Didn't they just make a Zorro movie?

[Peter Paltridge]

Is this a sequel? Because it looks like the exact same movie as "The Mark of Zorro." Did they just cut-and-paste all the scenes, then insert a new star?

[mookie75]

The Mask of Zorro came out way back in 1998. I remember because it was my first year of teaching after college. Antonio Banderas was the star in that one too (although Anthony Hopkins was technically the "original" Zorro, but you only saw him in the mask at the very beginning of the film. After that it was about Hopkins training Banderas to be the new Zorro).

I loved The Mask of Zorro, but the preview for this sequel leaves me a bit wary. I don't think I'll like it if they push the whole "Your son hardly knows you because you're always off being Zorro" thing too much. Also, I won't like it much if the kid manages to accidentally save the day or something. That's been done a few times in various types of films (Phantom Menace and The Mummy Returns come to mind) and it rarely works for me. :sweat:

Nonetheless, I'll probably check this new one out just because I liked the original.

[LazyReaper]

The new Zorro movie is indeed a sequel to "The Mask of Zorro". This one is supposed to tell the story of Zorro as he tries (tried?) to deal with his duties as a crime fighter and a father.

[Michael24]

Kind of surprised how long it took for a sequel to get made, considering how popular the first one seemed to be, although it bored me to pieces.

[DisneyBoy]

It was a good movie, but it didn't need a sequel. This is more a career move than anything else.

[mookie75]

I read somewhere (Entertainment Weekly I think) that even after they finished the first movie they really weren't considering a sequel. I think that's why it took them 7 years or so to do it.

I wonder if this sequel could possibly compare. I think a large part of what made the first movie enjoyable was the impulsive, arrogant, and often irrational behavior of Banderas's character. One would assume he wouldn't be as rough around the edges after a decade or so of being Zorro.


One of my favorite moments from the original:

Banderas grabs a sword and swings it around wildly
Hopkins: Do you know how to use that thing?
Banderas: Yes! The pointy end goes in the other man! :anime:

[Peter Paltridge]

Also, I won't like it much if the kid manages to accidentally save the day or something. That's been done a few times in various types of films (Phantom Menace and The Mummy Returns come to mind) and it rarely works for me. :sweat:

Nonetheless, I'll probably check this new one out just because I liked the original.
Alex O'Connell rarely saved the day by "accident." Maybe in the beginning of the movie, but he took charge in a few scenes pretty well. I thought he was going to be some annoying appendage that Evie and Rick would constantly have to rush around saving, but he wasn't.
Okay, I'll admit it--maybe I DID enjoy The Mummy Returns a little too much. I know everything is overdone and the heroes are always saving themselves at the LAST SECOND, but I thought a nuclear family vs. unstoppable evil, as opposed to one macho dude with a gun vs. unstoppable evil, was a fresh change. So who knows--if they do it right, the Zorro sequel could be good. I at least know from the posters that his wife fights too. But my opinion is that the first movie ended well and doesn't need to be continued.

[halinar]

Nope, not because Hollywood is out of ideas.

It's easier to make a part II to something than attempt a new movie.

[EinBebop]

Every time....

If I were in charge of this place, I'd ban sequel-*****ing.

[SirLemming]

I loved The Mask of Zorro, but the preview for this sequel leaves me a bit wary. I don't think I'll like it if they push the whole "Your son hardly knows you because you're always off being Zorro" thing too much. Also, I won't like it much if the kid manages to accidentally save the day or something. That's been done a few times in various types of films (Phantom Menace and The Mummy Returns come to mind) and it rarely works for me. :sweat: Speaking of The Mummy Returns, there's a moment in this Zorro trailer that's extremely similar to a moment in the Mummy Returns trailer -- where the kid says "My dad is going to kick your--[interrupted]".

I'm hardly discounting the entire movie just because of that, of course.

In related news, I've discovered that almost every line in the trailer is whispered.

