First off, this movie was long, over 2 1/2 hours long, which, to me, is obnoxiously long for a movie, especially if it stinks. Second, the plot was really hard to follow, compared with the first Highlander film, which I followed relatively easily. Third, there are a lot of loose ends in this film, like what happens to the jerky detective and how did the bad guy get from Japan to New York so fast?
Anyway, the film begins with lots of fighting and carnage and stuff, and switches to a cave, where a Japanese sorcerer is teaching the Highlander, aka Conor McLeod, some neat swordplay. The three bad guys (remember now, "there can be only one") enter the cave, looking for the Highlander. The leader, Cain (Mario Van Peebles), slashes McCleod, but he gets away. Then, Cain beheads the sorcerer, gaining his powers of illusion (which are really cool), but gets himself trapped in the cave for 400 years.
Switch to the present. A pretty American archaeologist and her Japanese associate are investigating a murder at their dig site (which happens to be the same cave). Through a series of strange coincidences, the woman (Alex is her name, I think), is led back to New York, where she discovers that the pattern on a piece of cloth found at the dig matches the tartan of Conor McLeod.
Eventually, the Highlander, who "never lets anybody in," falls for the archaeologist, who looks a lot like a woman he loved back in the 1700s, fights Cain, and wins "the prize." Who knew.
In my opinion, this movie sucked. Had I written it (doesn't this sound pompous?), the slimy detective would have bitten the dust, Cain would have kidnapped the Highlander's woman, not his kid, and the fight scene wouldn't have been in a big factory with pink and purple (!) lights and really cheesy effects.
On a scale of one to ten (with ten being really good, obviously), this movie gets a four from me. Now, I can't wait for "Highlander IV: Wives of Highlander" and "Highlander V: Son of Highlander" just so I can make fun of them and pretend Highlander II and III never happened...