The Legend of Zorro (2005)

The legend of Zorro (2005) is a very fun action packed sequel to 1998's the mask of zorro. It stars Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta Jones and Rufus Sewell. Of course Banderas and Zeta-Jones play Zorro and Elena, now married with a son about 9 or 10 years old. The movies plot starts to picks up when Elena is confronted by two men who want to hire her to go undercover as Rufus Sewell's girlfriend in order to find out what he's up to. The acting in the film is good, I really enjoyed Catherine and Antonio's performances, they go from lovers to hating to joining together to save their son, stop Sewell, and kick some ass in the meantime. Speaking of ass kicking, the fighting and the action sequences are very well done, they aren't terribly rough or bloody but they are very intense and all over the place. And let me just say that I personally think that Catherine Zeta Jones can kick some villain ass a lot better than Antonio Banderas lol, get it girl. That's another good thing about the film, strong female empowerment and good examples of a woman taking charge and fighting for herself. It also shows good family love, so it's for sure a good pick for a family to view with children in late elementary or middle school. Like I said, the action is good, the acting is well done, and the sets and technical side of the movie is all done well. 8/10.

Despite trying to keep his swashbuckling to a minimum, a threat to California's pending statehood causes the adventure-loving Alejandro de la Vega (Banderas) -- and his wife, Elena (Zeta-Jones) -- to take action. Although The Legend of Zorro is nowhere near as epic and amazing as the previous and far superior Mask of Zorro was it's still a pretty good film with the 3rd act being the best part of the film. Although it's once again directed by Martin Campbell and Banderas and Jones return to their roles once more the film just doesn't have that magic and energy that the first film had maybe it was Hopkins or just the right time which was the 90's but something makes the first film really good and although this one isn't that bad they get a bit over the top with the humor in this one but i gotta say the adventure and the action sequences were really good and Adrian Alonso as Joaquin De La Vega was really good the problem wasn't the actors it was just that this is another sequel that didn't live up at the hype that was maybe surrounded from but if you watch it on it's own without comparing it to the original film it's actually a pretty good movie and i'll give it an 7.7/10

This sort of swashbuckling yarn was popular in the 1940s and 50s but frankly, if you've seen one sword fight, you've seen them all. In this case you've also seen a lot better. Compared even to the semi-decent 1998 prequel The Mask Of Zorro, this is mundane and uninspiring.The only thing worth mentioning here is the excellent performance of little Adrian Alonso as Zorro's son. He is a delight to watch, a little bundle of energy and sparks that just about keep the story alight.Dubious accents from the two British stars aside, this still smacks of lazy sequel syndrome, with little attempt at originality or plot. Maybe it will keep some undemanding kids entertained for an hour or so, but I wouldn't count on it.

The first film was very entertaining, with some well-choreographed sword fights and a witty script. The sequel while entertaining on the most part, is definitely inferior in comparison. What I did like about the sequel was the cinematography, it was very handsome like in the first film. The performances from Banderas and Zeta Jones are impressive , not so much the boy who played their son. (can't remember his name). The costumes were lovely The script wasn't too bad, but a little underdeveloped at times. I will confess I was disappointed in the sword fights, they seemed more like slapstick and a little too clumsy to my liking. The main flaw was the plot, it was a very good idea, but it felt rushed, and it felt as though the director was trying to cram too much into a simple storyline. I also wished they made the villains, played adequately by Rufus Sewell and Michael Emerson, more interesting. I liked the music by James Horner, but you do wish sometimes in the more dramatic scenes, that Hans Zimmer would have been a more appropriate choice. Overall, not bad, but doesn't hold a candle to the first film. 6/10 Bethany Cox.