SYNOPSIS
In Columbia Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment’s exciting new action adventure The Legend of Zorro, the swashbuckling masked hero embarks on the most dangerous mission of his life. Multiple Golden Globe Award nominee Antonio Banderas and Academy Award winner Catherine Zeta-Jones reunite with director Martin Campbell in this action-packed escapade set in the California territory in the critical days preceding statehood.
The Legend of Zorro is set several years after the conclusion of the previous adventure. Alejandro (Banderas) and Elena (Zeta-Jones) are married and have a 10-year-old son, Joaquin (Adrian Alonso). Though Alejandro continues to don the mask of Zorro to protect the poor and oppressed residents of the California territory from the greed of the overlords, he is torn between his duty and his desire for a more normal life. Now, he must face that conflict again head-on when plans for California to become the 31st state are undermined by a nefarious plot by several prominent land barons and
businessmen.
In his valiant attempt to foil their plans, Zorro runs headlong into a crisis that threatens his life and the safety of his family.
The year is 1850. The territory of California is seeking to become the 31st state of the union, but certain unscrupulous individuals, members of a mysterious medieval organization, are determined to prevent this event from transpiring.
Once again the masked hero, Zorro, must come to the aid of the people of California so they can become citizens of the United States of America.
At the same time, a corrupt robber baron McGivens (NICK CHINLUND) is intimidating the law-abiding residents of California, seizing their land and threatening their livelihoods.
Again, only Zorro can stop him.
Don Alejandro de la Vega (ANTONIO BANDERAS), who inherited the mask of Zorro, is now married to Elena (CATHERINE ZETA-JONES). They have a 10-year-old son, Joaquin (ADRIAN ALONSO). The boy misses his father, who is rarely at home. And when he is, Joaquin finds himself wishing that Don Alejandro behaved more like his idealized hero Zorro -- having no idea that the two men are the same person.
Meanwhile, Elena forces Alejandro to choose between his family and his crusading alter ego. When an unexpected crisis forces Alejandro to once again don the mask of Zorro, Elena feels betrayed and kicks him out of the house. Soon after, she serves him with divorce papers.
When a former schoolmate of Elena’s, the French aristocrat Armand (RUFUS SEWELL), moves to California to start a winery, he is thrilled to discover that Elena has separated from her husband. He immediately begins to woo her, while at the same time attending to his duties as the head of the Knights Of Aragon, a secret ancient fraternity.
Don Alejandro now finds himself caught in a dilemma between his obligation to serve the oppressed and threatened people of California and his responsibilities as husband and father.
Review by
MIKE FURCHES
Halloween night has always been a special time for my family. Our two children have never been trick or treating. Our daughter, is now 24, married and got to experience her first Halloween as a wife. She and her husband stayed at home passing out candy, and bicycle safety pamphlets. It seems as if there are children in her neighborhood that need to learn bike safety. Our 15-year-old son decided to go eat dinner and watch a movie. We always honor those in our family that have passed on, and then allow the kids to do something special. It is a tradition that has some Catholic roots to it, although we are not Catholic.
For this night, our son wanted to see the new movie, The Legend of Zorro. My wife didn’t have too much of a problem with it as Antonio Banderas co-stars as Don Alejandro de la Vega/Zorro. I didn’t have much of a problem because Catherine Zeta-Jones co-stars as Elena de La Vega. My son knew the movie was supposed to be action packed so we all had something to watch and enjoy.
The story is essentially the same as the Zorro stories and legends told over the years with a few twists. Don Alejandro de la Vega is married to the beautiful Elena de La Vega, they have a son, Joaquin, played by Adrian Alonso. California is fighting for liberty and freedom along with the right to become a state. Zorro is there to assist in the fight for freedom and justice and he has a confident, a Felipe who is a man of God serving the church, and of course Zorro.
There are several aspects of the movie that I enjoyed, the action, the romance, the mystery and of course the villains. They are plentiful and Nick Chinlund as Jacob McGivens is a evil little treat that I would have personally liked to have seen better developed. This villain with the scar of a cross on his face seems to have a view of God that is destructive and filled with revenge. What brought this character to the type of relationship with God that he has is something I would have liked to have known more about.
Not only do we see McGivens with a dangerous view of religion, we see various perspectives to religious symbols throughout the movie. There is of course Felipe, a Frey who serves God and the Church, but we also see Don Alejandro de la Vega struggle with his own faith and relationship with God. All through the movie, we see symbols, from a dove who is about delivering a message to provide freedom, to the crosses and images of Jesus. We even see in one scene, Don Alejandro de la Vega going to church to question and confront the Christ Child about his own life. He argues and questions God in the same way that one might imagine King David or other Biblical characters who had issues with God. Prior to entering the church Don Alejandro de la Vega, shows respect to the Christ with the sign of the cross, but then proceeds to blast out at God, questioning him, and ultimately asking him to help him. This scene is as powerful a prayer scene as I have seen in a movie. It shows a relationship with God that we would not imagine Don Alejandro de la Vega or Zorro for that matter having.
There are other religious images through out the movie. We see a person saved by the cross when they are shot. Thinking the person dead, we later see that the cross took their death and provided a means of salvation for them. We see evil characters come to a place of death in fiery and devastating methods that would almost resemble the devil facing punishment in hell.
Another social component the film addresses is the need for family, the consequences of divorce, and the desire of some to go to whatever means necessary to do what they think is right. I won’t give much away here for fear of spoiling the movie for you, but truth is, that all of these things, including the relationship between a father and son are addressed to some extent.
All of this said you would think that I loved the movie. After all, I love to look at spiritual themes; I appreciate the social commentary, the component of interesting characters and so much more. The action and special effects were worthwhile and while at times the movie lagged a little, I still found myself enjoying it. Truth is though, that I left the theater wanting more. Not so much more in length, the movie is plenty long enough, not so much in effects, there is sword play and whip action that is quite remarkable, especially in the opening scenes. However, I found myself wanting more story. There are so many good characters and so many nice subplots, that I just wanted to know more about what was going on with them. Unfortunately, those story lines never developed and I just found myself desiring more information.
Truth is, I think The Legend of Zorro is intended for nothing more than a popcorn flick and a good time. It provided that. I enjoyed myself, but felt that it could have been so much more. The Legend of Zorro brings back the cast of The Mask of Zorro. It has been awhile coming and hopefully, the movies will continue, but unfortunately, this one suffers from what I would consider a sophomore slump. You will still have a good time at the movies, but don’t go expecting too much, if you do you may be let down. You can, just as I did, think about why all of the religious imagery, from symbol of the snake that would destroy the earth that is in the film, to the relationship with God that Don Alejandro de la Vega seems to have. What does it all represent, and what can we take home from it, if anything? I can’t honestly give that answer for you, you’ll have to come to the conclusion yourself, then if you are like my family, you’ll probably talk a little about it when it is all said and done.
On a scale of 1 – 10, for the number of times I recall seeing the Z symbol or any symbol made with a sword taken away from the perfect 10, I’ll give it an okay, but not great 6.
