Overall Rating: ***
The Legend of Zorro @ IMDB
Synopsis:
As California moves to join the Union, trouble begins to brew and Zorro (Antonio Banderas) must ride again. As he struggles with his responsibilities to the people he swore to protect, Alejandro must find time to be a husband and a father. His marriage may be the sacrifice he must pay to save Mexico, but there seems to be more to his marital problems than meets the eye. Now Alejandro must fight an ancient brotherhood bent on starting a civil war and try to win back Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones).
Review:
The sequel jinx?! What a surprise! Ok, I’m not saying anything too surprising. The Legend of Zorro wasn’t nearly as good as The Mask of Zorro. There are several elements from the first one that they brought back well for the sequel. Other things didn’t quite work that well. I warn, I’m going to rant a little bit later. Its not something that’s only a problem with this movie, but more on that later.
A great return is the rather funny bickering between Elena and Alejandro. Their constant back and forth arguing is rather amusing. Jones and Banderas have great screen presence and you buy in to the rather volatile relationship between the two of them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite buy in to the fact that their marriage was in trouble. It comes off a little shakey on the screen and they really needed that to work to sell the main twist in the plot. It just didn’t work.
The action was pretty entertaining. The sword play and fight sequences were pretty complex and exciting. They kept you engaged and at the edge of your seat. The coreography was pretty well done and it brought back another thing I liked from the first movie. Of course Banderas’ delivery of the very witty (and well written) lines. I definitely give credit to the writters. They didn’t not disappoint with the biting wit.
Finally, my rant. Nothing and I mean nothing ruins a good action movie like CG scenes!!!!!! Why can’t action movies stick to what they do best, and keep everything real? Its not just this movie. Its shown up in James Bond and several other movies, including. I appreciate good coreography. I can handle wires. They do wonders. I can handle stunt doubles. They started the whole industry. I can not stand scenes that don’t play true because of bad blue screen and CG characters. I won’t tell you what scene in this movie. You can see it for yourself. But to all the directors of action movies out there, DON’T DO IT!!! Please!