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Film review

Zorro's 'Legend' lacks edge

The sequel to The Mask of Zorro is short on excitement as it relies more on humor than swashbuckling action and stunts.

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published October 27, 2005

[Photo: Columbia Pictures]

Antonio Banderas is the action-loving Zorro in The Legend of Zorro.

Say this for The Legend of Zorro: It's a far sight better than Son of the Mask.

That's a great relief since the swashbuckling sequel and Son - one of the worst movies ever, according to the Internet Movie DataBase - have much in common.

Both are long-delayed followups (Son, 11 years; Legend, seven) to summer blockbusters.

Both target younger audiences the second time around, adding kids to principal roles and boasting PG ratings instead of the originals' PG-13.

And both arrived at times known as Hollywood burial grounds: Son in February, Legend in late October.

But The Legend of Zorro at least retains the stars (Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones) and director (Martin Campbell) of its antecedent.

Still, if you're expecting the swashbuckling, romance and derring-do of The Mask of Zorro, look elsewhere: This is the original cut with a healthy dose of Spy Kids, as 10-year-old Joaquin, son of Banderas' Alejandro and Zeta-Jones' Elena, does the Zorro Junior bit a little too often.

The story line manages to be simple and yet simultaneously confusing: Elena is mad at Alejandro for refusing to hang up the mask and be a family man. She files for divorce and starts getting cozy with a creepy Frenchman (Rufus Sewell), who is up to some nefarious scheme involving the Confederate Army and nitroglycerin.

One of Legend's best qualities is a pervasive sense of humor, as Banderas and Zeta-Jones retain the chemistry they had in the first film.

Banderas' delivery is great when Joaquin breaks Alejandro out of the jail cell he has inhabited for a couple of hours. Joaquin doesn't know his father also is Zorro, and he's shocked to see Dad punch out three bad guys. Where did he learn that?

Alejandro replies: "Son, prison changes a man."

That's one of several cute bits. But at more than two hours, Legend also runs a solid 20 minutes too long, the big stunt sequences aren't up to par with Mask, and Zorro just doesn't have the same sense of danger anymore.

Ultimately, I can't put it any better than cinemablend.com reviewer Joshua Tyler. Here's what he said: "Note to Zorro: Your sword has a pointy tip. Use it."

Grade: C

Director: Martin Campbell

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rufus Sewell, Nick Chinlund, Adrian Alonso

Screenplay: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci

Rating: PG; violence, language

Running time: 124 min.

[Last modified October 26, 2005, 10:11:06]