Kalifornia, 1821 rok. Jedyną osobą, której obawia się sprawujący brutalne rządy nad hiszpańską prowincją gubernator Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson), jest zamaskowany mściciel doznanych przez ludność krzywd - Zorro. Ale tuż przed opuszczeniem urzędu Don Rafael demaskuje swego wroga: to Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins), niedawny rywal do ręki pięknej Esperanzy. Podczas aresztowania Don Diego ginie jego żona Esperanza, a ich córka Elena zostaje porwana przez Montero. Po 20 latach Don Diego ucieka z więzienia. Zamierza dokonać zamachu na swego wroga, gdy w towarzyszącej mu dziewczynie rozpoznaje swoją córkę (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Na wykonawcę swej zemsty wybiera więc młodego bandytę Alejandro (Antonio Banderas), który wraz z bratem pomógł mu przed laty. Na Montero pada blady strach: znów pojawił się Zorro i na dodatek zawrócił w głowie jego przybranej córce.
An inevitable, if hardly essential, double pack, this bringing together of both
The Mask of Zorro and
The Legend of Zorro is a fine example of where a franchise can go wrong.
In this case, before it went wrong though, it all went very, very right. The joyful original film is a fabulous, old-fashioned romp, that sees Antonio Banderas becoming the classic superhero. He gets recruited by Anthony Hopkins Don Diego de la Vega, and takes on the evil Don Raphael. Theres romance to, in the pleasant shape of Catherine Zeta Jones, who happily gives as good as she gets. And the end result is a great movie, thats stood the test of time well thus far. Its one thatll easily stand up to repeated viewings, too.
So what went wrong with the sequel? Reuniting Banderas and Zeta Jones, and set enough time after the first film for the two of them to have become parents, Legend of Zorro simply doesnt work. Sure, it has its moments, but compared to the original, theyre few and far between. Instead, the action is more laboured, the film gets bogged down in irrelevancies, and most damning of all, the fun factor that so defined the first outing has been severely diluted.
Which makes for an odd double pack. Its good value for Zorro devotees of course, but for the vast majority who warmed to Banderas take on the classic hero, a wiser investment would be to pick up a copy of The Mask Of Zorro by itself, and simply leave it at that.--Simon Brew
Product Description
Box set featuring two swashbuckling adventure movies. In 'The Mask of Zorro' (1998), Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) is a swashbuckling legend, adopting the moniker Zorro and donning a mask in his fight against Spanish despots in Alta California. Twenty years after hanging up his sword, he needs to find a successor to gain revenge on Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson), the tyrant who stole his wife and daughter (Catherine Zeta Jones) two decades ago. He selects the swarthy Alejandro (Antonio Banderas) as his proteg, but the unruly bandit needs some rough edges smoothed out before he can wield his blade on his teacher's behalf. In 'The Legend of Zorro' (2005), having spent the last ten years fighting injustice and cruelty, Zorro (Banderas) is now facing his greatest challenge: his wife Elena (Zeta-Jones) has thrown him out and found comfort in the arms of Count Armand (Rufus Sewell), a dashing French aristocrat. But Zorro knows something she doesn't: Armand is the mastermind behind an evil plot to destroy the United States. And so, with his marriage and his country's future at stake, it's up to Zorro to try to save two unions before it's too late.
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