Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 06:40:07

The Legend Continues

While it's not better than original. I found it to be a great sequel. What I enjoyed most that it wasn't predictable. It has a lot of suspense as well as drama. The movie starts with Elena and Alejandro divorcing as well his troubled relationship with his son Joaquin. Will it work out! Buy the DVD. Also the Special Features are great as well especially the behind the scenes footage.

2012-05-24 09:04:16

Loved this movie

I loved this movie. I'm an Antonio Banderas fan and he nailed this one.

Kim Bass 2012-05-23 14:20:59

Better Than The First

This is a movie which was incredibly well done. The new villain wasright out of the old "Wild Wild West". The continuity errors were alittle intriguing: References to a "Confederate Army" in 1850 when thestates didn't secede until 1861 and showing a Henry Repeating Rifle atleast 10 years prior to its existence while no one carries a ColtRevolver which did exist at the time is rather odd. The performance byAntonio Banderas as Zorro vexed by the 2 sides of his existence waswonderful. The depiction of the "chinatown" area where acupuncturetakes place was also interesting. The polo/joust sequence was ratherfunny. Ebert focused on the marital argument aspect of the scenesbetween Zorro and Elena; this is the same critic who also thoughtMoulin Rouge should have been best picture. Moulin Rouge was fun; butin an Ed Wood kind of way not because it was good. The legend of Zorrowas a pleasant evening's diversion for my fellow classmates and I and Ihope there will be more movies by this team on this great story line.

2012-05-23 01:15:44

Great Date Movie

I just watched the Legend of Zorro last night on DVD. Was it as good as the first one? Well, no but it was definitely worth watching. Antonio Bandares and Catherine Zeta Jones were sizzling and the little boy who played their son, Adrian Alonso, absolutely stole the show. We will definitely see this budding star again.Story line:Zorro has promised his wife that he will give up the mask, as soon as California joins the union, but finds when the time comes he can't do it. She is understandably upset with him for breaking his promise. To add to the matter his identity is discovered by some US agents, who basically blackmail his wife into working for them as a spy. She is not allowed to tell Zorro what is going on, causing constant fiery clashes and even more fiery kisses. And the final icing on the cake is their son who has inherited both of their spirits of adventure and tendency to find trouble. This is a wonderful date movie, as it has enough drama and sword fights for the guys and enough passion and shots of Antonio Bandares in tight pants for us.

2012-05-14 19:05:51

Zorro, the Fox

First let me say that this has no context in history. We have beautiful people portraying themselves to be Mexican. California was no where near the hot bed of Mexican-American culture. For one:1) Texas was the first shot fired for supposed American independence.2) Mexico considered slavery abhorrent. The main reason Mexico went to war against the United States was because it didn't won't slavery. Because Mexicans had been subjugated to slavery under Spain.3) Mexicans also became slaves under the United States. Second class citizens and thus far have remained second class citizens.God bless America. I will fight for her no matter what! This movie proved none of that. Europeans trying to pass themselves by as Mexican patriots.

