THE SWORDSMAN

Front cover of my official UK big box ex-rental VHS videocassette of The Swordsman (© Michael Kennedy/Marquee Pictures/Columbia Tristar - reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

I have quite a few UK big box ex-rental VHS videocassette movies that I have rarely if ever seen available in either sell-thru VHS or DVD format, and I've watched quite a few of them lately, some for the very first time. On 21 May 2020, I watched another one, The Swordsman (aka The Immortal).

Directed by Michael Kennedy and originally released in 1992, The Swordsman is a Canadian fantasy movie starring Lorenzo Lamas (action-hero movie star son of MGM musicals star Fernando Lamas) in the title role. He plays an American cop named Andrew who is blessed/cursed not only with the gift of post-mortem telepathy (by touching the blood of a murdered person, he receives a vision showing how that person was killed) but also with visions in his dreams that show himself being killed many centuries ago in a sword battle with a hooded assailant. Not surprisingly, Andrew is becoming increasingly agitated by these dreams, especially as they are becoming ever more intense. When he awakens, he attempts to draw what he has seen in them.

Meanwhile, Julie, a female archaeologist at the local museum, is also distraught - when the central priceless exhibit from her forthcoming museum display on the subject of reincarnation is stolen in transit, because the exhibit in question is none other than the sword of Alexander the Great. According to legend, this sword, gifted to him by the Greek god Apollo, made the famous conqueror invincible in battle and upon his eventual death was buried with him, as he believed that he would one day be reincarnated and would therefore have use of it again.

My official UK big box ex-rental VHS videocassette (nowadays very difficult to find) of The Swordsman (© Michael Kennedy/Marquee Pictures/Columbia Tristar - reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

To cut a long - too long, if I'm honest - and very convoluted story short, Andrew is assigned to look after Julie, as her life is in danger because she briefly caught sight of the sword's abductor, and he learns from her that his visions are of none other than Alexander the Great battling an enemy, suggesting that he, Andrew, may in fact be the reincarnation of Alexander. Apart from being a cop, Andrew is also a highly accomplished fencer, and receives an invitation from a Greek tycoon named Stratos to join his exclusive fencing club, which he accepts, only to discover that Stratos also runs a secret Fight Club-style combat club in which competitors use swords rather than fists, and fight to the death. and that Stratos wants him to become his champion.

During a dangerous experiment in which Andrew is voluntarily injected with atropine to heighten his visions in order to discover who his hooded assailant is, he almost dies but is revived in the nick of time, revealing that he has finally seen his assailant's face - it is Stratos. Moreover, Stratos is also experiencing exactly the same visions, in which HE is Alexander and Andrew is his enemy cousin Herodotus, whom he slays with the sword of Alexander - because it was Stratos who was responsible for its abduction. I told you that the plot was convoluted!

So who, if either of them, is the reincarnated Alexander, how is this complex counterplay resolved, and who winds up with Alexander's sword? I'll leave you to fill in the blanks! The Swordsman is an interesting Highlander-reminiscent movie, but one that never took off in the way that Highlander (and its sequels) did, perhaps because it had a much lower budget, although I certainly enjoyed it.

To get a taste of how The Swordsman plays out, here is an official trailer for it; and at least at the time of writing this review, the entire movie can be viewed free of charge here on YouTube.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE! 

Full cover of my official UK big box ex-rental VHS videocassette of The Swordsman (© Michael Kennedy/Marquee Pictures/Columbia Tristar - reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)