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Actors: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rufus Sewell
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Legend of Zorro |
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Antonio Banderas returns to the role of the masked vigilante in “The Legend of Zorro”. The story picks up 10 years after the end of 1998's “The Mask of Zorro”, and finds Don Alejandro de la Vega (Banderas), a.k.a. Zorro, settled down with his wife, Elena (Zeta-Jones). The couple now has a 10-year-old son, Joaquin (Adrian Alonso). Zorro is semi-retired and de la Vega promises to give up the mask for good once a vote on California's acceptance as the 31st state in the union is finalized—which should take 90 days.
Complications ensue: Elena is blackmailed by the United States government into working undercover to infiltrate a secret society whose ultimate objective is the destruction of the United States. Elena is chosen because the leader of the secret society, Armand (Rufus Sewell), is a childhood friend who's always had a crush on her. Thus, in order to protect Zorro's identity, Elena divorces Alejandro, telling him that she simply can't wait the 90 days for the California vote to be finalized.
She marries Armand and proceeds to gather secrets to help foil the secret society's plans, all the while feigning devotion to Armand and pretending to detest Alejandro. Meanwhile, Joaquin is a precocious child who idolizes Zorro and, not knowing his true identity, believes his father gutless and weak. Ten-year-old Joaquin imitates Zorro's moves and fighting style and—in one especially entertaining scene—humiliates a tyrannical teacher using a ruler, a slingshot and some fast thinking.
As both Elena and Zorro find themselves more and more deeply involved in the plot to destroy the United States (by helping the South win the civil war), they eventually work together to stop the secret society's plan. In the process, Joaquin learns Zorro's true identity and Zorro, after learning Elena has been blackmailed and that the divorce and subsequent marriage to Armand are all a ruse, saves the day in highly entertaining and explosive fashion.
--Robert Cox, Resident Scholar
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This movie was directed by Martin Campbell
The Legend of Zorro movie is an action type movie and that is why it is set some years after the previous Zorro. There are three main characters in the movie and they are Alejandro (Banderas), his wife Elena (Zeta-Jones), and their son Joaquin, who is only ten years old. Zorro's job is to get in the mask of Zorro and protect the residents of California from robbers and bad guys. But Zorro also has a normal life, which he loves and appreciates. California is not planning on becoming the 31st state anymore because the businessmen and the town gang said so. Zorro fights them.
--Vadim Akhanov, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Legend of Zorro |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Combat acrobatics/martial arts?
Yes
Romance
Yes
Kind of movie
- superfast sword fighting
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- champion of justice
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- wild
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- short/standard straight (man)
- short/standard curly (man)
Body type
- muscular (man)
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
- aggressive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
- Hispanic/Latinic
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
- (woman) long wavy
Body type
- average build (man)
- ample bosom & buttocks (woman)
How much in movie?
- 40%
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
- Hispanic/Latinic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- businessman, big
Eccentric:
Yes
- wild
- deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
- 60%
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
- (woman) long straight
Body type
- average (man)
- ample chest and buttocks (woman)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
- Hispanic/Latinoa
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- mean, arrogant
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Misc setting
- castle
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- non-gory references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
- challenged
How many deaths in film?
- 8 or more
- dozens
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
Kind of violence:
- guns
- swords
Unusual forms of death
- crushed
Any profanity?
- None
- Occasional swearing
If this is a kid's movie...
- Ages 10-15
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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