Some people might disagree simply because it wasn’t technically based on a comic book, but anybody who doesn’t mind splitting hairs has to agree that The Mask of Zorro is one of the greatest superhero origin stories ever put to film, but Antonio Banderas’ swashbuckler only headlined one more movie after The Legend of Zorro torpedoed what had the potential to be a phenomenal franchise.
Whereas the opener was fast-paced, fun-filled, smoldering, sexy, and action-packed blockbuster brimming with charisma, charm, and entertainment value, the follow-up was a relentlessly dull slog that felt as though every ounce of energy had been sucked from its entire being.
It’s right there in the numbers, too; Legend‘s 27 percent Rotten Tomatoes approval rating was miles behind Mask‘s 83 percent, while the user average similarly plummeted from 73 to 48, and the second installment earned over $100 million less at the global box office to hammer a nail into the saga’s coffin at least one film too soon, if there was any justice in the world.
What followed was nearly two decades of repeated attempts to reboot the titular vigilante to no avail, but at long last the mask-wearing swordsman is on his way back to live-action for the first time since 2005. Coincidentally, The Legend of Zorro has embarked on a comeback at exactly the same time on streaming, even if you’re infinitely better off tracking down Mask instead.
Per FlixPatrol, the shockingly mundane successor to an unsung all-timer of a big budget adventure has thwarted the plans of the nefarious Knights of Aragon on the Rakuten ranks, even if it’s incredibly hard to care.