In 1986, Highlander brought to the screen a wonderful century spanning fantasy adventure about a group of immortals. The film was well shot and choreographed to depict an epic struggle between the forces of good and evil. However, the second installment to the Highlander series was nothing more than a travesty of filmmaking.

Director Russell Mulcahy brought Highlander II to the theaters in 1991, continuing the ongoing story of Conor MacLeod. Returning to the film were Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery as the story's main protagonists. Though the film seemed to be given a very nice chance to bring together more of the story from the original film, Highlander II took the film and changed it completely around.

While Highlander was an interesting fantasy about supernatural heroes and villains, Highlander II was a horrible sci-fi film about interstellar rebellion and a war on a distant planet. From the opening onward, the film takes bits and pieces from the original film and creates a new story and universe with the same characters. It was this serious blunder of the film makers which create the most notable problems with the film.

Aside from the moronic story, the film has no decent cinematography. While the original film used setting within the flashback sequences to enhance the scenes, Highlander II has very ugly and bland settings making the world look fake. Highlander II has nothing which allows the audience to feel interested with anything living in the world's desolate future. Instead of a cyberpunk/nightmarish future like Bladerunner or The Running Man, we are treated to a dark sound stage with a few props but nothing worth noting.

The film is a travesty considering the epic fantasy which spawned it. While the first film is not itself a masterpiece of filmmaking, it is a wonderful fantasy adventure. Highlander II only takes away from the first film and can not even be recommended to a fan of the first. "There can be only one" because the second installment is completely worthless.

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