The Legend of Zorro

The Legend of Zorro
File:Z2 Poster I.jpg Promotional poster for Legend of Zorro
Directed by	Martin Campbell
Written by	Story: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman Screenplay: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Produced by	Steven Spielberg Roger Birnbaum Gary Barber
Starring	Antonio Banderas Catherine Zeta-Jones Rufus Sewell
Music by	James Horner
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	October 28, 2005
Language	English
Budget	$80 million

The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 movie directed by New Zealander Martin Campbell. The movie stars Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Rufus Sewell and is a sequel to 1998's The Mask of Zorro, also directed by Campbell and starring Banderas and Zeta-Jones. The film, which takes place in San Mateo County of modern-day California, was shot in Mexico.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler In 1850, the people of California are voting to decide whether or not to join the United States. During one of the votes, a wild gunsman named Jacob McGivvins attacks to steal the box of votes. Before he makes off with the votes however, Zorro appears and chases after him and his men. Zorro succeeds in recapturing the votes and fights off all of McGivvins men. When McGivvins attacks, he succeeds in pulling off Zorro's mask, but Zorro manages to knock him out before he sees his face. Just then a pair of Pinkertons see the face of Zorro, recognizing him as Don Alejandro de la Vega. Zorro then makes a make-shift mask out of his costume and rides off on his black stallion, Tornado, to deliver the votes to the governor. Upon returning to his mansion, Alejandro is greeted by his loving wife, Elena and tells her they won. Elena believes that Alejandro can now give up being Zorro, but Alejandro is not so sure that the people will no longer need him. Angered, Elena kicks Alejandro out of the house. The next day, after sending her son, Juaquin to school, Elena is confronted by the Pinkertons who show her her husband's mask. Soon after, Alejandro receives a letter from Elena, saying that she is filling for divorce. Three months later, Alejandro is living in a hotel, having not been summoned as Zorro in all this time. His friend, Frey Felipe convinces him to attend a party at a French count's new vineyard and there Alejandro finds out that Elena has been spending time with the count, Armand. Later, after drunking himself crazy, Alejandro watches an explosion go off close to Armand's mansion and begins to be suspicious of the charming count. Some time later, McGivvins and his men attack a peasant family, wanting to sell their land, but Zorro arrives to stop him. He succeeds in rescuing the wife and baby, but the husband is shot dead by McGivvins who runs off with the deed to the house. Zorro then stakes out at Armand's mansion to confirm his suspicions and finds out that McGivvins is working for Armand. He then chases after McGivvins to a shore where a cargo of Armand's is being delievered and finds out that the cargo is merely bars of soap. Felipe then finds out that Armand is part of a secret society that wishes to destroy America. Sometime later, Alejandro is captured by the two Pinkertons and is told that they blackmailed Elena into divorcing him and getting close to Armand to find out his plans. Juaquin stumbles onto his father's wearabouts amd frees him. Zorro then heads over to Armand's mansion. Elena also arrives at the mansion and follows Armand and his group to a secret bunker. She then attacks the guards, but is outnumbered. Luckily Zorro arrives and they fight off all the guards. They then eavesdrop on Armand's meeting and learn that the soap bars are actually used to create nitro explosions to destroy the country. Elena then heads back to the mansion before Armand gets back and Zorro prepares to destroy the train carrying all of the nitro. McGivvins meanwhile arrives at Felipe's church and shoots the priest when he tries to fight back. He also kidnaps Juaquin. At the mansion, Armand finds out about Elena's deceit and captures her, as McGivvins arrives with Juaquin. Zorro then lights a fuse that will destroy the train and leaves on Tornado, but after seeing Armand, Elena, and Juaquin approaching the train, he runs back and stops the fuse at the last second. McGivvins then captures Zorro and unmasks him infront of everyone, including Juaquin. Armand then leaves on the train with Elena and Juaquin, giving McGivvins the order to kill Alejandro. Before he can however, Felipe arrives and helps Alejandro fight McGivvins. He eventually is killed when a drop of nitro lands on his head and explodes.

File:Bear Point.jpg

The Legend of Zorro features a fictional monument called Bear Point, commemorating the site where the original Bear Flag of the California Republic flew briefly in 1846. Although the actual flag flew in Sonoma County, the film suggests that Bear Point is located San Mateo County.

