The Legend of Zorro Movie Review

Dec 27, 2006

Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones return for some serious sword figthing in the action movie, The Legend of Zorro.

The Legend of Zorro - Masked Mexican To The Resuce

The Legend of Zorro takes place in 1850, as California is voting to join the United States of America. When a group of powerful villains tries to steal the ballot boxes - Zorro (played by Antonio Banderas) puts on his mask once again and fights to save California from evil and corruption. While Zorro is trying to answer the call of his people, his wife, Elena, (Catherine Zeta-Jones) wants him to put a way his creepy costume and spend more time with his son, Joaquin (Adrian Alonso.) When he refuses to, Elena leaves him for an evil French aristocrat, and Zorro and the future of California risk being sent on a dangerousously downward spiral.

The Legend of Zorro - Swashbuckling Swordfights

The best parts of The Legend of Zorro center around Zorro's sword fights. There are some great scenes where he swashbuckles on a moving train and jumps between buildings - but there could've been more scenes where Zorro unleashes his signature "Z" sword stroke. Zorro does rise to the occasion in the end, but not before several long and drawn out scenes, where the movie's hero discusses whether he should be a stay-at-home dad or continue to come to the rescue of his people. Would a real hero really have to debate such an important question?

The Legend of Zorro - Bottom Line

The Legend of Zorro is a decent action film with some great high-tempo swashbuckling and and suspenseful sword fights. But this flick is also way too long and spends too much time focusing on the relationship between Zorro and his nagging wife. Real action heroes should be spending their time kicking butt on villains and saving damsels in distress - not arguing with their wife about how much time they spend at home with the kids! For real superhero action, go watch Batman Begins on DVD (even if you've already seen it) - and take a pass on Zorro.