Reception, Home media.
The Legend of Zorro currently holds a rating of 47 out of 100 on Metacritic, and a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with its consensus stating, “Zorro can survive a lot of things, but it looks like he can’t survive marriage”. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a below-average review, awarding it one and a half out of four stars, commenting that “of all of the possible ideas about how to handle the Elena character, this movie has assembled the worst ones.” James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave The Legend of Zorro two out of four stars, saying that “the action is routine”, “the chemistry between the two leads, which was one of the highlights of The Mask of Zorro, has evaporated during the intervening years”, and that the movie “fails to recapture the pleasure offered by The Mask of Zorro.” The film was released on DVD and VHS on January 31, 2006. Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com praised the film, calling it “entertaining, bold, and self-effacing at once”, noting the civic and parental questions it raises. Slate Magazine critic David Edelstein also praised the film, in particular the action scenes, villains, and chemistry between Banderas and Zeta-Jones. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film was “watchable – not remotely enjoyable, but watchable.”