2012-05-13 23:09:39

Exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds

The Legend of Zorro is actually a great movie, one which I never expected to be so thoroughly entertaining. I would have been content just looking at Catherine Zeta-Jones for a couple of hours, but this is a swashbuckling good time from beginning to end. Sure, it stretches credulity at times and plays fast and loose with American history, but it succeeds admirably in its purpose to capture the viewer's imagination and show him/her one wild, action-packed adventure. I must admit I haven't seen The Mask of Zorro, nor have I seen more than bits and pieces of old Zorro shows and movies over the years, so I can't put any of this in a proper Zorro context. All I can do is tell you how much I liked the movie - and why.You can't complain about a weak or nonexistent storyline here, as The Legend of Zorro is packed to the gills with story; not counting the credits, the movie runs a good two hours, but it really doesn't seem that long - largely because the story never pauses long enough to start dragging. There's always a dichotomy somewhere in the mind of any masked hero, and a "when you come to a fork in the road, take it" philosophy no longer works for Alejandro de la Vega (Antonio Banderas), the man behind the mask. On the one hand, the people still need Zorro, particularly right now as the residents of California embrace the process of entering the United States as a free state. On the other hand, he has a wife and son now, and his wife Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who used to fight alongside him, is not happy when he breaks his promise to put away the mask forever. The people really do need Zorro, though, for an ill wind has blown into town in the form of a greedy, murderous preacher-man and, much more insidiously, a fancy-schmancy Frenchman who threatens to take away everything de la Vega/Zorro cares about - including Elena, who suddenly divorces him. It's bad enough when you lose your wife, your son (not knowing your secret identity) thinks you're a coward, and you feel like you've lost the edge you need to be the people's champion. It's hundreds of times worse to know that your possible downfall comes at the hands of a Frenchman. You can't keep a good, masked legend down, though, especially when you're wooing his ex-wife. Suspicious of his motives (and clueless as to what Elena could possibly see in him), Zorro is determined to get to the bottom of Frenchie's secrets. There's a lot going on he doesn't know about at first, but it all comes together to reveal a plot of national - nay, global - importance. There are a number of things I would like to talk about in terms of the plot, but it's impossible to do so without giving too much away. Let's just say that some of it is out deep in left field - yet it does all hold together, which is what's most important. The action's important, too, of course, and there's plenty of it. Rest assured that Z's will be carved into bad guys' shirts on more than one occasion, as Zorro's trademark swordsmanship is put on display fairly often. Heck, everybody gets in to the fight at some point. All the early battles, which are rather exciting in and of themselves, are mere skirmishes leading up to the extended fight scenes near the end (in, on, and around a speeding locomotive). It's especially interesting to watch Catherine Zeta-Jones open a few cans of you know what - her mechanical fighting style isn't that impressive, but it's a hoot to watch all of her facial expressions as she fights. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are really terrific in their roles, but young Adrian Alonso steals the show time and again as de la Vega's son Joaquin. He's an impish little fellow who obviously has a healthy portion of Zorro blood running in his veins. His restless, action-oriented nature gets him in trouble and even puts him in danger on occasion, but the lad has all 31 flavors of spunk. The Legend of Zorro just about has it all: swashbuckling action, adventure, gunplay, sword-fighting, explosions, romance, human drama, suspense, mystery, comedy, superb acting from top to bottom, etc. It's just a well-paced, thoroughly entertaining film that I enjoyed immensely. I daresay you'll get your money's worth with this one.

elisa 2012-05-13 08:18:38

this movie has its moments,what a laugh!

Martin Campbell-once again-takes us in a crazy,funny,and foolishly funadventure with the dazzling Zorro.this time with a little present fromthe first movie, Zorro Jr. Joaquin De la Vega just takes over and wesee along the movie that he has his father's wild heart but he is nothappy with him.He doesn't know his dad is Zorro until the very end andbelieves his dad is a coward.In the movie Elena divorces Alejandro whocan't seem to stop his Zorro adventures. Alejandro is determined tofind out what Elena is up to.While Elena is having a formalrelationship with the french enemy.At the end though,you find out thatElena was only in that relationship as a spy and was threaten-byAmerican men-to spy on frenchy and get as much info as possible.Frenchyis actually part of a group called the knights of Aragon and isplanning to destroy America with...soap.Well not normal soap,this soaphas a deadly liquid that can explode.I mean explode for real.the reasonI didn't give it a ten is because the movie could of been better ifthey would include more serious stuff.It's too pg.Maybe pg-13 would ofbeen better.But anyway this movie really makes you laugh.

2012-05-12 20:37:07

Entertaining? Yes. Legendary? No.