[mookie75]

Alex O'Connell rarely saved the day by "accident." Maybe in the beginning of the movie, but he took charge in a few scenes pretty well. I thought he was going to be some annoying appendage that Evie and Rick would constantly have to rush around saving, but he wasn't.
Okay, I'll admit it--maybe I DID enjoy The Mummy Returns a little too much. I know everything is overdone and the heroes are always saving themselves at the LAST SECOND, but I thought a nuclear family vs. unstoppable evil, as opposed to one macho dude with a gun vs. unstoppable evil, was a fresh change. So who knows--if they do it right, the Zorro sequel could be good. I at least know from the posters that his wife fights too. But my opinion is that the first movie ended well and doesn't need to be continued.*sigh* I figured there would be someone who would have to argue semantics. There always is.... :rolleyes2

Well, I was mainly thinking of that "oops" moment in the beginning of the movie. How funny that little Anakin utters that same phrase in The Phantom Menace. :shrug: (By the way, I DID like The Mummy Returns. Although I liked the first one better.)

I guess children in movies are really hit and miss with me. Sometimes I can't stand them and sometimes I love them. Little Anakin and Alex O'Connell just irritated me for some reason. On the other hand, I liked Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense" and "Forrest Gump" and Dakota Fanning in "War of the Worlds" (although she's a little older than the others I think). Of course, those are just a few examples that came to mind.

Time will tell if I like the son in the Zorro sequel. If he's a rotten actor then he won't have much of a chance. :sweat:

[Mynd Hed]

I guess children in movies are really hit and miss with me. Sometimes I can't stand them and sometimes I love them. Little Anakin and Alex O'Connell just irritated me for some reason. On the other hand, I liked Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense" and "Forrest Gump" and Dakota Fanning in "War of the Worlds" (although she's a little older than the others I think). Of course, those are just a few examples that came to mind.

I think it's a little easier for a child character to work in dramas like Forrest Gump than action movies like Star Wars, the Mummy films, and the Zorro series. As for WotW, that was (by intention if not in the final result) as much drama as action, and even so you seem to be in the minority in liking the Dakota Fanning part.
In any case, I think the disparity has more to with the ability (or lack thereof) of screenwriters to find something for child characters to do in action movies than the acting talents of the child actors in question. I mean, if a child character can't save the day (because that's unrealistic) and can't need rescuing all the time (because that's just annoying), then what does that leave?

[mookie75]

I think it's a little easier for a child character to work in dramas like Forrest Gump than action movies like Star Wars, the Mummy films, and the Zorro series. As for WotW, that was (by intention if not in the final result) as much drama as action, and even so you seem to be in the minority in liking the Dakota Fanning part.
In any case, I think the disparity has more to with the ability (or lack thereof) of screenwriters to find something for child characters to do in action movies than the acting talents of the child actors in question. I mean, if a child character can't save the day (because that's unrealistic) and can't need rescuing all the time (because that's just annoying), then what does that leave?Fair enough. Again, I was just citing examples off the top of my head. I don't even know why I included Forrest Gump since the kid was hardly in it anyway. Incidentally, I may be in the minority about Dakota Fanning on this board, but that doesn't seem to be the case with everyone else that I talk to about the movie. I guess she lost points with this crowd for not wearing a black cape and cowl and for lacking an overly-dramatized "dark past." :p

In the Mummy Returns, I felt Alex's shining moments were when he was trying to irritate that big bulky guard that was in charge of watching him (forgot his name). Their scenes on the train were quite funny and, imo, a much better use of a child actor than something like the "oops" scene at the beginning of the movie. He may not have "saved the day" at the end of the movie, but if you think about it they would have been dead at the very beginning of the movie if all those pillars hadn't accidentally come down and crashed through the wall. :shrug:

I think it comes down to a combination between acting ability and screenwriting. Poorly delivered lines can ruin a movie moment just as quickly as a poorly written script. And they don't get a break just because they're kids -- it's been proven in the past that really young children can be exceptional actors. Just like grown ups, I guess some have it and some don't. :anime: