# Why is "Highlander" such a classic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734 "2010-11-06T21:22:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734/62 "2010-11-08T19:16:42Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Haven’t seen 5. It’s entirely possible that you have seen it–and your poor tortured mind, desperate to protect itself from the misbegotten abomination that was _Highlander 5_, moved the memory off to a small dark room in the far back of your brain, bricked it off, added a four-inch-thick steel wall, and then dropped the whole thing into a tank full of man-eating sharks. Trust me, you do not want to tamper with these protections. You’re better off just not remembering. And this is coming from somebody who really liked Methos and was looking forward to seeing him featured in one of the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734/63 "2010-11-08T19:44:10Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > It’s entirely possible that you have seen it–and your poor tortured mind, desperate to protect itself from the misbegotten abomination that was _Highlander 5_, moved the memory off to a small dark room in the far back of your brain, bricked it off, added a four-inch-thick steel wall, and then dropped the whole thing into a tank full of man-eating sharks. > > Trust me, you do not want to tamper with these protections. You’re better off just not remembering. > > And this is coming from somebody who really liked Methos and was looking forward to seeing him featured in one of the movies. I have seen Highlander 5. It was bad. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734/64 "2010-11-08T20:55:38Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Are you sure, I know Lambert was born in NY and I always thought he spent part of his childhood there. Utterly unsure, just quoting the DVD commentary. 🙂 That said – looking up his Wiki page – he was born in NY (his father was a French diplomat), but the family moved to Switzerland when he was only 2. And he lived there until moving to France at 16. So, the not speaking English seems possible. (Although it does also mention him doing a 6 month stint at the London Stock Exchange as a young man so… dunno… ). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734/65 "2010-11-08T23:26:46Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The best thing about it was that they never explained _why_ these guys were immortal or why there could be only one. Leaving that question unanswered made the movie, because any possible attempt at an explanation couldn’t help but sound stupid. Look at how bad it was when George Lucas tried to explain the Force. Sometimes it’s better not to explain. Either version of Highlander 2’s explanations for the immortals (Planet Zeist or End of Time) makes Midichlorians look downright genius. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734/66 "2010-12-10T20:48:37Z")
I had to resurrect this thread as I saw _Highlander_ for the very first time last night, being that it was a gaping hole in my wall of geek cred. Sometimes I go into a cheesy movie with the expectation that it’ll be cheesy, so right from the start I’m ready to mock it. I went into _Highlander_ expecting to enjoy it, and I could not stop playing “Spot The Goof.” Lambert was dead-eyed and wooden for the first 30 minutes, the dialogue was stilted and flowed unnaturally, the backflipping old man – dear god, the backflips – and the freaking disassembled sword in the suitcase. There was just so much _silliness_. That all said…the moment Connery showed up and injected some life into the movie, I really started to enjoy it. The pace picked up and the actors seemed to finally realize they should be acting. Clancy Brown clearly had a ton of fun with his role. It was still cheesy in a lot of ways, clearly unpolished, and very, very 80s, but it’s undeniably as much a fun movie as _Star Wars_ was. And the accents cracked me up. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734/67 "2010-12-10T20:58:43Z")
“So Sean, your scenes in this movie are set in Scotland…” “Gud” “And everyone in them is Scottish…” “Gud” “Except you. You’re Egyptian.” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734/68 "2010-12-10T22:27:24Z")
All I know is that randomly yelling out THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE MCLEOD!!! in public is really cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-highlander-such-a-classic/559734.md?page=3)