I have been a fan of Zorro since a long time ago. I was always watching the television series starring Guy Williams and was thrilled back in 1998 by the film The Mask Of Zorro. Around January 2005 I found out that there was a sequel in the making, which made me absolutely happy. The trailers looked fantastic, the previews made my heart beat faster, but when I finally saw the film in the cinema in November 2005, I was a bit dissapointed.First of all, the cool Antonio Banderas and the beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jones are both back in this sequel. They are back, so is the chemistry from the first one which is fun to see. They both act fine and give you the luxery of fine acting once again. Zeta-Jones has a bigger part than in the first film, which is ok, but feels a bit to large at some points. It is defenitly no punishment to look at, she is a fine actress, but her role gets a bit too much and a bit over the top considering Zorro is the main hero. But still, it is nice to see a woman in such a part where danger is lurking around the cornors. And hey: it's Catherine Zeta-Jones. A new comer to the family is the young Adrian Alonso, who plays the son of the couple. I must say that he does a nice job, but the director has given him to much attention. This attention makes the movie feel like it is "Zorro Kids" or something. This gives the film, sadly, an atmosphere that is far away from the first film. Some moments of course give you that same atmosphere as in the first one, but less powerful and it's less present. Another thing that is making the film less powerful than it's predecessor is that the filmmakers have aimed at the younger audience for a PG rating in stead of a PG-13. This means again that the atmosphere from the first one is hard to find. Some scenes feel very hold back. Also, while in the first film the horsejokes were okay and nice, here they go a bit over the top.Now a positive aspect next to the fine Banderas and Zeta-Jones combination is the action. Seeing Zorro doing all that spectacular swordfighting and athletic jumping sure makes your heart beat faster. Well choreographed fights which are well captured on camera save the film from it's downfall. It gives a great feeling seeing Zorro back in action again. Also the locations and sets are truely splendid and jawdropping. You can really see that the filmmakers have worked hard in making the film its look absolutely delicious. Talking about delecious: Catherine Zeta-Jones once again looks enchanting and very sexy for the male audience. The female part of the audience can once again catch their breathe while seeing Banderas being handsome as the masked hero.Also James Hornor is back for the soundtrack of the film. People who love the music from the first film will hear some famous themes return which gives the film a good ol' feeling, like stepping in some good old comfortable shoes. The score is nice but also feels a bit hold back which is a pitty. So expect an highly entertaining film with nice moments and cool action sequences. But while the younger audiences might love this picture with their entire heart, the older audience might find this entertaining, but nothing more. Still, the Legend of Zorro is way better than the average sequel and keeps itself standing firmely on it's feet. 3 and a half stars out of 5.

movie_man2006 2012-05-07 17:59:51

Zorro's back, but with much less charm.....

In 1998 director Martin Campbell resurrected the Zorro franchise withthe highly entertaining "The Mask of Zorro", which was a major successand grossed more than U$200 Million here in the US. Now, seven years(!) later, Campbell directs the sequel of that movie and tries torepeat the success of the same. "The Legend of Zorro", though, is amovie with a lot of imperfections. It just doesn't quite live with thehype. The story is now focused on Alejandro de La Vega's (AntonioBanderas) attempt to forget his alter-ego and dedicate more time withthis family. However, a new villain threatens the state of Californiafrom being one of the states of the US. The story is somehow originalto a franchise such as Zorro, but it gets a little crazy and confusing.The movie itself is flawed. There is no memorable scene like "Mask ofZorro" did, nor an intense dance sequence or action sequences. They'reOK, but they don't make you feel impressed. This movie is merely abrainless blockbuster compared to its charming predecessor. If you wanta brand new experience, skip "Legend of Zorro". It's not original, it'snot charming, and it is definitely not going to be worth 9bucks.-----5/10

swisswuff 2012-05-07 10:21:20

Pathetic

This movie - as opposed to others, including the Mask of Zorro movie -is pathetic. The action is repetitive and lacks bite. Mostdisturbingly, though, the faces of the actors now almost seem frozen.Maybe you noticed that the facial expressions of the actors hardly everchange. Banderas manages to mostly smirk wryly. Zeta Jones has no impact on thetotal feel of the movie at all; what makes her acting contributionstand out is that she has her eyes open all the way. The bad guy Armandwalks around with two facial expressions: one being an ever- smirkingface and widely open eyes - with sometimes the other angle of the mouthdropping too, making it a 'scared' look. This movie should have been called "Everyone is Wearing A Mask".

