The Legend of Zorro (2005)

I managed to watch the entire movie with a lot of effort. I think this is a most Ridiculous movie. All of the "good' guys = Zorro, his wife, his son, his priest, his horse, his goat, his dog, his chicken, his opossum and his bugs do things that are totally impossible. For me, a movie that lives in Fantasyland is not enjoyable. I like reality and real life challenges. My opinion, this movie has very bad performances by all of the actors and actresses. Maybe if the movie was an animated cartoon, it could be considered simple entertainment. I have watched many renditions of Zorro. This in my opinion is a very worst effort at trying to portray this fictional hero. I think I wasted my money when I purchased this movie. My opinion, the movie would be better if in the end the train loaded with explosives took out Zorro and his entire crew.

I still remember going to see the first Zorro movie with Antonio Banderas at the cinema. I remember how much I hated it then: all I brought away with me was the image of an irritatingly theatrical Anthony Hopkins in mucho eye makeup. I knew this sequel would be equally as bad, which is why I hadn't watched it until now; I had no idea it would be even worse.Everything about THE LEGEND OF ZORRO screams safe, over-stylised Hollywood film-making. The film adheres to a strict comedy adventure template throughout, with plenty of CGI-enhanced action scenes that never offer anything in the way of real danger or excitement. Instead, these awful fights are like the ones in XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, designed to fill space rather than say or do anything impressive.A slumming-it Banderas is on poor form here, lacking the smouldering charisma that made him the go-to Latino guy in 1990s cinema. Catherine Zeta Jones is an awful ham and her attempts at fighting are cringe-makingly embarrassing. I felt sorry for Rufus Sewell, the one good actor, stuck in his one-dimensional villain role. The inclusion of a child (Zorro's kid) in the cast is an even worse idea, turning this into a rubbishy MUMMY rip-off with dumb humour throughout. If you like watching nonsensical plots taking place in a make-believe sanitised world then by all means watch THE LEGEND OF ZORRO; if you have any taste as a movie-goer, then I'd recommend avoiding it. At all costs.

When watching the first Zorro film, I felt like I was watching The Three Musketeers (1993). Swords swishing, clanging, and their wielder's jumping and ducking. This sequel has that too if not more. All of this was great to watch but what made the first one better was with a helpful performance by Anthony Hopkins. With Hopkin's character being a mentor it really brought in the idea of the next Zorro to fill in the boots. Much of it was very noble and understanding. As for this film there were parts of this film that were too childish for the franchise.Antonio Banderas stars once more as Zorro, the sword-wielding revolutionary. It's a delight to see Banderas play Zorro once more because he played his part really well in the first film. Catherine Zeta-Jones also comes back for another round and this time she uses the sword just as much as Zorro did in the first one. It's nice to see some mutual cooperation when it comes to husband and wife fighting off a group of bad guys. Playing as their son is Adrian Alonso who does a good job at speaking English because before the film was made, he had no idea how to. If this film were to have a sequel I would hope to see Alonso play the upcoming Zorro. Even though he is not Banderas' son, he shows all the same qualities in the character he does Zorro and that's a good sign. But I don't think that'll happen anytime soon. The only thing I thought seemed out of place in this film was the main source of the plot. For almost two thirds of the film, Jones and Banderas argue as parents (which is normal) about their relationship with their son and the Zorro business. That part isn't normal obviously but it's like every minute the two stars meet up with each other they argue. How childish can this get? At first their son is uncontrollable and the marital relationship seemed to be diminishing and it creates a very negative tone. However, there are some parts that do have some comedy put inside of it but it's doesn't occur very often. It's like this film was destined to end with a divorce. I'm glad it didn't end that way, though it does go out with a bang, which was nice to see.As for the action, the sword fights, and on the brink of death moments are numerous if not more than the last film. The Mask of Zorro (1998) was more about discovering what Zorro was like and how he would transform into that character. This one is out of control and expanding boundaries but in good way. Action sequences vary from saving people from burning buildings, messing around with C4 explosives or swashbuckling on a runaway locomotive. Sounds intense if you ask me. The music was composed once again by James Horner who also did the first film. Horner keeps the music energetic and cultural to the story's background, which I feel is partially essential to a movie's success. Nothing sounds different from the first soundtrack, which is good, because the good things should be left untampered with.Despite the fact that for the majority of the film, Banderas and Jones argue like children, the film amounts to a decent sequel. The action is fun, and the music is enjoyable.

I didn't have high hopes for this one after being severely disappointed by the 1st,but much to my surprise it managed to be quite watchable and fairly entertaining as well. It's more action orientated and while Mask Of Zorro was better made technically,I actually found The Legend Of Zorro to be a little more entertaining. This is Antonio Banderas's film and this time he thrives on the challenge,giving all of Zorro the key components he needs to be an entertaining hero,and I really think the film benefited from this. The Script does have a few minor holes..example Catharine said in the 1st she didn't care about money,yet this time she does??..it makes her character look completely pompous. The film does have a main problem though and that's Rufus Sewell. He's much too bland for a villain,and the worst thing is he does it all completely straight,so the film really sags whenever he's on screen,not to mention all the bickering between Catharine and Banders does get old after a while. The better pacing,better action sequences and overall enjoyment made me appreciate this sequel more even if the 1st was better made.The Performances. Antonio Banderas unlike the 1st he is fabulous here!. His character is much more refined now with the acting chops and a true sense of Heroisim to be the perfect Zorro.He never completely convinced me in the 1st movie,he was always charming but he never felt like an action hero,it's a much different story here.He is the heart of the film and Antonio thrives on it,the only beef I have is his chemistry with Catharine seems forced. Catherine Zeta-Jones is OK here. She just seems to be going through the motions, with an irritating character to boot. Her charisma with Anotonio is off,however it's not all her fault due to some of the script's inadequacies of her character. Adrian Alonso is a lot better then most kid actor's and pulls out a few fun scenes,but most of the time he acts with his scowl. Rufus Sewell is devoid of any charm what so ever,he's completely bland and charm free,the movie dragged when he was on screen and brought the overall quality of the movie down. Nick Chinlund is a very good character actor,here he played a very amusing henchman..loved him!. Julio Oscar Mechoso is the comic relief,but a very likable one at that,a priest surprisingly too.Bottom Line-I rather enjoyed it,it's about on par technically with the 1st,but more enjoyable if you ask me. I was quite pleased with how this sequel progressed,and unfortunately due to the box office failure this film was,I don't think will see a number 3 anytime soon. Worth the watch.6/10