious weapon, she and her partner, Lt. Frank Moran (Alan North), embark on an investigation Of Nash that will land them in the middle of a dangerous, centuries-old feud between powerful immortals.

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Critics Consensus

People hate Highlander because it's cheesy, bombastic, and absurd. And people love it for the same reasons.

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Even Gerry Fisher's camerawork can't convince me that this is other than the most inutterable tosh.

Jul 30, 2024

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Victoria Mather

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Made with such superstyle Highlander does have entertainment value but this can only be a one-off.

Jul 30, 2024

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Close your brain to the illogicalities of the time-chopping structure and there is much to marvel at.

Jul 24, 2024

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

As the climax approaches, this sci-fi/fantasy blend tends to bore, struggling to turn sword-fighting and an inevitable showdown for an undefined “prize” into excitement.

Rated: 3/10

Jul 20, 2024

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

It’s easy to see why many love this picture but just as easy to see why many despise it.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 15, 2023

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Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

The film is a little sad, a little comic, a little horrific, and a little sexy and, now, it’s out on home video for the first time in 4K UHD with Dolby Vision and a bevy of bonus features.

Dec 21, 2022

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Brian C

It’s an absolute classic, great story, great characters and the soundtrack is also brilliant! The sword fights still look good and the 3 main characters are interesting and fun!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/13/25

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D P

Very dated. I heard that they were planning on bringing this story back into production, so I wanted to see what it was about. Let's hope the upcoming film does not use the original film as a template.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/29/25

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Jay W

This movie does not lack in style. It has a distinct 80's style to it. There are a whole lot of smoke machines, blue lights, silhouettes, random explosions, glass breaking and manhole covers. It feels like at any given moment, a laser-tag battle might break out. Clancy Brown as Kurgan is giving the movie the exact crazy energy it needs. He is acting over the top, chewing all the scenery and it is glorious. The script feels like something high schoolers would throw together, trying to combine all the cool stuff they can. There are some subplots that should have been cut out. The action choreography is bare bones. There are a lot of parts that don't make sense. The audio dubbing is distractingly bad. But, if you are in the right type of mood, this movie has just the right type of crazy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/15/25

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John A

(Director's Cut) This first film in a long running franchise is a vintage blend of camp, heart and Saturday serial fun.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/27/25

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Christian S

I was very young when this movie came out. It is still one of my favorites as of 2025. It aged a bit over the decades, but now 80s overblown movies are back in style. It is super entertaining. Clancy Brown is legend as Kurgan! The Queen soundtrack is killer! Thank you for making just an excellent film! Totally badass!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/12/25

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Lucion V

Growing up there were many movies of action and adventure and dragons and sorcery and this movie took the fantasy genre for me as a child and expanded it into the future of possibilities.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/25

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Russell Mulcahy

Director

Christopher Lambert

Connor 'The Highlander' MacLeod

Sean Connery

Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez

Roxanne Hart

Brenda J. Wyatt

Clancy Brown

Victor Kruger

Beatie Edney

Heather MacLeod

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Synopsis

When the mystical Russell Nash (Christopher Lambert) kills a man in a sword fight in a New York City parking lot, he leaves a sliver of an ancient weapon lodged in a car in the process. After brilliant forensics specialist Brenda Wyatt (Roxanne Hart) recovers evidence of the mysterious weapon, she and her partner, Lt. Frank Moran (Alan North), embark on an investigation Of Nash that will land them in the middle of a dangerous, centuries-old feud between powerful immortals.

Director: Russell Mulcahy
Producer: William N. Panzer, Peter S. Davis
Screenwriter: Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, Larry Ferguson
Distributor: Home Box Office (HBO) [us], Image Entertainment Inc., 20th Century Fox, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Production Co: 20th Century Fox, Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment, Davis-Panzer Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.7M
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

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