accessmi 2012-05-04 16:19:39

Antonio Banderas, Meet Ichabod Crane

I have always enjoyed Antonio Banderas films, and my only criticism ofhim was that he sometimes attempts too much humor when the movie callsfor more drama. He was excellent in "Women on the Verge of a NervousBreakdown," and stupendous as Pancho Villa, his best performance, Ibelieve. He was too cute alongside Anthony Hopkins, and the lattercarried that movie. This time, however, Banderas appears to be weary.He sleepwalks through the movie. His attempts to muster humor arehollow, and all in all, his performance is lackluster; and in spite ofall the banal sword fights, the movie itself is just as shallow. Otheractors contribute to this effect. Catherine Zeta Jones character, forexample, seemed to come straight out of a wax museum, and the "loveablekid" gyrates inanely between extremes of clever genius and gapingstupidity. I found myself pulling for the school master. The two badguys are even worse. Granted, it is a kids' movie, but at least give usa few reasons to hate them. Like Catherine Zeta Jones' character, the"heavies" belong in a shooting gallery, two dimensional targets withpainted expressions that spin around all day long when people hit them(which is often). I vote for Zorro's horse as the film's best actor,and the secondary and tertiary actors and actresses consistentlyout-shined the stars. No wonder Pedro Armendaris seemed to deliver hislines fast, exit stage anywhere, and get the hell out of there. AntonioBanderas, meet Ichabod Crane.

2012-05-04 05:02:45

GREAT MOVIE

This review is from: The Legend of Zorro [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Great chemistry between Antonio Bandaras and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Entertaining, funny and a great watch for another generation that missed it the first time around.

2012-05-03 19:18:40

Decent sequel

As sequels go, this one was entertaining. Not a terribly sophisticated plot, but enough to keep me interested and watching on a Saturday afternoon.

2012-05-02 23:56:28

COMPLETELY DISSAPOINTING

The first movie was surprisingly good; the second suprisingly bad. The first one had one of the most beatiful leading ladies in memory; the second one has you wishing she would simply shut up and quit nagging Zorro. Even the climax, in which a runaway train threatens to run over dozens of clueless villagers would have been solved by simply having them walk off the tracks with 10 minutes to spare ! Most good film series can last 3 or more entries, it's too bad they killed Zorro in just his second time around.

sexy_pisces_gal 2012-04-25 06:30:04

The Mark of a Legend

The legendary Spanish hero Zorro rides again in this long awaitedsequel to the 1998 classic. Ten years have passed since Alejandro wasrecruited to replace the famous legend clothed in black. Now he ismarried to his predecessor's daughter Elena and has a son Joaquin(Adrian Alonso) but his life is not so content. Elena is neglected andworries that her husband and son are drifting apart and when Alejandroabandons her in the middle of argument to play the hero Zorro again shehas enough and months later Alejandro is stunned to find his wife hassought a divorce. Determined to let to let her come to her sensesAlejandro bides time in signing the papers convinced it is a test. Histheories are shattered however, at a wine tasting ceremony he sees hiswife on the arm of the handsome young Count Armand (Rufus Sewell) he isheartbroken to find that Elena has moved on and is a buddingrelationship with Armand and he goes out of his way to show him up. Butas the relationship between Armand and Elena blossoms and marriage isdiscussed a startling revelation forces the de la Vegas back togetherto protect California and save its dreams of joining the united states.Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones shine as the warring partnersin the film but the main star of the show has got to be young AdrianAlonso who is just superb as Joaquin de la Vega, the young son ofAlejandro & Elena. This sequel is not to be missed and look out forsome funny anecdotes form Tornado Zorro's Horse.

joekerr 2012-04-24 17:13:26

A tarnished legend...

