The Legend of Zorro (2005) Reviews

• The Legend of Zorro - Don't Compare It To The First One

  mls-112005-10-28

  We saw "The Legend of Zorro" at our local theater tonight, long-anticipating a sequel to a wonderful film featuring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. While hoping it would follow suit with the first film, we were committed to going in with open minds. Simply, the film does not match the robustness, passion or provocative nature of the first film. That does NOT mean it is a bad film - just different. Strengths of the movie include admirable performing by the Alejandro and Elena stars. Clearly, their on-screen match-up was a great renewal. It was good to see them together again, though there was far less chemistry than they enjoyed in the first film. The stunt work was fairly good, though some was a bit over-the-top and not particularly believable. All in all, though, it added a bit to the overall story. The most disappointing aspects of the movie were select portions of the scripting and casting. For example, young Joaquin speaks in 2005 language - 150 years too early. Those creating the script should have restrained themselves, and used a bit more time to research the language of the era being portrayed in the story. As to scripting: unless my eyes deceived me, one of the padres in the film (actually, Joaquin's teacher) appeared to be one of the Dons from the first film. I am unsure why this would have been a choice by the casting folks - and further unsure why it would be approved by the producer or the director. Finally, the film seemed to drag out a bit - didn't need to be >2 hours long, in my estimation. With all of this said, it is worth seeing. Just don't expect the blockbuster film that was the first "Zorro!"

  More

• Solid family adventure film

  Tigereyes2005-11-03

  If you don't like Saturday morning cartoons, children's adventure movies, and silly fun, then don't bother seeing this film. Otherwise, you'll have a good time. The filmmakers take major liberties with history, human behavior, and the laws of physics, but it really doesn't matter. They're not going for realism. They wanted to make a flamboyant PG-rated kids' movie and succeeded. The characters all behave pretty much the way they do in kids' movies, and the cast is obviously having far too much fun. Adults expecting a grown-up swashbuckler will be disappointed, but the adventurous kid in me really enjoyed it.

  More

• Formulaic, but reminiscent of old style westerns -- with a Latino cast

  ms_jade_li2005-11-05

  I liked the film. You aren't going to get a more aesthetic movie than this: the actors (wow, Antonio and Catherine Zeta both in the same movie -- Anjelina & Brad, eat your hearts out -- no contest!), the costumes, the lighting, the villa and townscapes, and the sheer beauty of the location, day and night. Antonio looks a little more "mature" than I've seen him in awhile, but he's no less smoldering and charming on the screen. He's a natural for playing Zorro. The athleticism of Zorro is pretty impressive too. Lots of leaps, flips, and creative uses of his whip. Catherine-Zeta is breathtakingly beautiful, as always. Those eyes of hers... It's enjoyable to see her in a maternal role. I love her costumes! It's good to see her multi-tasking. Their son, Joaquim, is outstanding. Child stars usually make me gag, but this kid has genuine talent, and the person(s) filming and editing have admirably captured it. The main bad guy (the one with the mansion) is intriguing as well. Not sure who he is but I hope to see more of him. The other villain is, plain and simple, unidimensional, which is typical of adventure type movies. No surprises there. The way he meets his end is creative. The Horse. Wow. The political framework of the plot worked well for the movie. If you're looking for a movie that entertains while being pleasing to the eye, check it out.

  More

• Too much buckle, not enough swash.

