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| Directed by | Martin Campbell |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Laurie MacDonald Walter F. Parkes Lloyd Phillips |
| Written by | Screenplay: Roberto Orci Alex Kurtzman Story: Ted Elliott Terry Rossio Roberto Orci Alex Kurtzman Characters: Johnston McCulley |
| Starring | Antonio Banderas Catherine Zeta-Jones Rufus Sewell Michael Emerson |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Cinematography | Phil Meheux |
| Editing by | Stuart Baird |
| Studio | Spyglass Entertainment Amblin Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 24, 2005 |
| Running time | 129 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $75 million |
| Box office | $142,400,065 |
The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to The Mask of Zorro (1998), both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, Eléna, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain, Count Armand. The film, which takes place in San Mateo County, California, was shot in San Luis Potosí, Mexico with second-unit photography in Wellington, New Zealand.
Plot
In 1850 (9 years after the events of the first film), California is voting on whether to join the United States of America as a state. A wild gunman, Jacob McGivens, attempts to steal some ballots, but Zorro chases after him and recaptures the votes. In their scuffle, McGivens pulls off Zorro's mask. A pair of Pinkerton agents recognize him as Don Alejandro de la Vega. Zorro fashions a makeshift mask from his costume and rides off on his stallion, Toronado, to deliver the votes to the governor.Upon returning to his mansion, Alejandro is greeted by his loving wife, Eléna (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Eléna believes that Alejandro can now give up being Zorro, but Alejandro is sure that the people will still need him. Angered by his neglect of her and their son in favor of the Zorro persona, Eléna kicks him out of the house. The next day, after sending their son, Joaquin to school, Eléna is confronted by the Pinkertons, who disclose their knowledge of Zorro's identity. Soon after, Alejandro is served with divorce papers from Eléna.
Three months later, Alejandro, living in a hotel, is depressed over the separation from Eléna. His friend and childhood guardian, Father Felipe, convinces him to attend a party at a French count's new vineyard, and there Alejandro finds out that Eléna has been spending time with the count and her former schoolmate, Armand. Later, after drinking himself stupid, Alejandro witnesses a huge explosion close to Armand's mansion and becomes suspicious of Armand.
Afterwards, McGivens and his men attack a peasant family, the Cortezes, who are Alejandro's friends, in order to seize their land deed. Zorro succeeds in rescuing Guillermo's wife and infant son, but McGivens shoots Guillermo just before disappearing with his gang, the deed to the Cortez home in hand. Zorro subsequently stakes McGivens out at Armand's mansion and discovers that Armand wanted Cortez's land to build a railroad. He encounters Eléna, and learns that Armand will receive a mysterious shipment.
Zorro tracks McGivens to a cove where the count's cargo is being delivered. However, on a class trip nearby Joaquin has also come across McGiven's gang and hitched a ride. Zorro saves his son, who does not recognize him, from the bandits, but the only clues he is able to retrieve are a piece of the cargo - a bar of soap - and the name Orbis Unum from a crate lid. Felipe and Alejandro learn that Armand is the head of a secret society, the Knights of Aragon, which secretly ruled Europe in the past. Armand plans to throw the United States, which is perceived as a threat to the Knights' power, into chaos before it can gain too much power.
Sometime later, Alejandro is captured by the Pinkertons who inform him of their blackmailing Eléna into divorcing him and getting close to Armand to discover his plans; since California isn't yet a state, they couldn't conduct a legal investigation. Joaquin stumbles upon his father's whereabouts and frees him from prison. Zorro heads over to Armand's mansion, meets Eléna, and eavesdrops on Armand's meeting, learning that the soap bars contain glycerin - a precursor to nitroglycerin, which Armand plans to distribute throughout the Confederate Army, with the help of Confederate Colonel Beauregard, to destroy the Union. Zorro and Eléna reconcile concerning her involvement with the Pinkertons, and Zorro prepares to destroy the train carrying the explosives.