I first saw "The mask of Zorro" on VHS in 1998. I missed it on it'sinitial theatrical run. And loved it. I am probably not the only personwho loved that film. What I loved about that film is it,s similitudewith batman (zorro was a major influence as most Batfans know) But asgood as it was. The film ends with Don Diego De la Vega dying andAlejandro Murietta/ Alejandro Del Castillo/ Alejandro De la Vega (inthe new film) becoming a husband and a father as the Legend of Zorrocontinues.One of the problem I have with the first film is hero (Diego De laVega) even if he has a successor is not a very good way to start a filmfranchise (as it was probably hoped for) If the film had been a finalsequel to a film series or a stand-alone film. It would have beengreat. A man dies, but his legend lives on. The film had an epicquality.The Legend of Zorro is a badly tought sequel to a still born franchise.the raw harshness of the first film. The brutal (but not gratuitous)deaths and the epic quality of the first film are removed and replacedwith a Spy kids-style family film antics.Zorro should never have had a family. In Zorro's first written story,he gives up his double life when he removes his mask. Suc actions raisesome questions of moral and responsibility. But the main problem I havewith Zorro having a family is that, let's face it. Super-heroes areadults playing kids. They are free of responsibility (when in costume)and can do whatever they want. Once they let someone in. They are in away castrated and lose that element of fantasy. Since that person whothey reveal themselves to, will likely judge and confront the hero.In the first film Zorro fought against an oppressive regime. hated bythe government loved by the people. A lot of synergy comes from thatrelationship. The legend of Zorro now enters the Batman&Robin realm.Zorro makes public appearances, kisses babies and shakes hands. He isloved by everyone except criminals who are no match for the localauthorities. The reason for such a tonal shift. the film takes placearound the time when California joins the united states of America.(I'm not even sure if the year is right) Gone are the oppressor of thepast. Now Zorro is more like Batman than political activist. A changethat damages the film and the character.The first true action sequences of the first film begins with Zorrosaving some men from execution by whipping the gunmen's weapons ontheir immediate superior. The sequel starts with a cartoonish sequence(Zorro & his son do a lot of back flips) where Zorro tries to recapturethe voting ballots for California's addition to the USA. Zorro's horsebecomes a real life Jolly Jumper ( France's comic book cowboy, LuckyLuke's horse/side-kick) He smokes the pipe and gets big cartoonish eyesat one point in the film.One of the major differences between Zorro & Batman are the villainsthey face. While Zorro always battles the corrupt governor and hiscohorts. Batman has a rich rogues gallery. Since all of the badgovernor's are dead in the sequel. they created new villains. The mainone is a corrupt count who is part of a secret society who is planningto destroy America (with soap, someone watched Fight Club beforewriting this) His side-kicks are a Bald-headed servant (AKA Oddjobbwannabe) and a wooden-teethed Mercenary/Religious freak (He is no Jaws)These guys are pretty tame and lack the personal hatred that theaudience and the main characters felt for the first films bad guys.The Legend Of Zorro is the equivalent of Batman & Robin. it's not asbad. But it has the same impact/feel. The film castrates the maincharacter with odd modern day problems (Did I mention that Zorrodivorces his wife and has an uneasy relationship with his son becauseof his work) The edginess and rawness of the first film is gone. Andquite frankly, this is not a very good film. Because you can't have asequel to a grande finale.I don't think we'll see a Zorro 3 anytime soon. I wished they hadwritten the first film like a year-one/batman begins with AntonioBanderas cast as Diego De la Vega. Hopefully they'll leave Our maskedhero alone for a few years and bring him back without any uselessbaggage. And not as a family film, please! And Bring Back Don Diego DeLa Vega!

