Film Review - The Legend of Zorro

The dela Vega Heroes
By: Rianne Hill Soriano

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rufus Sewell
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Official Movie site

The Legend of Zorro tones down a bit by fronting the more human issue about family relationships as compared to the visually purist, action-filled premise driving the storyline on such an action genre. And yet, this film doesn’t lose its own touch of valuable action and playful camera work. The magnificent stunts, grand production design and uncompromising cinematography keep the spectators’ eyes nailed to what happens next.

The film captures the audience right from the opening billboard as it boasts of a splendid play of fire and horse shots – marking the very presence of the ‘masked, sword-fighting hero on black.’ The adrenaline rush is well built up towards the vastly choreographed chasing scene exposing the struggle for California’s independence. The dose for action is pushed forward by the concept of freedom and injustice; while a more intimate dealing within the issue of family relationship among the dela Vegas – Alejandro, Elena and Joaquin – fronts the storyline and makes subtle touches of compassion within the sights and sounds of swords, guns, bombs, kicks and punches.

The story revolves around Zorro’s/Alejandro’s life both as a hero and as a husband and father to his wife and son. Antonio Banderras (Zorro/Alejandro dela Vega) enlivens Zorro’s legend from his looks to his moves and overall aura. Catherine Zeta-Jones (Elena dela Vega) makes a perfect Elena. Their tandem is splendid. Their sword fights further enhance their chemistry. In this new installment, Adrian Alonso (Joaquin dela Vega) adds new color to the legend and a new hope for what’s in store for the future Zorro films.

The antagonistic acts of Count Armand give suggestions on contemporary issues and events on terrorism; while Elena’s feminine strength and individualistic character radiate a gender-sensitive portrayal of women – a hot chick who knows how to kick butts in such a charming way, a spy to 2 government agents (whose looks remind me of the Grimm brothers as seen on the recently shown film Brothers Grimm) and a loving wife and mother who is always there to protect her family.

The good acting and chemistry among the characters have worked to validate the very formulaic storyline. The stunts of the major characters (including Zorro’s horse jumping into a moving train, among its other various moves) tend to make the audience overlook the weaknesses of the film. Also, the comic relief rendered by Zorro’s horse (puffing tobacco from Elena’s pipe and drinking alcohol from Alejandro’s bottle, etc.) is quite corny but still it is a kind of a breather in between great actions happening here and there. Some distinct silhouette shots of Zorro and his horse remind me of some Marlboro ad. But they have worked quite well for the film’s visuals. However, some shots have their special effects way too obvious (particularly some blast shots) and some are probably miniatures – or seem like miniatures – based on how I see them.

Together, the three dela Vegas relive the legend of Zorro here. If you need some dose of action-packed projected material for the weekend, this film is a nice popcorn film.