Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (2007) (V)

Directors:

Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Takuji Endo
(more)

Writers:

David Abramowitz (written by) and
Gregory Widen (characters)

Release Date:

5 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

In revenge, patience is a virtue. And after a thousand years, Colin MacLeod doesn't give a damn about virtue ...

Plot:

An anime continuation of the HIGHLANDER saga, following immortal Colin MacLeod's quest for revenge in the future.

Plot Keywords:

Immortal | Revenge | Highlander | Hate | Warrior

Cast

Alistair Abell	...	Colin MacLeod (voice)
Debi Mae West	...	Dahlia (voice) (as Eid Lakis)
Zachary Samuels	...	Marcus Octavius (voice)
Scott McNeil	...	Amergan / Gregor / Lab Director (voice) (as Scott Mcneil)
Hank Banks	...	Joe (voice)
Janyse Jaud	...	Kyala (voice)
Jim Byrnes	...	Doc / Rudy (voice)
Kathleen Barr	...	Moya (voice)
Emma Fairley	...	Deborah (voice)
Roger Franks	...	Sergeant (voice)
Dave B. Mitchell	...	Malike / Additional Voices (voice) (as David B. Mitchell)
David Abramowitz	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Rebekah Brown	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Bill Fennell	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Gavin Hammon	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Bob Johnson	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Dennis Kleinman	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Thomas Perkins	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Thomas N. Perkins)
Stephanie Sheh	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Andrew Tucker	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Directed by
Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Takuji Endo		(visual director)
Hiroshi Hamazaki		(co-director) (as Hiroshi Hamasaki)

Writing credits
David Abramowitz		(written by)
Gregory Widen		characters

Produced by
Peter S. Davis	....	producer (as Peter Davis)
Kevin Eastman	....	co-producer
Thomas K. Gray	....	producer
Francis Kao	....	executive producer
Shinichi Kobayashi	....	associate producer
Masao Maruyama	....	co-producer
William N. Panzer	....	producer (as William Panzer)
Joe Pearson	....	co-producer
Galen Walker	....	producer

Original Music by
Jussi Tegelman
Nathan Wang

Casting by
Dawn Hershey

Art Department
Hiroshi Hamazaki	....	storyboards (as Hiroshi Hamasaki)
Yoshiaki Kawajiri	....	storyboards

Sound Department
Patrick Giraudi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Wesley Swales	....	sound recordist
Jeremy Duché	....	additional foley artist (uncredited)

Animation Department
Hisashi Abe	....	character designer
Hisashi Abe	....	executive animation director
Kevin Eastman	....	animation supervisor
Yutaka Minowa	....	assistant animation director
Yutaka Minowa	....	character designer
Masami Ozone	....	mechanical animation director
Joe Pearson	....	animation supervisor
Satoshi Tazaki	....	animation director (as Satoshi Tasaki)

Casting Department
Pamela Mattioli	....	additional casting: Los Angeles
Sharon Thompson	....	additional casting: Los Angeles

Editorial Department
Heidi Tebo	....	project manager: The Post Group

Music Department
Harry Cody	....	musician: guitars
Lisa Hannan	....	music editor
Jessica Harrison	....	vocals

Thanks
William N. Panzer	....	in memoriam (as William Panzer)

Production Companies

• Imagi Animation Studios

Distributors

• Go! Cinema (2008) (Japan) (theatrical) (director's cut)
• Madman Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2008) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Starz Media (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Starz Media (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Tohokushinsha Film (2008) (Japan) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Airwaves Sound Design  dialogue recording: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
• Aoi Studio  sound recording studio
• BLT Productions  special thanks (as B.L.T. Productions, Inc.)
• Koko Productions  dialogue recording: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
• North Hollywood Sound  dialogue recording: North Hollywood, CA
• Techno Sound  sound recording production (as Techno Sound Tokyo)
• Virtualmix  post-production facilities
• Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall (WWBCG&E)  legal services (as Weissman Wolff Bergman Coleman Grodin & Evall, LLC.)

Also Known As:

Highlander: Vengeance (USA) (working title)
Untitled Yoshiaki Kawajiri/Highlander Project (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

Germany:86 min (European Film Market)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | South Korea:15

Company:

Imagi Animation Studios

Trivia:

The American version of the film is shorter than the Japanese version. Producer Galen Walker said in an interview that "about seven or eight" scenes were cut "just for timing, and just for pace of story," and admitted that director Yoshiaki Kawajiri was unhappy with the cuts. An opening exposition text, which is traditional for "Highlander" films, was also added to the American version.

