1. AVP (Alien Versus Predator)

   Putting the galaxy's foremost killing machines in a brawl with one another seems like a great idea, in that it's like seeing the damage a train can do to a skyscraper. Yes there will be destruction and mayhem caused by both parties, but at the end of the day it all proves to be rather pointless. Although I usually admire films that deliver what they promise just by its title (my personal favourite being “Elvis and Costello Meet Frankenstein”), the movie seemed like a large waste. A movie driven by violent action instead of an actual plot never really seems to impress me.

2. AVPR (Alien Versus Predator: Requiem)

   Given my opinion of the above, you can imagine my disappointment and mild outrage when I learned there would be a sequel. And although I am ashamed to admit that I actually watched it, I believe I can redeem myself by giving it such an arrogantly scathing review. First of all, however, when one consciously says to themselves “I want to watch AVPR” you are clinically retarded. Second, this movie suffered the same problem as the first: plot driven by random action sequences. You can easily save yourself the pain of this movie by watching AVP. It features flat and completely unlikable characters. My personal favourite (and by “favourite” I mean the one I loved to hate), was the “bully” character who seems to have been based on the villain of every 80s movie ever made.

3. Resident Evil: Extinction

   Resident Evil 1 and 2 weren't exactly Oscar worthy performances, but you can tolerate them because they were fun and shared a similar attitude felt by the games in that they take themselves so seriously yet their scripts seem to be written by 12 year olds. However, Resident Evil: Extinction, the third in the movie franchise, was in no way worth the time or money. On some levels the concept of adding zombies to “Mad Max” seems to work so long as it stars Bruce Campbell. The problem was that Resident Evil doesn't. Now I may be a bit bias here, but I am a huge Evil Dead fan and will watch anything Bruce Campbell stamps his name on simply because he adds a wonderful camp feel to everything he touches, which is by no means an insult. However, with Milla Jovovich the movie seems a complete failure. The script is so obviously tacky and poorly written you would expect that she could have a sense of humour about the fact she is a telekinetic/pyrokinetic human/zombie hybrid-clone (don't tell me you didn't see that coming). At least Bruce Campbell had the sense to liven his character up with phrases like “groovy” and “hail to the king, baby” even when he had to lob off his own hand and replace it with a chain saw.

4. The Descent

   If you don't remember this movie then (1) you are very lucky and (2) it doesn't surprise me. But recently I was in the mood for a claustrophobic mysterious thriller and spent 15 minutes trying to remember the name of this film, remembering its general plot only. It should be mentioned at this point that I am the kind of person who will willingly seek out movies I know are bad so I can hate them, then relay my hate of these movies through clever and witty remarks to my friends so I will become more popular. Shallow: yes. Enjoyable: sometimes. Logical: no. In any case, stay away from this movie at all costs. I'm sorry but when you can't even remember how many characters there are, or any of their names, or even identify the main character when they're standing amongst their friends in a cabin, you have done something to lose your viewers. Essentially, several young women, half of whom are apparently British, the other half apparently lesbians, decide to go spelunking in an unknown cave and come across human-like monsters that live there. There was so much wrong with the movie that I began to take it personally, believing that it hated me. As much as I would like to spend the time to explain to you how much I hate it and how much is wrong with it, that would take more time than is worth being given to this piece of shite.

5. The Highlander Sequels

   I don't know why specifically these came to mind. The first Highlander was bearable, namely because I'm a fan of Sean Connery. Actually, that was the sole reason why this movie was bearable. In any case, Highlander should have stuck to its goal and ensured there can only be one. If you don't get that reference then that disappoints me. The other two films, and the series they created out of them (if I remember correctly), were monumental flops. There is no need to do a sequel to a movie that claims once there is only one highlander, there can be no others thus immediately discrediting any plot the sequels might have had.

