MARK Twain might well be turning in his grave with the way the anti-imperialists are portrayed in The Legend of Zorro. There’s the foreigner super-villain with the funny accent, the conspiring secret society that hates America for its strength and power (gee that’s a new one), and a few redneck racists misquoting scriptures from the Bible. Basically, Anti-Imperialists: Bad. People into post-colonial theory will similarly be slapping their heads as the film rejoices in American conquest, which can be seen as thinly-veiled propaganda for the American push in the world order these days to bring freedom, order, and civilization wherever it goes. That’s a hoot, ain’t it? As far as the politics of this film go, it’s all one big hurrah for the US of A. America good, anti-American bad. People with funny accents, not all bad since Zorro has one. And, well, pretty much everyone in this movie has a funny accent, come to think of it.
One wonders why it took so long for the sequel to The Mask of Zorro to come out. It was wildly successful and helped to launch Catherine Zeta-Jones’s career. There was great chemistry between her and Antonio Banderas, and the movie was a rollicking good time. It seems that the American agenda drives The Legend of Zorro; its politics wouldn’t sit well with anyone who’s not in agreement with George W. Bush and his ilk. One can only hope it was shooting schedules and not the need for American sloganeering that merited its arrival now.
If you can ignore the film’s appalling politics, though, you’re in for a really good time. Director Martin Campbell knows how to shoot up the adrenaline with some great stunts, slow things down with some romance, and pull off all kinds of laughs. From slapstick to witty exchanges, there are a lot of laughs to be had, especially when Banderas’s Alejandro gets drunk at a party or when he and Zeta-Jones are squaring off verbally.
The movie finds Zorro and his wife Elena at a crossroads. Amidst marital troubles over Alejandro’s unwillingness to put the mask away and live the quiet life, a plot that threatens California’s joining the American Union arises. This pretty much opens the door for some great horse chases, swashbuckling, acrobatic stunts, and all that other cool stuff that Zorro does.
A new addition is Joaquin (Adrian Alonso), Alejandro and Elena’s son who’s a good bit of mischief and shows off just as much smarts and agility as his father’s alter ego. The kid can act, and he only adds to the great chemistry already going on between the two leads.
The movie’s at its best when it’s light-hearted. There are a lot of funny scenes with Zorro’s horse, Tornado, and, in general, Zorro’s a bit of a goofball, in an endearing way. He’s great at what he does, but Banderas plays him well as just an ordinary guy doing extraordinary things, the kind of guy who make mistakes too. It humanizes the hero, and some of the most memorable scenes are the squabbles with Elena where it shows just how petty our hero can be.
The politics are terrible, more than enough to make anyone reading into it gag. Thankfully, though, this movie has everything else going for it. As an action comedy film it will excite and it will make you laugh.
