Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Highlander: Season Three Blu-ray Movie Review

Heeeeeere we are! With more of the same, it's another lackluster transfer...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 21, 2010

By their own humble admission, director Russell Mulcahy, actor Christopher Lambert, and writers Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson never anticipated the fan response, home video success, rabid following or franchise power the original Highlander would generate. Yet here we are. Mulcahy's 1986 cult classic has spawned three theatrical sequels, a six-season-strong '90s television series, multiple direct-to-video films, a variety of Anniversary Edition releases, several failed 21st century reboots (among them a misguided animated spin-off), a fantastic Japanese anime (The Search for Vengeance, which I seriously recommend tracking down), videogames, comicbooks, novels, replica swords, and an out-and-out merchandising empire. Balk at its lesser incarnations all you like; very few low-budget catalog films have the bragging rights Highlander does.

Highlander: Season Three is one of the more compelling productions the mythos has to offer, and stands as the first of three seasons that solidified the series' place near the head of the franchise table. The third season isn't impervious to time, mind you, and its appeal will still be fueled largely by nostalgia. However, its storylines, writing, action, performances and narrative momentum make it more engrossing and entertaining than the original film's sequels and the show's previous seasons.

There can be only one. Or a handful... if they're friends. And have a healthy respect for... eh, never mind.

He is immortal. Born in the Highlands of Scotland 400 years ago, he is not alone. There are others like him... some good, some evil. For centuries, he has battled the forces of darkness, with holy ground his only refuge. He cannot die, unless you take his head and, with it, his power. In the end, there can be only one. He is Duncan MacLeod: the Highlander.

With those simple words, executive producers Bill Panzer and Peter S. Davis serve up another twenty-two tales from the long life and perilous times of Duncan MacLeod: skilled swordsman, centuries-old jack-of-all-trades, compulsive heart-breaker, and all around decent fellow. But as difficult as it must be to transform a serial murderer into a likable protagonist (relax... I kid, I kid), Highlander's showrunners go to great lengths to ensure MacLeod emerges as a hero worthy of our sympathy and affection. The warriors he kills tend to be decidedly evil, so no speed bumps there, and his closest friends -- mortal or otherwise -- know they have nothing to fear from such a noble victim of ever-ambiguous circumstance. And, to its showrunners, writers and cast's credit, MacLeod and the series as a whole hits their stride in Season Three.

Series star Adrian Paul finally resists the allure of villain-of-the-week melodrama and plunges his blade into the Highlander mythos with renewed vigor. Rather than grit his teeth over every clashing sword and furrow his brow at every painful memory, he presents MacLeod as a more emotionally elusive hero and, by extension, a more complex and compelling immortal. Head-lopping conflict has always been a mere breath away in the series' deadly nook of the franchise, but Paul proudly brandishes deeper doubt, hesitance and a touch of self-loathing he seemed content to pantomime before. His allies and opponents, ongoing and single-serving, still dabble in trite theatrics though, making his efforts to elevate the season's weaker episodes more appreciated than ever. And to varying degrees, he succeeds; one-note baddies are easier to stomach when an actor is such a commanding on-screen force, sentimentality is more digestible when it's seasoned with convincing regret and remorse, and battles to the death are more exciting when they're fought with such external and internal conviction. Highlander's third season wasn't Paul's first acting gig (by a long shot), but in many ways that's exactly what it is.

The show's writers hit their stride as well. Immortality and its many curses are explored to intriguing lengths, the Watchers are more prominent and less contrived (often to satisfying series-stretching ends), and fan-favorite supporting actors Jim Byrnes, Elizabeth Gracen, Philip Akin, Peter Wingfield, David Robb and, to some extent, Stan Kirsch are given some much-appreciated time to shine (sometimes in spite of Paul's growing shadow). Even when the showrunners gorge themselves on '90s kitsch, genre convention and period pageantry, the writers work to keep each episode reasonably grounded in some semblance of heightened reality. There are instances when the pen proves shakier than the sword though -- key scenes like the quickening in "Line of Fire" are as cheesy now as they were in 1994, several storylines require tremendous concessions from newcomers and diehards alike (the worst of which involves a prepubescent immortal ), and episodes like "Obsession," few and far between as they may be, are some of the series' worst -- and a healthy love of all things Highlander is still required from anyone who hope to take anything away from Season Three.

