Highlander: Endgame
Short description
Highlander: Endgame brings together two immortal warriors, Connor and Duncan MacLeod, against a shared enemy. Jacob Kell is a ruthless immortal leading a band of deadly swordsmen and assassins, and no immortal has managed to defeat him. Connor and Duncan are joined by allies including Joe Dawson as they confront the threat of Kell, whose power seems to leave them no ordinary way to win.
Christophe Lambert reprises the role of Connor MacLeod from the earlier Highlander films, while Adrian Paul plays Duncan MacLeod, the character he portrayed in the Highlander television series. Bruce Payne appears as Kell, with Lisa Barbuscia and Donnie Yen among the supporting cast. Douglas Aarniokoski directed the film, his first feature, from a screenplay by Joel Soisson; it was followed in his filmography by The Day and Nurse 3-D.
Released in 2000, the film had a budget of 25 million US dollars and took in about 16 million worldwide, a result that fell short of its cost. On IMDb it holds a 4.6 rating from around 22,000 votes, and on TMDB a 4.8 from roughly 479 votes. A critics' rating of 3.3 from 53 reviews sits below even those modest audience scores, placing the film among the weaker entries in the franchise.
What's left behind the scenes
- In flashbacks, the characters of Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul fight with federschwerter, which are special two-handed swords for training that first appeared in German fencing schools in the Middle Ages.
- Initially, in the cemetery scene, the characters of Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul spoke French, which both actors were fluent in, but during post-production, it was decided to replace the language with Scottish (Celtic).
- The shelter was filmed in Romania, in an abandoned salt mine at a depth of 182 meters. There was only one exit from the mine, and it took a considerable amount of time to lower the film crew and equipment – a few people and items at a time.
- The producers wanted to film in Vancouver, where the series was filmed, however, the studio management preferred filming in Romania, where it cost less.
- During filming, Bruce Payne fell ill with bronchitis, which was a force majeure circumstance and forced the filmmakers to take a break in filming until the actor recovered (it took him about three months to recover). After recovering, the actor refused to return to Romania, so a significant portion of the action scenes with his participation had to be reshot in London.
- It was decided that Connor MacLeod would die in the film – mainly due to Christopher Lambert's age and his vision problems, so the focus of the franchise would subsequently shift to Duncan.
- The film's trailer shows many scenes and plot elements that did not make it into the final movie—for example, scenes that make it clear to the viewer that the main villain, played by Bruce Payne, possesses supernatural abilities, or the scene immediately following the jump through the portal by the characters played by Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul. It was subsequently announced that some scenes were filmed exclusively for the trailer to attract the public.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