Felipe then reveals that his crucifix around his neck shielded him from McGivvins bullet and Alejandro goes to save his wife and son. The next morning, Zorro catches up to the train on Tornado. After a long chase, Tornado lands ontop of the train and into the cargo car just as it approaches a tunnel. Zorro then makes his way to the passenger car and engages Armand in a sword fight. Elena then has Juaquin escape on Tornado to stop the train. Further along the tracks, the governor is signing the bill that will make California a state and all of California are witnessing it. As the train gets closer, Juaquin has Tornado hit a track switch, causing the train to change directions. Zorro and Armand's duel takes them from the passenger car, to the train, and to the very front. With Elena's help, Zorro eventually defeats Armand and hooks him to the front as the train approaches the end of the tracks. Zorro then uses his whip and swings to safety with Elena. The train then crashes and the nitro inside explodes, taking Armand with it. The governor then finishes the bill and California becomes the 31st state of America. Some time later, Felipe remarries Alejandro and Elena with Juaquin as the only witness. Elena then allows Alejandro to continue being Zorro, accepting that it is who he is, and Zorro rides off on Tornado into the sunset.

Historical and cultural references

The Legend of Zorro continues its predecessor's inclusion of historical elements of California history into the fiction, though many liberties have been taken. Alejandro Murrieta, the Mexican-born Californian who became Zorro at the end of the previous film, is a fictional brother to Joaquin Murrieta, for whom the character's son Joaquin is named. Military governor Bennet Riley, the last of California's heads of state prior to statehood, is portrayed, but the Maryland-born American is played by the Mexican actor Pedro Armendáriz Jr., and speaks English with an Hispanic accent. Leo Burmester plays P. G. T. Beauregard, a Confederate general, who character is killed during the film's climax. And Pedro Mira plays pre-presidential Abraham Lincoln as an observer to California's statehood, though the real Lincoln never travelled to the region.

The film also contains a number of references to other movies. The plot bears a striking resemblance to that of Notorious, in which a deadly explosive is similarly concealed in wine bottles. Murrieta has changed his name to Alejandro de la Vega, the surname of the original Zorro, Diego de la Vega. Zorro conceals his costume under a priest's robes, a tactic used in numerous Zorro including The Mask of Zorro. One character says of Zorro's mask: "This belongs in a museum... and so do you," a textual homage to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Zorro's use of a whip for combat and acrobatics inspired Jones'). And during the prison escape, Zorro disarms two swordsmen only to have a third flee in terror in a scene reminiscent of one from The Princess Bride. (Westley's disguise in that film was a near-copy of the Zorro costume.)

Critical reception

Unlike the highly acclaimed The Mask of Zorro, The Legend of Zorro was given mixed reviews, scoring a 47 from Metacritic and a 25% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Mick Lasalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "not remotely enjoyable", and Roger Ebert bemoaned that "of all of the possible ideas about how to handle the Elena character, this movie has assembled the worst ones." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com, however, lauded it as "almost shamefully entertaining, bold and self-effacing at once", noting the civic and parental questions it raises. Slate Magazine critic David Edelstein concurred, praising Banderas and Zeta-Jones as "drop-dead-gorgeous movie stars and spectacular clowns." Fans of the first film heavily criticized the relative lack of action. Both critics and admirers agreed that the film was aimed at younger audiences than was The Mask of Zorro.

A work of steampunk

The Legend of Zorro, which takes place in 1850, includes a significant number of deviations from history, particularly in depicting an organized Confederate States of America and a (presumably, though this is not explicitly stated) completed First Transcontinental Railroad, each more than a decade before their times. Furthermore, a deleted scene on the film's DVD features a short discussion on a magic lantern presentation, first invented in 1870. Due to the large number of anachronistic elements, The Legend of Zorro (unlike its predecessor The Mask of Zorro, written by a different writing team) can be considered a work of steampunk, a style of fiction in with technology is widely available before its actual invention, and thus instances of historical inaccuracy may generally be considered to be intentional.

External links

• Official Site
• Legend of Zorro (2005) at IMDb
• Slant Magazine Film Review by Keith Uhlich