I am open to the idea of a Highlander remake, and I look forward to seeing if they can impress me. Highlander ranks on my top ten films of all time, and its direct sequel ranks among the worst. So while I ignore everything that followed the first film, it might be time to introduce the legend anew.
And now the remake has its director. Justin Lin.
FilmJunk reports:
This week Summit Entertainment has apparently found a couple of people who they feel can pull it off: director Justin Lin and producer Neal Moritz, who previously worked together on the last two installments of The Fast and the Furious series
Not that I give much credit to Justin Lin to direct this based on his Fast and Furious credits. Don’t get me wrong, in a set of sequels destined to grow increasingly bad, Lin’s F&F films were both enjoyable for me. But his grasp of what looks cool and how to deliver hip trendy neatness will have little to do with Highlander.
That being said, ANY remake of this MUST be better than any of the other sequels and TV series spinoffs. So grabbing a name out of a hat will do better than any of those, so why not Lin.
If not, it will be just another chapter in the disappointing spiral that has become of the Highlander name, and will prove one thing.
There can only be one.
LOL, really? The Fast and the Furious guys doing a Highlander remake? I don’t think so, I’ll pass, I got my original on DVD and I am more then happy with that.
Now if Ridley Scott were doing it, THAT would be a whole different story.
I’m all for a remake. I always thought the original had a good story, but the film never really worked. All the elements of the production failed, the acting, the direction, the score…. it all feels very dated to me.
So if they cast the right actors, hire the right director(I’m not sure about Justin Lin, every film outside of his debut have sucked ass.), the story is in place to make a good film. This is something the original failed to capitalize on.
Highlander is actually top of my list for a remake… awesome story but a really dated production.
Seconded! Can’t agree more.
To be fair Justin Lin also directed Better Luck Tomorrow, which shows he can tell stories.
Interesting note: we are having severe dust storms in Brisbane, Australia today. The sky is all orange…jus like Highlander 2
Relax, Matty. Those skies will be remade into blue…eh…well yeah, just like…
Does that mean that tomorrow you will pretend it didn’t happen?
Just like Highlander 2?
THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!! Unless there is another.. then there can only be one more… or one more after that… or a few on the side that were cousins.
First off, I also liked the last two F&F movies for the most part.
Next, I hope in the remake they can find room to include the better aspects of the film and TV series, specifically The Watchers, who are given the task of keeping record and cleaning up after each beheading.
I also think “There Can Be Only One” is going to have a bit of twist in it, because if the remake is a smash hit, they have backed themselves into a corner one more time. There has to be a catch.
As to recasting the roles. One thing I clearly hope that they do not do: cast the parts according to the actor that originated the role. In other words, an actor that resembles Christopher Lambert or an actor that has a resemblance to Sean Connery, and so on.
But get THIS.
Would Vin Diesel make a badass (Victor) Kurgan?
Since Ramirez was originally from Egypt and spent time in Japan, could the character be recast with Sung Kang?
***
There is nothing that says the production won’t use old Queen songs, or remakes of one or more of those songs. In fact, several artists have done covers of “Who Wants To Live Forever”.
By the way, int’l friends, most of you seem to have forgotten: Freddie Mercury may be dead, but QUEEN is still around, just usually with Paul Rodgers.
NOOOOO!!!!!!
NOOOO!!!!!
::::arms go up with palms facing up, and slams palms into head:::::
NOOOO!!!
No okay, im overreacting, go ahead, remake Highlander.
99% of the time, if you remake a classic, odds are it’s going to be inferior and/or quickly forgotten. I suspect that this remake won’t be in that special 1%.
This remake/reboot will fail for a singular reason.
No Queen soundtrack.
I find the “no Queen soundtrack” a good thing. I grew up in the 80’s, I loved the first Highlander movie and even the series, and I still like a lot of 80’s music today; however, I look forward to seeing what Highlander will be like without Queen and the cliche 80’s trench coats. Love the story of Highlander more than the original movie itself, and I think it could easily be retold and modernized into something awesome.
No Queen soundtrack = Fail!
Ya, and I’m sure you think no Prince soundtrack for Batman = fail as well? To me the music did not make the movie, the story did. So in other words… No Queen Soundtrack != Fail. It equals letting go of the past for something modern. Why remake it if you attempt to make it the same? Adding a Queen soundtrack, which is dated by the way, would be a waste and a missed opportunity.
Hey, that Prince soundtrack was awesome.
And, yes, this remake will fail with the absence of Queen.
Yes, that Prince soundtrack was awesome, but if it was in Dark Knight it would have been retarded.
They don’t need a Queen soundtrack for a remake any more than the sequels were clearly a success for continuing to use Princes of the Universe.
It doesn’t matter. They’d probably replace the Queen soundtrack with some whiny emo band like Linkin Park anyway.
Based on the Fast & Furious films, this is a terrible choice and makes me really sad. This is one of my favorite movies of all time and now its being put through the remake-a-tron and they decide to get the guy who did those movies? Terrible choice.
you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, one of my favorite movies of all time is being remade by this hack? wtf!!!
i hope this doesn’t happen, but if they do remake highlander (with a better director), i vote thomas jane to play the legendary conor macleod.
He and Lambert look like frickin twins! Perfect!