History Film / TheLegendOfZorro

%%* BadassFamily:

** Zorro's son is unable to recognize his own father's face or voice, while talking to him, because part of Zorro's eyes are covered by his facemask.

Ten years after the last film's events, the demands on Franchise/{{Zorro}} are putting a strain on Alejandro and Elena's marriage, so they have a temporary trial separation. Meanwhile, a new SmugSnake (Creator/RufusSewell) has entered the scene with eyes on both Elena and UsefulNotes/{{California}}, whose impending statehood is imperiled when Alejandro uncovers yet another conspiracy to carve the state and hand it over to various baddies. Cue a desperate battle on multiple fronts to win the day and the girl.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: What happens to the two Pinkerton agents eventually. They weren't proper villains and at their most antagonistic, they were merely obstructive InspectorJavert characters who saw no need for Zorro and had their own ideas on how to save the country. But after [[spoiler: blackmailing Elena into divorcing Alejandro or else they'd release Zorro's identity to all his enemies and driving Zorro's life into the mud]], they had built up enough HateSink characteristics that nobody can really hate Count Armand all that much when he finally [[spoiler: kills the two Pinkerton agents off]], despite being a HateSink character himself who smugly treats Alejandro with disdain and tries to woo Elena openly in front of him.

** In 1850s California, it would be almost impossible for an upper class woman like Elena to divorce her husband and raise her children alone without her social standing ruined. Doubly so for a state which then still retained Mexican Catholic culture, which also looked down on divorce.

* SlapSlapKiss: Elena and Alejandro, in varying proportions, for most of the film. But especially the first time they meet after Alejandro learns that Elena has been working for the Pinkertons, when they get in a fiery argument that ends like this:
-->'''Elena:''' When I said we were never meant to be together... I meant it.\\
'''Alejandro:''' Finally, we agree on something!\\
''[they kiss passionately]''

* SwitchToEnglish: Inverted. After the title character rescues his son from the BigBad's gang, they start a conversation in English. Then Zorro cuts the conversation off and requests that they converse in "the language of our fathers" — Spanish. The rest of the conversation occurs in Spanish with English subtitles.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Some of the most glaring ones in the film, which is set in 1850, are the role of the Confederate States of America (which weren't formed until 1861), the First Transcontinental Railroad (which wasn't completed until 1869; in fact, California wouldn't gain its first railroad until 1856) and the California Statehood Referendum which is entirely fictitious. On top of that, Abraham Lincoln, who is shown welcoming California into the Union, ''never'' travelled to the state, as president or otherwise.

* ClarkKenting: Alejandro was so good at playing the RichIdiotWithNoDayJob that he had his own son Joaquin fooled.

* BigBadDuumvirate: Armand and [=McGivens=].

* SlapSlapKiss: Elena and Alejandro, in varying proportions, for most of the film. But especially the first time they meet after Alejandro learns that Elena has been working for the Pinkertons, when they get in a firey argument that ends like this:

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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Elena marries a rich tycoon who creates weapons of mass destruction and hides them in wine bottles. 'Sounds a lot like a ''Film/{{Notorious}}'' 1946 movie.

%%* IAteWhat: Elena reacts this way when she discovers that [[spoiler:her messenger pigeon was cooked and served to her as dinner by Ferroq.]] %%What was her reaction?

* LighterAndSofter: Overlapping with DenserAndWackier.

** And [=McGivens=] before ''he'' dies in another scene.

* IAteWhat: Elena reacts this way when she discovers that [[spoiler:her messenger pigeon was cooked and served to her as dinner by Ferroq.]]

* ArcWelding: Averted in regards to ''The Mask of Zorro''. Despite the AncientConspiracy aspects of the Knights of Aragon and their European background, their agenda is not retroactively tied to Montero's scheme in the previous film.

* KickTheDog: Basically what the Pinkerton agents did to Alejandro when they [[spoiler: blackmailed Elena into divorcing him and made his life miserable]]. Suffice to say, nobody feels sorry for them when Alejandro finally gets his hands on the two.

--> '''Alejandro:''' [[AC: No-one]] leaves my ''tequila worm'' dangling in the wind!