'Legend of Zorro' is rip-roaringly fun

Seven years after first donning the black mask and cape, Antonio Banderas once again rides to the rescue in "The Legend of Zorro" (Columbia), the rip-roaringly fun sequel to his 1998 adventure, "The Mask of Zorro."

Picking up the story 10 years after the first film, "Legend," set in 1850, finds the aristocratic Alejandro de la Vega (Banderas) -- aka Zorro -- fighting a different sort of battle: domestic discord.

Now a husband and father, Alejandro craves a more normal life, but can't quite kick the crime-fighting habit. His wife, Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), wants him to hang up his bullwhip and stop being an absentee dad to their young son (Adrian Alonso), leaving our dashing hero torn between family responsibility and his destiny as the cloaked defender of Old California's oppressed and downtrodden.

If this all sounds a bit heavy for a Zorro flick, don't worry; the marital strife story line doesn't get in the way of what the movie is really about: derring-do swordplay. And there is plenty of it, as Zorro must foil the sinister plot of a secret Masonic-like fraternity to sabotage California's bid for statehood and disrupt the union by jump-starting the Civil War.

Rounding out the cast are Rufus Sewell as haughty French blueblood Armand, the film's villain, who makes the moves on Elena after she and Alejandro temporarily separate; Nick Chinlund as Jacob McGivens, Armand's dastardly henchman; and Julio Oscar Mechoso as feisty Fray Felipe, Zorro's loyal confessor.

Directed as before by Martin Campbell, "Legend" lacks the freshness of the original and the plot is rapier thin, but as popcorn fare goes it deserves to be rated "Z" for zestfully entertaining.

The swashbuckling stunt pieces are more spectacular this time around; they include a bravura opening sequence and a thrilling -- if admittedly ridiculous -- climax aboard a runaway train. As to the violence, though modern moviemaking allows for heightened intensity, the highflying action has the throwback feel of old-time serials and the silent films of Douglas Fairbanks (Hollywood's original Zorro).

"Good" and "evil" are clearly defined, and Zorro's populist predispositions put him on the side of the poor and the powerless.

As in "Mask," what makes the sequel work is the spirited chemistry between Banderas and Zeta-Jones, whose verbal fencing skills have remained saber-sharp.

Campbell does a good job balancing action, romance and lighthearted comedy, which should appeal to an audience as broad as the brim on Zorro's caballero hat. Phil Meheux's lustrous cinematography injects a nostalgic touch of Old Hollywood glamour, as does James Horner's billowy score.

If "Legend" does anywhere near as well as "Mask," you can bet the hacienda that this ride won't be Zorro's last.

The film contains much stylized violence, peril, some mildly crude expressions and sexual innuendo. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested.

-- David DiCerto

Prime

The older woman-younger man liaison has been done countless times before. Think Dumas' "Camille" and its operatic spinoff, "La Traviata." Or Colette's "Cheri."

And here it is again in "Prime" (Universal), a generally amusing, if at times morally problematic Manhattan-based story about a 37-year-old divorcee named Rafi (Uma Thurman). She has just split with her husband after nine years. Much to her surprise, and against the advice of her friends (including the obligatory gay confidants), she falls in love with a hunky 23-year-old Jewish man, David (Bryan Greenberg), an aspiring artist who lives with his grandparents.

Unbeknownst to both of them, David is the son of Rafi's psychiatrist, Lisa, played by Meryl Streep in another impressive character portrayal: brown wig, glasses and a New York Jewish cadence.

She is determined her son will marry within his faith, and as she hears Rafi's increasingly more detailed descriptions of her burgeoning love life, she puts two and two together and figures out it's her son her patient is seeing. (In the course of treating Rafi, there's some extremely in-your-face talk about her sexual activities.)

Before she intuited the truth, however, she had been encouraging the union. ("It might even do you some good," she counsels, emblematic of an overly indulgent view of premarital sex that permeates the film.)

Lisa then finds herself with the ethical dilemma of helping her client, against her better judgment, or protecting her son. Ben Younger's directorial debut (he also wrote the script) is well-acted, and has moments of humor, sometimes bordering on the farcical, and charm. Besides Streep's bravura turn, Thurman gives an appealing, sympathetic portrayal, and Greenberg is fine as David, etching a basically decent character, and making his maturation believable.

With Dave such a mature-looking 23, and Rafi such a youthful 37, the age differential is less problematic than everyone's casualness about the affair. The sexual component of the relationship is illustrated by several nonexplicit lovemaking scenes.

On the plus side, the affair at least very quickly morphs into one with real love and affection (with Rafi and David deeply committed to the relationship) -- she helps him with his painting career -- and the bittersweet ending is admirably realistic, with Rafi ultimately doing "the right thing."

Dramatically at least, Streep's tolerance of an affair she's clearly not happy about is a nice touch. Another film would have stereotypically made her the inflexible obstacle to the romance.

The film contains scattered profanity, crude language and expressions, frank sexual talk, several nonexplicit sex scenes, strongly permissive view of premarital sex and infidelity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

-- Harry Forbes

Harry Forbes is director and David DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.