The Legend of Zorro: The Hero's Mid-life Crisis

Cassandra 2021-12-14 08:01:06

"Legend of Zorro" was released on Halloween in 2005. It happened to be "Chain Saw 2". Unexpectedly, the industry was unanimously optimistic about the Western action blockbuster, and it was defeated by a low-cost horror movie at the box office. The Saw Horror series was presented to the altar, and since then, the years when the Chainsaw series dominate the Halloween schedule. Zorro, who had a fiasco at the box office, also put an end to his own screen tour. Five years later, when I revisited this movie again, I couldn't help but feel that the box office loss that year was reasonable.

Since I watched the film shortly after watching "Zorro's Mask", it was natural to compare the two films together. The new Zorro in the previous game is handsome and handsome, but in the sequel. The middle-aged heroes are less elegant and more sloppy. Perhaps this is also related to the increase in the age of the male protagonist Antonio Banderas. After all, the sequel is seven years after the predecessor, and the former Latin lover is getting old and looking. And the movements are not as sharp as they were back then. From the perspective of the plot, the story of the previous work is more gimmicky. "Zorro's Mask" is actually a story of the handover of the old and the new Zorro. With the talent and skills taught by the master, the young Zorro's hand-to-hand enemies saved California's People, and also caught a big beauty at the same time, such a plot design allows New Zorro to get a double harvest in family and career in the first episode. In the sequel, the screenwriter had no choice but to find ways to get the middle-aged Zorro into the entanglement of career and family. This is the mid-life crisis often referred to by Westerners. This very modern vocabulary is well reflected in the magic pen of Hollywood screenwriters. This is the hermit hero who lived in the nineteenth century. In the movie, Zorro loses his career in the first episode of his fledgling domineering. In the family, he has to face the incomprehension of his wife and son, and emotionally, he has to face the challenge of his wife's old friend. Fettered by so many worries and pressures, the hero Zorro wanders at both ends of his career and family like a headless fly, not knowing what choice to make.

The heroic demeanor in "The Legend of Zorro" is not there, but Zorro’s family members have become the most powerful characters in the movie. The wife ran to the old lover to play Infernal Affairs, and the son dared to go deep into the tiger's den to spy on the enemy. It was the intelligence of his wife and son that helped the heroes to dismantle the villain's terrifying conspiracy. The powerful performance of his wife and children greatly weakened the personal abilities of Zorro heroes. In the movie, he only acted as the last thug. Catherine Zeta Jones, who was completely used as a vase in the previous game, became a hit girl in the sequel. She could not rely on her husband to be alone. The most amazing thing is Zorro's son. He has such a talent for fighting at a young age. He is really a tiger father. Without dogs, people have to take genetic advantage. At the end, a family of three went into battle and joined forces to eliminate the bullies, which made people feel that the movie had become a live-action version of Superman.

From the perspective of movie genres, "The Legend of Zorro" still bears the stigma of traditional American Westerns. In this age when Westerns have long since declined, Zorro, an old hero, is destined to be unable to reinvigorate the glory of Westerns. One of the major reasons for the failure of this movie was the producer. In the first episode of the good reputation at the box office, he didn't even strike the iron while it was hot, but waited seven years before he came to fried rice. Zorro was still living in a place seven years ago. The age when various comic heroes such as Spider-Man and Iron Man emerged, but for seven years, people have long been accustomed to watching Spider-Man shuttle through the streets of New York, and Batman appeared in the majestic night of Gotham Town. In the eyes of the audience, a hero who rides a horse like Zorro and plays with a Western sword has already become the Don Quixote in the movie, and not many people will appreciate it.

Zorro, a character who has been active on the big screen for many years, finally sinks into the mid-life crisis. Perhaps this is the end of the series. From a story point of view, California has joined the United States at the end of the movie. Zorro’s The responsibilities should also end. If the producer wants this series to exist, I am afraid it can only make a prequel.

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Extended Reading
  • Myrtice 2022-03-26 09:01:06

    Plus one star for Zeta Jones' big boobs

  • Reggie 2021-12-14 08:01:06

    Very good, Zorro is basically the American version of Huang Feihong.

The Legend of Zorro quotes

  • Zorro: Why are you still wearing his necklace?

    Elena: I'm under cover! Besides, these are pearls. You never gave me pearls.

    Zorro: I thought you didn't care about things like that.

    Elena: I lied. Every woman loves pearls.

    Zorro: Well, now you have them, *princess*.

  • Zorro: [drunk] Count Armand, with his fancy wine and his frufru accent. Nobody leaves my tequila worm dangling in the wind...