Die Legende des Zorro (The Legend of Zorro)
U.S.A. 2005

Opening 27 Oct 2005

Directed by: Martin Campbell
Writing credits: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Johnston McCulley
Principal actors: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rufus Sewell, Adrian Alonso, Nick Chinlund

Once again directed by Martin Campbell, with screenplay by Roberto Orgi and Alex Kurtzman, Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones return as Alejandro and Elena de la Vega, ten years down the line with Adrian Alonso as their son Joaquin.

Family life for Alejandro de la Vega/Zorro has become complicated. His son Joaquin thinks he's a spineless coward and openly worships Zorro, unaware that his father and the hero are the same person. His wife Elena seems bent on creating a rift between them, pushing towards divorce, apparently charmed by the elegant aristocrat Armand (Rufus Sewell), recently arrived from Europe.

In the meantime, California is about to become the 31st state of the USA, though dark forces tracing their roots back to a mysterious Middle Age secret society are bent against that happening. As if that were not enough, the ruthless McGivens (Nick Chinlund) and his thugs are stealing land from the innocent peasants on behalf of some unscrupulous, unknown character moving behind the scenes.

With all the trouble that is going on, Alejandro is forced to don his Zorro identity more and more frequently at the cost of time spent with his son. Little Joaquin, in turn, decides that he himself has to take on the bad guys because his father is such a wimp, and Elena too has been drawn into the fray against her will, finding herself playing spy for government agents...

The Legend of Zorro does not have a memorable story, but there is enough swashbuckling fun going on throughout the whole movie, to entertain fans of The Mask of Zorro. The young Mexican Adrian Alonso, playing Joaquin, will steal everyone's heart, and this, his first-time peformance, is excellent. (Osanna Vaughn)