Quotes:

Malike: I lived a thousand years, boy. I have killed a hundred like you. Eh! There can be only ONE!

Movie Connections:

Follows Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994)

Soundtrack:

Please Don't Go

There can be only one... more

Legendary Japanese Anime' director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (the more-than-capable cult talent behind the explicit blood-letters "Ninja Scroll" and "Wicked City") took on the American "Highlander" series with this latest entry "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance." "The Search for Vengeance" is not a sequel per se, but is instead something closer to a Japanese animation re-imagining of the famous fantasy tale that spawned the immortal tag-line, "There can be only one."

For those not versed in "Highlander" mythology, I'll fill you in: "Highlander" first came to be in the mind of writer Gregory Widen, who in turn pitched his idea to studio bosses about an ages-old battle between a group of immortal swordsmen who can only die by one another's hand, specifically by decapitation. When one of these immortals falls, his killer gains his knowledge and strength (such an event is called a "quickening") and he will continue his pursuit of the mystical "prize" during a time called the "gathering" when these epic sword battles take place. There are several rules all immortals must abide by though: never fight on holy ground and, most importantly, never fall in love with a mortal because, then, you will only know pain and suffering.

Widen's script (co-written with Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson) was made into the 1986 cult film "Highlander," which starred Christopher Lambert as the Scottish Highlander Connor MacLeod, who discovers his "gift" after suffering a mortal wound on the battlefield and assumes different identities as he descends through the ages with the knowledge of never knowing death. "Highlander" saw three misshapen sequels, a television series (which starred Adrian Paul), and dozens of comic books before we landed at this new Anime' film from Kawajiri. As a fan of Anime' and the first "Highlander" movie, you could expect a little bit of skepticism about a new film, whether animated or not just because we've become so used to expecting so little from the series.

Like the first "Highlander," "The Search for Vengeance" is equal parts present-story and back-story, with sudden, unexpected transitions between the present and the past. In the year 2187, Scotsman Colin MacLeod (with no stated relationship to Connor) meets his fate on the battlefield and discovers his allegiance to the band of immortals. And, Holy Lazarus, he is branded a witch by his former countrymen and is watched over by the wise-cracking spirit of a Druid priest named Amergan. For 2000 years, MacLeod has been searching through the ages chasing his mortal enemy, the Roman general Marcus Octavius, after Octavius crucified MacLeod's wife Moya in the 16th century and in these encounters, MacLeod is always bloodily outmatched and left crippled but alive and ready to fight another time (despite refusing to uphold Moya's dying wish of no retribution for her killing).

Now in a post-apocalyptic New York City, MacLeod arrives on the scene and joins rebel Dahlia and an underground band of freedom fighters in a desperate battle against Octavius, who is now a full-fledged dictator and rules the city from, dare I say, a futuristic version of Trump Tower with his army of robotic sentinels and scientists working on a top-secret project meant to wipe out the underground resistance once and for all. In these battles, we also get flashbacks to Colin's past, the battles he's fought with Octavius, and his undying love for Moya.

While suffering from some script problems, because of the transitions between past and present, "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance" is still one heck of a film experience. This is perhaps because of an outsider's view, Kawajiri's view. In Kawajiri's hands, the series now seems fresh and full of new life, with many new technical innovations on the story and characters. For 21 years now since 1986, we've had to endure one painful "Highlander" experience after the other. Here, it's clear that Kawajiri has a firm grip on the story and knows everywhere the "Highlander" sequels went wrong (and they went wrong in a lot of places).

Another problem the film suffers from are one-dimensional characters. A skilled swordsman like Colin MacLeod, a man who has literally fallen through time and lives with the burden of knowing he will never die, is transformed into more of a one-note, tortured loner, or even a ronin (a master-less samurai). Perhaps the samurai angle is because of the Japanese influence on the story. The only other character who really stands out in any real way is Dahlia, who has a secret connecting her to Macleod's past and eventually becomes his love interest. Octavius is different from most "Highlander" villains in that he is not crazy and all over the place, but is instead soft-spoken, never raises his voice, and highly sexual with his Japanese mistress (is Clancy Brown, who played the Kurgan in the first "Highlander," the best the movies have to offer?). And lastly, am I the only one who thinks Octavius looks like the villain Gemma from Kawajiri's previous "Ninja Scroll"?

Even with its faults, nudity and extremely bloody violence, this is nonetheless a fitting reinvention of a fantasy story that many thought had long outlived its uniqueness in the genre. For many, "Highlander: The Search for Vengeance" is at last the sequel we've been waiting for.

8/10