McGivens arrives at Felipe's church to look for Zorro, but ends up shooting the priest and kidnapping Joaquin. At the mansion, Armand is informed by his butler, Ferroq about Eléna's deception and, showing her the bodies of the Pinkerton agents, brutally confronts her with his knowledge. He takes her and Joaquin hostage on to the 10 car train, forcing Zorro to stop his own sabotage and getting himself captured. He is unmasked in front of his wife and son, much to Joaquin's shock. Joaquin and Eléna are taken away by Armand, while McGivens is tasked with killing Alejandro. Unexpectedly, Felipe arrives and helps Alejandro overpower McGivens, who is killed when a drop of nitro lands on his head. Felipe then reveals that the crucifix around his neck shielded him from McGivens' bullet, and Alejandro goes to save Eléna and Joaquin.
Zorro catches up with and lands - along with Toronado - inside the 8th car of the train, and engages Armand in a sword fight. Meanwhile, Eléna has Joaquin escape into the back cars of the train which she disconnects. She then fights Ferroq in the nitro storage car, and both he and Colonel Beauregard are killed in an explosion.
Joaquin collects Toronado and rides after the train by jumping off the running train. Further along the tracks, under the eyes of a huge crowd, the governor is signing the bill to make California a state. As the train gets closer, Joaquin has Toronado hit a track switch, causing the train to pass around the governor's car. Zorro and Armand's duel takes them to the very front of the locomotive; however, the track is a dead end, blocked by a large pile of rails. Zorro hooks Armand to the train and escapes with Eléna. The train plows Armand into the block, killing him and causing the nitroglycerin to detonate, destroying the train. With Zorro as an official witness, the governor later signs the bill, and California becomes the 31st state of the United States of America.
Later, Felipe remarries Alejandro and Eléna with Joaquin as the only witness. Alejandro apologizes to his son for not telling him the truth, and he admits that Zorro's identity is a family secret rather than just his own. Eléna then allows Alejandro to continue being Zorro, accepting that it is who he is, and Zorro rides off on Toronado to his next mission.
Alternate ending
An alternate ending, included on the DVD, shows a grown-up Joaquin putting on his father's Zorro costume and riding off into the sunset, as the elderly Alejandro and Eléna watch proudly. This was changed to the theatrical ending in order to allow for future sequels with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.Historical references
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. Additional deviations include a quote from the Gettysburg Address, which would not be written until 1863. A map discovered by Zorro delineates two states (Arizona and New Mexico) that did not achieve statehood until 1912. Several other states depicted on the map were also entered into the Union long after California.
Critical reception
Critical reaction to The Legend of Zorro was mostly mixed to negative. The film currently holds a rating of 47 out of 100 on Metacritic,[3] and a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[4]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a below-average review, awarding it one and a half stars (out of four), commenting that "of all of the possible ideas about how to handle the Elena character, this movie has assembled the worst ones."[5] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave The Legend of Zorro two stars (out of four), saying that "the action is routine", "the chemistry between the two leads, which was one of the highlights of The Mask of Zorro, has evaporated during the intervening years", and that the movie "fails to recapture the pleasure offered by The Mask of Zorro."[6]
Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com praised the film, calling it "entertaining, bold, and self-effacing at once", noting the civic and parental questions it raises.[7] Slate Magazine critic David Edelstein also praised the film, in particular the action scenes, villains, and chemistry between Banderas and Zeta-Jones.[8] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film was "watchable—not remotely enjoyable, but watchable."[9] Nathan Rabin of The Onion's A.V. Club gave the film a lukewarm review, saying that "director Martin Campbell doles out action sequences stingily" but added that "The Legend of Zorro still feels like a half-hearted shrug of a sequel."[10]
Brian Lowry of Variety said that The Legend of Zorro is "considerably less charming than The Mask of Zorro" but added that the film "gets by mostly on dazzling stunt work and the pleasure of seeing its dashing and glamorous leads back in cape and gown."[11] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly awarded the film a "B-" score. Schwarzbaum said that "too many scenes emphasize gross butchery over the elegance of the blade", but added that the film is "well-oiled" and praised the "fancy fight sequences".[12]
Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post reacted negatively, calling The Legend of Zorro "a waste of talent, time, and money" and "stupid and boring".[13] Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle was also not impressed, remarking that "there are precious few things for a Zorro fan – or a film fan, for that matter – not to loathe about The Legend of Zorro.
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