Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Martin Campbell
Cast :
Antonio Banderas……….Don Alejandro de la Vega/Zorro
Catherine Zeta-Jones……….Elena de La Vega
Giovanna ZacarÃÂas……….Blanca Cortez
Raúl Méndez……….Ferroq
Adrian Alonso……….Joaquin
Pedro Armendáriz Jr……….Governor Don Pedro
Michel Bos……….Archduke Wilhelm
Mar Carrera……….Marie
Nick Chinlund……….McGivens
There are two types of sequels: blatant money grabs and natural progressions. In the case of a film like Ghostbusters 2, it’s the former. In the case of a film like Desperado, it’s a story progression. In the case of the former, it’s generally a matter of trying to bank on the popularity of the prior movie by releasing a similar one soon after the first; trying to recreate the same magic of a successful film sounds easy in theory and is hard to do in practice. Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico both succeeded because they had definitive stories left to tell at the conclusion of their predecessors; there was something more to say, another story to tell. And the star of those two films, Antonio Banderas, comes back for a sequel to one of the films that established him as an action star: The Legend of Zorro.
Banderas stars as the hero of note, a swashbuckling hero in a mask. Zorro is the Mexican equivalent to Robin Hood; he’s a hero of the people, righting wrongs and correcting injustices. Instead of a bow & arrow he has a fancy sword and a whip, and being Zorro has become almost too much for his alter ego, Alejandro. Picking up seven years after the original, Zorro has lost his family and his dignity. Being Zorro was too much for his wife Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and now Zorro has become a divorcee who spends his time searching for the bottom of a bottle. His son Joaquin sees his father as a coward; he doesn’t get to see Alejandro as Zorro; he sees him as a peace-loving drunk who doesn’t care.
Meanwhile, radicals are planning to disrupt a major historical event. California is about to gain statehood into the United States as the dawn of the Civil War approaches. The Legend of Zorro follows Zorro into action again as he has to prevent America from being attacked by those seeking to prevent this from happening. And as a sequel, The Legend of Zorro feels like a desperate grab back at fame by Banderas and Zeta-Jones.
Having been many years since the uniqueness of the original, Banderas and Zeta-Jones are in different places than they were in 1998. Banderas used The Mask of Zorro to solidify his status as an action star. The only Latino actor in the genre, he would prove to be a mixture of brawn and brains with an accent that women would adore. The Legend of Zorro seems like a decision made by an actor clinging to a last hope; his best days having gone by, Banderas seems to be reaching for the heights he use to be at as opposed to reprising a role to further define his legacy. As Alejandro Banderas is comfortable, without a doubt, but he lacks the sort of flair and charisma he had not even two years ago. It feels forced and boring, as this isn’t the legendary Zorro; it’s just a guy playing him.
Zeta-Jones has also seen her star fall as well since the original. The Mask of Zorro allowed her to become a member of the A-List and on to the arm of Michael Douglas. Since then, she has won an Academy Award and been able to pick & choose which roles she wants. But in the years since she got to the top, she hasn’t done much to stay there.
The film is also lacking in a lot of the spunk and creativity the original had. Banderas is capable of doing much more than the sort of cliché-ridden action sequences he’s given. We’ve seen him do the same think before as Zorro as well as the Mariachi. While many of the action sequences, the bread and butter of the film, have interesting starts they delve into the sort of boring trite that The Mask of Zorro such an intriguing film.
And it’s a shame, really, as there are many solid ideas to develop in terms of character and plot. The concept of a hero retiring, the impact on his family, and trying to keep this all hidden and lead two very different lives are ideas touched upon but not really explored. Zorro is going through a major life change with lots of pretty deep issues to contemplate; part of the premise of the movie is that Alejandro and Zorro have to compete for the same people and the same life while being the same person. The sort of potential to expound upon this, which has been part of Banderas’ motif as of late, is wasted for some silly stunts and the sort of plot that is beneath Zorro.
