Hey folks, Harry here... This is a very very early look at this. Most likely the first Test Screening for LEGEND OF ZORRO. Seems to be on its way to being a very fun film with a rough beginning. But then that's what test screening is for, finding the rough bits and ironing them out. Sounds fun though.
Hello all you Ain't it Cool People,
I just got back from a test screening of the new film The Legend of Zorro, starring Antoni Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprising their roles from the previous film, "The Mask of Zorro." I will spare you from the really big spoilers even though the flick is mostly predictable but fun. The temp track included music from movies like, Aliens, Mask of Zorro, Willow, The Green Mile, Waterworld, The Mummy Returns, and Cutthroat Island.
The Good
The hot blond sitting next to my left in the theater. The Even hotter brunette sitting to my right. The fact that the blond had a PSP and was watching Spider-Man 2 before the movie started. (I have to get myself one of those! The PSP I mean. I'm already married.) Anyway, the movie had two standout performances and neither of them were Banderas or Zeta-Jones. (Although both were excellent and Catherine was stunning as always.) No, the best two characters in the movie were Zorro's kid Joaquin (played by relative newcomer Adrian Alonso) who is a welcome presence and brings an added degree of humor that only a kid can provide and Nick Chinlund is absolutely diabolical as the bad guy and clearly has a great time being bad. Alonso has one great scene towards the end of the whole thing where he realizes something and the look of utter joy that crosses his face is priceless. The second hour is non stop and full of action. The horse makes for some great comic relief. The final fight aboard a runaway train is probably one of the more original action sequences I have seen. The cinematography is beautiful and there is one shot aboard said train involving a horse that I have definitely never seen in a movie ever. The sword play is excellent which is expected for a Zorro movie.
The Bad
While the movie has some great points. The first hour can be described in two words. Fucking Tedious. It was like the filmmakers said, "Let's get the boring shit out of the way in the first hour and cram the action into the last hour when everybody starts to wake up." The action and funny stuff are a very precious few and far between in the first half. I felt there was no sense of urgency until the second half. All the scenes with Rufus Sewell who takes on this terrible French Accent were the biggest offenders. I was half expecting him to say "I am FRENCH! Can you not tell by my OUTRAGEOUS ACCENT?!?!?" Also the opening fight reeks of stupidity especially the fact that there were so many shots of Zorro jumping that he almost looked like Superman flying through the air. I actually found myself somewhat bored by this opening fight which was much better in "Mask of Zorro." Also, Banderas has a drunk scene which is completely out of character for Zorro. And one final nit pick: the green screen work was a little more than obvious.
FINAL ANALYSIS
For the most part, the movie is entertaining. However, the first hour and Rufus Sewell almost kill the flick. If they fix the first hour before final release, it has the potential to be one of the bigger hits of the year. If you post this, call me:
Big Daddy Chingon
And here's another... slightly more negative, but given the rough state of the film, that's to be expected. There's a few spoilers here - so steer clear if ya don't wanna know. Here ya go...
Long time reader, first time writer...
They screened Legend of Zorro in Burbank this evening, and I was lucky
enough to be in attendance. It's a work print, 126 min. long, and a
lot of the fx (especially the rear-projection work in the climax) will
hopefully be fixed, and some of the music was temp (and really well
known stuff too, Waterworld, Aliens, etc... quite distracting). As
for the movie...
Well, first off, let me state that Mask Of Zorro is my favorite action
film of the 1990s and my pick, in terms of pure quality, for the best
pure superhero movie ever. In fact, along with Almost Famous, it's
one of the two films I show to potential friends and lovers to gauge
their taste. You don't have to like Batman, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction,
Airplane, etc. But you oughta love those two. Anyway... MINOR
spoilers
Is the sequel as good as the original? Not a chance. But is that a
bad thing per se? Not really. It's a very different story, not
nearly as Campellian, with the classic arctypical elements at play,
and thus less iconic. It's simply a really good adventure story which
continues the journey of the two main characters (Zorro and Mrs.
Zorro) while introducing a few new ones (Zorro's son, a friendly
priest, two very cool villians). The new plot (which I won't reveal,
since the trailers don't) is actually pretty complicated, and it's not
till near the end till we understand where everyone fits into this
scheme (minor spoiler - one of the major antagonist forces actually
works for the side good, allowing for much shades of grey).
The action is every bit as cleanly and widely shot and easy to follow
as you'd expect from Martin Campbell (he even talks about that on the
commentary for the first one). There is about as much action as in
the first film, but the middle act has more brief bits of action, as
opposed to the two long set pieces in the first film between the
opening and the climax (interestingly, there is a bit less sword
dueling in this film, with more chases, fights, and escapes). This
film's terrifically exciting opening set piece, involving a murderous
attempt to steal voting ballots, immedietely reminds you what was so
darn good about the first one (using the original themes whenever
possible doesn't hurt either), while introducing a terrific new
villain (a lively, murderous bible-thumping racist, I was thrilled to
see him come back after the opening). Other than that, my favorite
action scene involves a small scale rescue of a young couple and their
child (around 45 min in), it's quite intense because likable, but
potentially expendible, characters are in real danger. The eventual
main story involves the trouble of balancing being a superhero to a
city, and being a superhero to your own wife and child, and outside
forces that complicate that even further. Without going into details,
it provides a nice dramatic arc for the whole Zorro family (though not
nearly as pathos-filled as the first film's sense of bitter loss and
sorrow), with ample amounts of comedy (Bandaras is drunk alot in
middle fourth, and he's as funny as expected) and the requisite
buckling of swash. In the end all is resolved, a logical evil plot is
foiled (it's not as ingenious as the scheme from the first film, but
it again takes advantage of outside forces and real historical
events), and all is set for the next adventure (hopefully in sooner
than 7 years though).
Again, I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first (if Mask was
an A+, this is a B+/A-), but I give the film credit for not retelling
the first film in different locations. It's a quirkier, more low-key
plot, with much less brooding, and less grand superhero themes. The
child of Bandaras and Jones is slightly annoying, but he does have an
arc and a role to play (one scene involving school house hijinks
should be cut, the rest is ok). I'm sure I'll enjoy it more once the
music is in place, as it really was distracting to be figuratively
tapping my toes to the Zorro theme, then have the music jarringly cut
into Waterworld. And the rear projection isn't finished yet, so the
climax will look better in October (at least I hope it's not finished,
I didn't have the heart to ask Mr. Campell outside the theatre). Oh,
and a major cheap fakeout involving the alleged death of a major ally
is really terrible, to the point where I was annoyed for several
minutes. Note to Campbell and Co... either kill him off for real and
just knock him out, don't pull that junk. Regardless of my qualms, I
had a blast watching it and I look forward to seeing the finished cut
in October. It's not a classic like the first film, but it's a darn
good adventure movie and well worth looking forward to.
