Impressions
Though
Connor only appeared in the opening episode of HL:TS
to establish his relationship with Duncan, his
presence was always in the background as teacher,
mentor, friend. One constant in their
relationship, which was established in that one
episode, however, was that they would never say
“goodbye” to one another. Not Connor.
Not Duncan. It confused Tessa, it intrigued us.
On Friday, September 1st in darkened theaters all
around the country, we fans, we “watchers”
who have come to follow the lives of these two
men with great fondness, were stabbed with the
realization that things were about to change
forever. In a powerful story that weaves together
the strands of tragic mistakes each of them has
made in the past, we wind up on a rooftop, our
two heroes framed in a lethal embrace. Connor
then says “goodbye Duncan,
my friend, my true brother. In agony Duncan says
“I love you Connor.” The words of
Duncan spoken just minutes before as he begs
Connor to choose differently still echo in our
ears “Our bonds are all that hold us in this
world.” But Connor has chosen. He releases
Duncan and as their swords are unlocked we know
with Duncan that his words in Ravenna were
prophetic. –“properly executed we’ll
nay have this talk again.” In this universe,
immortality is endless sorrow.
Others can give full reviews.
I will only give impressions.
Positive and negative.
I tried not to read others views before posting
this.
Bottom line: I ache to see this movie again and
again. It is flawed, but potent. Especially
Adrian’s performance.
The post Richie Ryan Duncan had learned that
anything could be forgiven. In this he became in
the end a teacher for both Faith and even Connor
himself. It was a lesson Duncan had first learned
from Connor [though Connor had seemingly
forgotten that . His sorrowful response when
Duncan reminded him was “Did I?”] but
it was a lesson seared into Duncan in the wake of
his grief over Richie .
The opening credits on the tartan was classy.
The music in the sound track haunts me in its
simplicity and mournful
evocation of mood
The buzz became more of an audible “fluttering”
in this film, but I liked it.
Donnie Yen brought nobility to his character and
visual sizzle to the fights. His move in kicking
the helmet was breathtaking. His great line
“honor is not
in the weapon it’s in the man”, and
their subtle and honorable nod to one another in
mid fight was superb.
Bruce Payne played a great villain. Driven,
despicable, unlikeable.
[great lines – “headless chickens
– guess who” and “decap with a
twist. No sugar.” “call you”]
Lisa B. “worked” for me. Soft in the
past , hard in the present. Her
character deserved fuller treatment.
Jim Byrne was classic Joe. “You look like
shit” *g* Too bad his entrance was not
explained to the non fans.
Revenge will never bring redemption worked as a
theme for me. It was something Duncan learned so
well in the wake of Tessa’s death. Duncan’s
line in Leader of the Pack, “There is no
justice, only mercy” was a lesson many could
have used in this film.
The camera loved Peter Wingfield. His enigmatic
presence must have confused the heck out of
anyone unfamiliar to the series.
The love scene was tastefully done, almost
reverent. Its juxtaposition of past and present
lovemaking was stunning in its concept and
execution. It was not steamy, the necessary
coldness in the coupling on the part of Faith
precluded that. Neither was it gratuitous. It
furthered the story and was most erotic when the
tender hands of Duncan unrobed the delicate
beauty of his Kate.
The range and power of Adrian Paul’s acting
was on full display. The best comedic scene in
the movie was with the highwaymen. If there was a
woman in any audience anywhere who did not melt
when Duncan/Adrian flashed his megawatt smile
towards Kate as her carriage drove away she is
without hormones.
Edge was charming and deserved better treatment
in this film from the editing room.
The editing of this movie was unforgiveable. It
was hacked. I long for a restored director’s
cut. For the back stories on the henchmen who,
without fuller treatment remained inexplicable in
their acceptance of death at Kell’s hands.
For the fuller encounter with Edge’s
character. For the scenes that were clearly
filmed between Connor and Duncan in the past/ 10
years ago ponytail period [we only saw one short
glimpse of that footage in the montage
after Connor’s death]. For the fuller
climactic fight with Kell. This was the most
irritating part. Duncan went into the fight
wearing a long leather coat and wound up on his
back after a fall with only his sweater on. No
hall of chains [as seen in the Peacephoto]. No
wall of fire behind him [as seen in the trailer].
And give me the rest of the sword kata. The hours
of preparation for this film that Adrian Paul put
into his physical conditioning and his swordwork
radiated through this all too brief and
critically important scene. It was erotic,
powerful, cleansing, healing and necessary. Both
Duncan and the audience needed more transition,
more strengthening to
face what was ahead. To the film editors go the
brunt of my ire.
To allow Duncan MacLeod to say an unforgiveably
erroneous grammatical sentence with the words
“between Connor and I” is just plain
sad.
The Peace logo on “Duncan’s” shirt
was a poor choice, but as a wink to fans I’ll
not object.
Adrian Paul got top billing and he deserved it.
He deserved much much more than Dimension Films
granted him. Not just in his paycheck, but in the
film itself. He carried the movie. It is a good
film. It does him proud. But it could have been a
great film. Adrian Paul dominates the film with
his ever flexible face, a face that is not only
devastatingly beautiful, but can speak volumes in
anger, mirth, confusion, heartbreak and pain. His
very real tears at the moment of deepest anguish
in this film also mark a high point in his acting
career. Angst is his forte. Wake up Hollywood.
This man has it all,
physical presence, agility, knee weakening
romantic appeal, “fuzzy knuckled” hands
*g* that move with both power and tenderness,
hardworking dedication and talent unlimited. If
this film does nothing more than give this much
underestimated and overdue actor the recognition
he deserves, it will have done enough.
[Thank you Adrian Paul for your hard work and
this movie. I can't wait to "own" it.]
