Superhero Media: The Legend of Zorro

I don't recall ever having heard anything about this film, even though it came out more than a decade ago and was the sequel to a popular hit, no one seemed to have anything to say about it. Naturally, this lack of discourse leads to the assumption that The Legend of Zorro is not a good film, which is fair, but incorrect; whilst it lacks the strength of narrative and performance of The Mask of Zorro, it is very much enjoyable in its own right. Years after the events of The Mask of Zorro, Alejandro and Elena are married with a school-age son and Zorro is the hero of the people, aiding in California joining the United States of America. Friction exists between Alejandro and Elena, as the latter wants the former to give up the mantle of Zorro to be with his family, but the people seem unable to give up their need for Zorro. Before a detente is reached, Elena is picked up by Pinkerton men and forced to divorce Alejandro. 

What follow is a straightforward "get the girl back" narrative meets a "stop the evil plan" narrative with the twist of Elena being engaged to the bad guy as part of a Pinkerton spying mission. The Legend of Zorro may be far from original, but the actors deliver and the pace is rapid enough that boredom never sets in. The film actually makes an interesting contrast to Wild Wild West, of all things, as both feature a cadre of wealthy men as the villains and a person of colour as the hero, supporting a pro-USA line. I still stand by what I said in that article, with Loveless being the crusading hero against American Imperialism, but in The Legend of Zorro, joining the United States is actually the better offer as it means freedom from the oligarchy of the corrupt Dons and a stronger front against the Confederacy. Yes, Zorro and his people are in for a nasty shock when they find out how Spanish language speakers will be treated in the USA in a few years' time, but for now, things look good as part of the USA. 

In the third act, there is a climatic train sequence which seemed oddly familiar to me, until I remembered watching The Lone Ranger; I wouldn't say that The Lone Ranger lifted the entire sequence from The Legend of Zorro, but the horse chase on top of the train and the hero needing to rescue his wife and son from the rich guy in his luxury carriage are strikingly similar. I'm not sure what a third film in this series would have looked like, but I think I would have liked to see it, even with Legend being less entertaining that Mask was. A reason for Zorro to quit would have been interesting to see, perhaps passing the torch or even revealing himself to the world in one last act of heroism. Again, I wonder why there aren't more Zorro films coming out? It seems like an easy sell and Colombia/Tristar/Sony Pictures have been struggling to get a superhero franchise up and running since the Rami Spider-Man series. How is a swashbuckling, cowboy, Hispanic vigilante not a good idea in the current film climate? Hell, Colombia last had the rights to The Green Hornet, there's a "Cinematic Universe" waiting to happen.