DVD review (region 1 and 2)
Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Starring the voices of Alistair Abell, Jim Byrnes
Release Date 5 June 2007 (region 1): 5 July 2007 (region 2)

In 925 AD, Highlander Colin MacLeod discovers he’s an Immortal when he dies at the hands of Roman legion leader (and fellow Immortal) Marcus Aurelius. For two thousand years MacLeod pursues Aurelius, until at last they clash in a futuristic New York plagued by mutants…

At first applying the techniques of anime to the Highlander franchise might seem a bit odd, and the results are neither like conventional anime or previous Highlander incarnations (though the script is by David Abramowitz who produced the TV show). Yet the familiar themes of the franchise are all here – love, loss and questions about social responsibility, while fans will also be familiar with the scenic flashbacks to a very different age.

Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri creates some pretty striking images and the use of animation seems to have given him free reign to up the sex, violence and bad language. It also allows much more elaborate settings, chases, stunts and explosions than you ever got in the TV show. But it’s the character of MacLeod who lets the movie down slightly, as he comes across as more of a macho grouch rather than the soul-searching hero we’re used to.

Extras include two nice making-of featurettes, the original teaser and a photo montage. Abbie Bernstein

VERDICT: 6/10
An acceptable animated movie – Highlander fans have seen a lot worse.