  Victor Field2005-11-17

  One of my favourite entries in Roger Ebert's book of movie clichés states that any movie with the word "legend" in the title will fail to live up to its title; "The Legend of Zorro," though not a stinker, pretty much follows that rule to the letter. This way-too-belated sequel to "The Mask of Zorro" brings back Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and director Martin Campbell, but forgets to bring along the passion, high spirit and sense of adventure that made the first movie such fun; Zorro may now be a husband and father, but it's not the presence of the kid that makes the movie a disappointment. In fact, young Joaquin is so spirited that "The Legend of Zorro" might have benefited from being a look at Zorro third generation, since the man in the mask didn't start protecting fellow Californians until he was an adult - following the boy on an adventure, stuff like that. (That his action scenes are actually MORE exciting than his dad's reinforces this impression.) Unfortunately scriptwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci fluff the movie by awkwardly blending domestic problems - even unto divorce! - with what's basically a spy plot involving smoothie Rufus Sewell, making the movie sometimes seem like a bad episode of "Alias" minus Jennifer Garner (especially in an extended sequence with Mr. and ex-Mrs. Zorro sneaking around at Sewell's house, and in the climax on a runaway train). The movie might have helped from Kurtzman and Orci pretending they were back writing for said show or even "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and gone for broke, but they don't; it's pretty unexciting for most of the time, and while the movie's sense of humour is a help sometimes, more often it just causes groans. SPOILER FOR THE CLIMAX. And as for the train finale, while FX Luddites may be pleased to see the train is a miniature rather than CGI, in this day and age there is no excuse for its fiery demise (complete with that of the villain) to be so obviously a miniature. Even if it is by WETA's Richard Taylor. (And hands up anyone who predicted that CZJ would make a joke about "The drinks are on me" - the evil scheme involves nitroglycerin in wine bottles.) END OF SPOILER. Zorro's son and the monk who plays Alfred to Zorro's Batman enliven the movie, and Antonio Banderas also gives more than he gets - but while it's ultimately an okay way to kill two hours, when it's over nothing sticks in your mind the way Zorro singlehandedly wiping out a group of men on horseback in the first movie does. Where there was spirit and a desire to pass on the torch, now there's squabbling. Ironically, it fits that "The Legend of Zorro," like the first movie, was executive produced by Steven Spielberg - it spends too much time Amblin for its own good.

  More

• Decent follow up is at least old-school cool

  DocRedfield2005-10-30

  As a more than passing fan of the Zorro movies that span the decades, I had been waiting since 1998 for a sequel to Martin Campbell's 'Mask of Zorro.' That movie took much (though not everything) of the best of the various Zorro films, serials, and series and then stole from other sources (such as Dumas 'Monte Cristo', etc) to concoct a sexy, swashbuckling action adventure that had great pacing and strengths, with high production values and actors. Mr. Campbell and those high standards at last return to the story begun, and we now follow our heroes and their son as California fights to join a struggling Union. Zorro's character is not quite so impulsive and cool as he once was, but simply comfortable and ultra-capable, while his wife Elena complains that the man behind the mask knows not who their son is growing up to be. None of these character 'upgrades' felt wrong to me; it was natural extensions of them from the first film, despite how adventurous Elena claims to still be (and for the most part isn't), but it does make the first act of this movie a bit tiresome after the initial (awesome) action sequence. This time, though, as the story and its many plot-points begin to move, the writers borrow heavily from Hitchcock to keep things interesting. It doesn't always work, as there's a lot going on but never QUITE coming perfectly, cohesively together, but ultimately it makes sense and spins a good yarn for the fighting to take over. Meanwhile the stunt coordinators take what has already been done in the best Zorro flicks and then go wild with it, giving us stunts and action of old-school-cool caliber, such as stage-coaches, leaps and horses jumping on to explosive-laden locomotives. Unfortunately there is not quite enough action, and while I do like the over-all story - with its subtle bits of murk and dirty grays underneath the battle of white and black hats - it doesn't actually pace perfectly, giving us bickering Vega family exploits and Zorro failures for a rather large portion of the picture. The sword fights are fewer and more far-between than I would have liked, sometimes degrading to fisticuffs instead of proper dicing, but then the explosions almost make up for it all. The humor is a bit silly, provided mostly by the horse(!!) and the sometimes-annoying kid, but the audience ate it up. The villains are good, if never entirely fleshed out, and the themes are handled well. It's the lag caused by the idea (which I never understood) that 'once a couple gets together they're not interesting anymore' that slows things. Regardless of my small issues, the movie DOES deliver as a Zorro film, (with a good ending, for certain) and while it doesn't completely live up to its predecessor, it is a worthy sequel - just not entirely the direction I would have gone.

  More