Legend Of Zorro (Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: A- Extras: C- Film: D
Why is
the Antonio Banderas version of Zorro so forgettable, despite Steven Spielberg
as producer and two-time James Bond director Martin Campbell at the helm? Because the fight scenes that had panache in
the better previous films are jokey and highly over-choreographed here, the
stories unmemorable, the villains cardboard and the overall effect muddy. The
Legend Of Zorro follows the more commercially and critically successful The Mask Of Zorro from 1998, so it is
seven years later and the energy is not even here as it was before.
There is
also the strange feeling that because the film had minority leads, that is why
a sequel was so neglected for so long, whether true or not. For a first film that was such a hit, you’d
think a sequel in any way would have arrived faster. Perhaps is just the feeling that they are
going through the motions, which is certainly the case here. And what is the new adventure about? Zorro has been thrown out of the house by his
wife!
Yes, you
read that right. Could you imagine that
as the pretext for any other major hero franchise? It turns out to be condescending in its
celebration of domesticity as some sick “happy trap” and things promptly get
worse from there. It seems like a
desperate ploy and as the film drags on, things get worse. Rufus Sewell, a grossly underrated actor,
becomes the ex-wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) new lover, but Sewell once again
plays the villain. That just screams how
tired and wasteful the whole affair is.
The result is one of the worst films ever to bear the Zorro name and
makes you think “what were they thinking” and worse. Avoid this turkey!
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition is pretty good as shot by Campbell’s longtime
Director of Photography Phil Meheux, B.S.C., who knows how to make a good
looking film. However, the combination
of too much digital work and some flaws in this transfer hold back a decent
Super 35mm shoot. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1
mix fares better and is a decent sound mix, in part because the best mix for
this film in theaters was a Sony Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS) 7.1 mix resulting
in the default highlight of this dud.
James Horner’s score is not one of his best, though.
Extras
include two multi-angle scene deconstructions, deleted scenes with optional
Campbell commentary, Campbell/Meheux feature length audio commentary and four
behind the scenes featurettes covering stunts, trains, visual effects and more.
You can
read more about the original 1940 Mark
Of Zorro at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3155/Mark+of+Zorro
- Nicholas Sheffo