6. Any Movie That Came Out With A Sequel
   

   Many Years after its Original These are movies that had sequels which came too late. For example: Blues Brothers 2000, Caddy Shack 2, and Basic Instinct 2. Movies such as these are doomed to failure because they are released when the window to do so is long gone. Public affection for a film won't last forever, so releasing a sequel to a movie 13 years after it was released is pants-on-head retarded to say the least.

7. Spider-Man 3

   I am a total nerd, if you haven't already noticed, if not from this article then from one's past. So imagine my disappointment when I came out of this….thing. Spider-Man 1 and 2 were great movies, some of Sam Raimi's best. Granted they were no Evil Dead, but they still had Bruce Campbell. Spider-Man 3 started shaky when he began a self-narration sequence. I was immediately embarrassed for both Toby Maguire for having to do that, and for me, for having to listen to it. Luckily he made a decent recovery and the first hour or so of the movie was actually good. Unfortunately, the instant Peter Parker began dancing in the street, acting and dressing and looking like an emo kid, I lost faith. I had hoped the movie would not have gotten any worse than that, but I was wrong. I cannot forgive the horrible error of casting Topher Grace as Eddie Brock/Venom. Nor can I forgive the writer of the screenplay for having Venom write “Come out, Spiderman” in a web. I could go on, but as you may have already noticed, I am getting lazy (see numbers 5 and 6). All-in-all, the end of that movie completely ruined it, and the Spiderman franchise. This could only mean they will do another, of course.

“Search for Vengeance” follows main character Colin MacLeod (the latest Immortal to come from that particular group, and we find out he wasn't even originally a part of it at the beginning) and his quest for, you guessed it, vengeance against the evil Immortal Marcus Octavius. Colin has been chasing after his foe since the 2nd century, when Marcus led the Romans in invading Colin's homeland and killed his wife, Moya. After 2,000 years, his quest brings him to New York in a post-apocalyptic 22nd century, where Marcus rules over the city state that now exists there. To get to Marcus, Colin reluctantly agrees to help the local resistance, which is led by the beautiful Dahlia, who reminds Colin of his late wife. But there are bigger stakes involved, as they learn that Marcus plans to unleash a deadly virus that will wipe out those outside his city so he can bring back the glory and perfection that was Rome.

As a “Highlander” fan, I enjoyed this flick, especially given the people behind it. I enjoyed the fights, I enjoyed the drama, and I enjoyed the story by writer David Abramowitz (who wrote for the TV series), particularly the history between Colin and Marcus using the flashback scenes “Highlander” is famous for. Through them, we learn not only how Colin became Immortal and how Moya was killed, but also how he was adopted into the Clan MacLeod in 11th century (making him the oldest MacLeod Immortal, pre-dating movie hero Connor) and how he got his own katana (another mainstay of the franchise, though Colin's has a standard hilt rather than an ivory, dragon-carved one fans are more familiar with). Kawajiri and Madhouse put a lot of effort into making this flick, working well with Panzer-Davis Productions to give us a satisfying product.

The character aspect and relationship between Colin and Marcus is of an interesting note, especially given how the two seem to be mirror images of each other. Compared to Connor and TV series hero Duncan, Colin is quite the loner, wanting little to do with anything or anyone save finding Marcus. As a villain, Marcus is more in tune with some of the later TV villains, the suave and sophisticated type rather than a psychotic in biker gear like the Kurgan. It probably explains why their feud has gone on for so long, not just because of interfering circumstances (like suddenly ending up on Holy Ground), but because Marcus looks down on Colin and doesn't really take him seriously. The whole thing helps to further drive the story and make you root for Colin, no matter how much of a jerk he acts like.