In spite of all its flaws, imperfections and dated conventions, Season Three rekindled a dwindling flame of nostalgia in the recesses of my brain. While the best is still on the horizon -- Highlander's fourth and fifth seasons are my personal favorites (at least they were in the mid-90s) -- Paul, his co-actors, and Davis and Panzer's writers churn out a number of solid episodes sure to rekindle the same flame in many a weary franchise fan.

Highlander: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If you aren't familiar with the controversy and disappointment surrounding the Highlander series' Blu-ray releases, might I humbly suggest reading the video portion of my review of Season One. Good to go? Onto business then. Yes, Season Three outclasses its DVD counterpart, and yes, it even represents a small step up from the Blu-ray edition of Season Two (itself a small step up from Season One). However, despite the inherent benefits of the series' increasing production values, almost every aspect of the video presentation still falls short. Colors are sometimes murky or muddy, skintones are occasionally flat and somewhat unnatural, blacks range from underwhelming to overbearing, contrast is often either overheated or undercooked, fine detail is hampered and handicapped at every turn, image clarity is mediocre, and delineation is disheartening. And those are just the issues easily attributed to the series' standard definition source. The technical transfer has its own share of problems. Artifacting, banding, shimmering, crush, aliasing and color bleeding abound, as do unsightly pulldown anomalies, prevalent smearing (courtesy of noise reduction), strange black bar inconsistencies, and a variety of other eyesores appear throughout. (Although I will say primaries, closeups, and object definition look a bit better than in previous Highlander Blu-ray releases.) Ultimately, matters have improved on the whole, but only slightly.

Highlander: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Season Three's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is bound to please fans of the series, so long as they come to its at-times shrill sonics armed with appropriate expectations. Dialogue is as clean and clear as any reasonable connoisseur of '90s television could hope for, sound effects are crisp and effective (even though they remain as infectiously stagey as ever), and LFE output lends plenty of power to battles, sword clashes, explosions, quickenings and, really, anything that requires an extra helping of oomph. Be that as it may, rear speaker activity is energetic but overly embellished, the whole of the soundfield remains a fairly front-heavy affair, and the detached ambience that does grace the proceedings is rather brash and two-dimensional. Is the mix going to blow anyone away? Only those desperate to justify a purchase. Could Season Three sound much better? I doubt it. All things considered, the experience is louder than it is engaging, pushier than it is tactful, and more cumbersome than it is immersive, but as '90s television remixes go, it proves its mettle.

Highlander: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

More than four hours of largely solid special features awaits fans of Highlander's third season. A variety of cast and crew commentaries would have been most appreciated (I actually missed the densely packed fan-created PiP commentaries included on Season Two's Blu-ray release), but an eighty-minute documentary, a forty-seven minute weaponry overview and a fun (slightly cheesy) in-character Methos interview helps alleviate the disappointment.

• Picture-in-Picture Commentaries: Two PiP video commentaries are available, "The Samurai" and "Finale Part Two" with a fairly informative, insightful and personable Adrian Paul. The series star is an entertaining guide through both episodes, but as is the case with his previous video commentaries, he grows quiet far too often.
• Live by the Sword (HD, 47 minutes): Learn about the various swords featured in the Highlander series, their design and creation, the fight choreography associated with their use, and the manner in which the weapons helped the showrunners unravel the characters and their world.
• Third Time In (HD, 82 minutes): David Abramowitz helms this lengthy third-season documentary that explores nearly every aspect of the series' third outing.
• Methos Rocks (HD, 48 minutes): An in-character faux-documentary in which Methos is interviewed about his exploits. Diehard fans will eat this one up.
• Forever Fans (HD, 24 minutes): Meet Highlander's most devoted fans.
• Still Shots (HD, 3 minutes): A production photo montage.



Highlander: Season Three Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 




The Blu-ray edition of Highlander: Season Three actually has a few things going for it. Its twenty-two episodes are the first in a three-season fan-favorite arc, its video presentation is a wee bit better than Davis-Panzer's previous Blu-ray releases, its DTS-HD Master Audio track is itching to fight, and its supplemental package offers four hours of material. But... but.... the best of the series is still yet to come, the video presentation still falls terribly short, the lossless mix isn't going to leave audiophiles in ecstasy, and the special features could be far more extensive and captivating than they are. Season Three stands in the middle of a busy road. If you have the extra cash lying around and already picked up Season One and Two, you might as well push on. If you've resisted the urge to buy the series' previous Blu-ray releases though, hold firm. Season Three represents a step up in some ways, but for the most part, it's more of the same.