Joe Franke 2012-04-19 17:14:15

Give it its due: not bad.

I loved the Mask of Zorro, so, since this one had Banderras andZeta-Jones returning to reprise their roles, I knew I had to see thisone. Short take: If you're expecting a truly believable story, goelsewhere. Long take: If you want some good fun that you and your kidscan watch (and the kids will want to watch again), this is perfect.Little blood or gore, great stunts (don't try them at home), no nudityshown. A very clean sequel that tries to be different from theoriginal. Banderras and Zeta-Jones obviously had a lot of fun making this film.Both are great, and the kid is a wonderful addition to the gang. RufusSewell makes a wonderful bad guy: I almost like him better than eitherStuart Wilson or Matt Letscher (from the first movie). Tornado (thehorse) is as much fun as before.A major point with some other reviewers is the plot. I was going alongnicely until the "destroy America" and secret Society stuff came along.Then the movie started to feel like a wannabe. If you can ignore that(I was able to) and concentrate on Zorro and what he faces, you'll getalong fine. And he faces a lot: floundering marriage, a son who thinkshe is just a fop, a romantic rival who publicly humiliates him, afeeling that the time for Zorro has passed - these are a lot of thingsfor a guy to handle all in two hours! But if you have troublesuspending your disbelief, you won't like this film: you'll think it'sa cheap knockoff of the first one. Overall, not one I'll want to watch often, but one I'll have in mylibrary. If you're a fan of Zorro, Banderras, Zeta-Jones,swashbuckling, or all four, you'll want to have it too.

happy_hangman 2012-04-19 11:07:18

Return of the Zero

'Legend of Zorro' isn't dull. Big guns go boom. Swords swish. Capesflutter. Bosoms heave (Catherine Zeta Jones's bloody great bosom seldomstops heaving). Villains grimace and mince, and peasants cheer. So: notdull, then. It is, however, complete and utter toss.I'm not sure why it took them so long (seven years) to come up with alacklustre sequel to the remake of a flick that wasn't very good in thefirst place. The time certainly hasn't been spent in honingcharacterisation or plotting. Antonio Banderas attempts light comedyand fails dismally. Zeta-Jones sensibly avoids acting, but is no betterin her attempts at levity. The attempt seems to be to graft the stockcharacters of a 1940s or '50s matinée-filler – the domain of theoriginal screen Zorro franchise – but padded out with pyrotechnics.This worked in 'Pirates of the Caribbean', after all – but 'Pirates'tweaked that format by introducing unpredictable elements (chieflyDepp's unexpected proficiency as a physical comedian and…er…the LivingDead). 'Legend Of Zorro' is predictable, tired, and possessed of someof the limpest heroes I've encountered in a Dog's Age.

2012-04-19 12:43:05

genial

This review is from: The Legend of Zorro [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) super film superbe blu ray qualite optimale genial!!!!!!!!!!! banderas et zeta jones parfaits action et humour tout y est a voir absolument

mrc_figueroa 2012-04-19 01:35:53

Good Movie

Because there are hardly any big screen movies that contain the richculture, the history and the overall look that this movie has, itsimply can not be compared in the manner that most movies are compared,in spite of the imperfections it had. This film was as unique as "TheMask of Zorro". It is not a sequel but it is simply a totally differentstory of this unique Mexican-American folk hero. Compared to the firstmovie however, this new one showed more of Zorro's fighting, which wasnever bloody but elegant and intelligent. I felt that the love conflictbetween Elena and De la Vega may have been too long but the breathtaking action that comes after brings it back to a balance. The plotwas not very "concrete" but it was entertaining. The special effectswere better than the first and the acting was just as good, if notbetter. This is not you typical movie. You really have to have a loveand an understanding for this story to see it in a different way.Nevertheless, it was a well done movie that does what it has to andthat is to show us Zorro.