Another interesting aspect to the film is Colin's mentor, Amergan. Rather than an older Immortal who teaches Colin the ropes then parts ways with him (usually by dying), ala Ramirez from the first film, Amergan is the ghost of a Druid priest who sticks with Colin over the centuries, popping up either as himself or by possessing animals or objects, identified by glowing green eyes. And Colin can't get rid of him, making for an interesting relationship as Amergan also serves as Colin's conscience, trying to make him see how his relentless and obsessive pursuit of Marcus is getting him nowhere. One interesting thing I picked up is that it never, to me, seems to clarify whether Amergan is really a ghost or simply a figment of Colin's imagination, since obviously only Colin can see or hear the guy. It doesn't explain how Colin would've learned how his Immortality worked, but it does make for an interesting debate.

Probably my only gripe about the film is that there's little to connect it to previous “Highlander” works, other than the concept of Immortals and the main character being named MacLeod. There are no references to the previous films or the TV series, so we have no idea how “Search for Vengeance” relates to them and fits into the continuity of the franchise. On the one hand, anime fans who have never seen “Highlander” can still watch and enjoy this movie, since some of the concepts are explained, like what Immortals are, that they can die if they lose their heads and that they can't fight on Holy Ground. What isn't explained, however, is the fact that the Immortals must battle until one remains, hence the catchphrase “There can be only one” (which is said several times), causing both the “Highlander” and anime fans to scratch their heads and wonder further. It doesn't hurt the film, but a reference or two, like maybe a cameo appearance by previous “Highlander” characters or use of the music of Queen, who provided songs to the original movie, would have been nice.

Another downside of the DVD, at least for the die-hard anime fans, is that there's no Japanese language track. Not surprising considering this was mostly made for American and European audiences (the main source of the “Highlander” franchise's fanbase), but it would've been interesting to hear what some of these characters would've sounded like with Japanese voice actors. The sound quality on the DVD is pretty impressive, especially in 5.1 surround sound, which really brings out the musical score and sound effects if you crank up the volume. And the voice cast sports some familiars to anime fans, such as Janyse Jaud as Kyala, Marcus' sexy femme fatale companion and the film's resident female Immortal, and Kathleen Barr as Moya. There's even a couple “Highlander” alumni amongst the cast. Veteran voice actor Scott McNeil, who voices Amergan, MacLeod Clan leader Gregor and Marcus' chief scientist, had a couple of guest appearances on the TV series, as a street punk in Season 1 and as Duncan MacLeod's cousin Robert in Season 4. But the best is Jim Byrnes, who played Watcher Joe Dawson in the TV series, and returns here to voice a couple characters: resistance members Rudy, who runs a bar (Joe ran a bar in the TV series) and the Doc. Not quite the references and connections some fans were hoping for, but close enough.

Now you can't have a DVD without bonus material. “Search for Vengeance” doesn't have much, but what it does have is rather interesting. “East Meets West: Filmmakers Crossing Borders” is a short interview with the crew of the film (including writer David Abramowitz, producers Peter Davis and William Panzer, and director Kawajiri) discussing how the project came about and the difficulties in adapting a Western franchise into an anime. “A Talk With Kawajiri” is just that, a short interview with the director regarding his desire to make a good movie and do his own thing with this project while staying true to the franchise. An interesting thing about this is that, while Kawajiri is speaking in Japanese, rather than subtitles, an English translator talks over the director's words. The English is louder so you can focus on it, but one has to wonder why not use subtitles? “Stills, Drawings and Studies” is gallery of design and production art, as well as photos of the animation studio and crew, stills from the anime movie and also stills from the original “Highlander” film. After that we get the original teaser trailer that made the rounds when the project was first announced, the official trailer that premiered prior to the DVD's release, and some trailers for other Manga Entertainment releases. Like I said, not much, but enough to satisfy those who like some extras with their DVDs.

All in all, “Highlander: The Search for Vengeance” is a must have for both anime fans who want some killer sword-swinging action and the “Highlander” fans who want a great movie from this franchise. Since it may be awhile before we get another half-decent “Highlander” film, this is sure to wet a lot of whistles.

• Released by: Manga Entertainment
• Rating: None
• Length: 80 Minutes
• Score: 8 out of 10