Highlander II: The Quickening
| Highlander II: The Quickening | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Russell Mulcahy |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Peter Bellwood |
| Story by | |
| Based on | Characters by Gregory Widen |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Stewart Copeland |
| Cinematography | Phil Meheux |
| Edited by |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Entertainment Film Distributors |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $15.6 million (US) |
Highlander II: The Quickening is a 1991 American science fiction action film directed by Russell Mulcahy and starring Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Virginia Madsen, and Michael Ironside. It is the second installment to the Highlander film series, and it was released on 12 April 1991 in the United Kingdom and 1 November 1991 in the United States.
The film has received negative reviews from critics and fans of the Highlander franchise for its numerous retcons of the prior film, which drastically altered the series storyline, as well as numerous continuity errors and several instances of logical inconsistencies, among other complaints. As a result, several alternative versions have been released by the filmmakers in an attempt to correct these common complaints, and the original theatrical edition has been considered to be one of the worst films ever released.
In August 1994, news broadcasts announce that the ozone layer is fading, and will be completely gone in a matter of months. In Africa, millions have perished from the effects of unfiltered sunlight. Among the dead is Connor MacLeod's wife, Brenda Wyatt MacLeod. Before dying, Brenda extracts a promise from Connor that he will solve the problem of the ozone layer.
By 1999, Connor MacLeod becomes the supervisor of a scientific team headed by Dr. Allan Neyman, which attempts to create an electromagnetic shield to cover the planet, and protect it from the Sun’s radiation. The team succeeds, in effect giving Earth an artificial ozone layer. MacLeod and Neyman are proud to have saved humanity, and believe they will be remembered for a thousand years.
The shield has the side effect of condemning the planet to a state of constant night, a high average global temperature, and high humidity. By 2024, the years of darkness have caused humanity to lose hope and fall into a decline. The shield has fallen under the control of the Shield Corporation. The corporation’s current chief executive, David Blake, is focused on profit, and is imposing fees for the corporation’s services. A number of terrorist groups have begun trying to take down the Shield, among them Louise Marcus, a former employee of the Shield Corporation.
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