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''The Legend of Zorro'' is a 2005 American swashbuckler adventure film and sequel to ''The Mask of Zorro'' (1998), directed by Martin Campbell, produced by Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Lloyd Phillips with music by James Horner and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, Elena, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain, Count Armand. The film takes place in San Mateo County, California and was shot in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with second-unit photography in Wellington, New Zealand. The film was theatrically released on October 24, 2005 by Columbia Pictures. The film earned $142.4 million on a $75 million budget. ==Plot== In 1850 (nine years after the events of the first film), California is voting on whether to join the United States of America as a state. A wild gunman with wooden teeth, Jacob McGivens, attempts to steal some ballots, but Zorro chases after him and recaptures the votes. In their scuffle, McGivens pulls off Zorro's mask. A pair of Pinkerton agents recognize him as Don Alejandro de la Vega. Zorro fashions a makeshift mask from his costume and rides off on his stallion, Tornado, to deliver the votes to the governor. Upon returning to his mansion, Alejandro is greeted by his loving wife, Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Elena believes that Alejandro can now up give his alter ego, but Alejandro is sure that the people will still need him. The next day, after sending their son Joaquin to school, Elena is confronted by the Pinkertons, who disclose their knowledge of Zorro's identity. Soon after, Elena is forced to have Alejandro served with divorce papers. Three months later, Alejandro, living in a hotel, is depressed over the separation from Elena and having not been summoned as Zorro since the divorce. His friend and childhood guardian, Father Felipe, convinces him to attend a party at French Count Armand's new vineyard, where Alejandro discovers that Elena has been dating the count. Later, after leaving the party and getting drunk, Alejandro witnesses a huge explosion close to Armand's mansion and becomes suspicious of Armand. Afterwards, McGivens and his men attack a peasant family and Alejandro's friends, the Cortezes, in order to seize their land deed. Taking up his identity as Zorro, Alejandro succeeds in rescuing Guillermo's wife and infant son, but McGivens shoots Guillermo before disappearing with his gang, the deed to the Cortez home in hand. Zorro subsequently stakes McGivens out at Armand's mansion and discovers that Armand wanted Cortez's land to build a railroad. Zorro encounters Elena, and learns that Armand will receive a mysterious shipment; Zorro then tracks McGivens to a cove where the count's cargo is being delivered. On a nearby class trip, however, Joaquin also comes across McGiven's gang and hitches a ride. Zorro saves his son from the bandits, but the only clues he is able to retrieve regarding the shipment are a piece of the cargo, a bar of soap, and the name ''Orbis Unum'' from a crate lid. Felipe and Alejandro then learn that Armand is the head of a secret society, the Knights of Aragon, which secretly ruled Europe in the past. Armand plans to throw the United States, which is perceived as a threat to the Knights, into chaos before it can gain too much power. Sometime later, Alejandro is captured by the Pinkertons, who inform him of their plan to blackmail Elena into divorcing him and getting close to Armand to discover his plans; since California is not yet a state, they could not conduct a legal investigation. Joaquin stumbles upon his father's whereabouts and frees him from prison. Zorro goes to Armand's mansion, meets Elena, and eavesdrops on Armand's meeting, learning that the soap bars contain glycerin – a precursor to nitroglycerin. Armand plans to distribute the substance throughout the Confederate Army, with the help of Confederate Colonel Beauregard, to destroy the Union. Zorro and Elena reconcile concerning her involvement with the Pinkertons, and Zorro prepares to destroy the train carrying the explosives. McGivens arrives at Felipe's church to look for Zorro, but unable to find him, instead shoots the priest and kidnaps Joaquin. At the mansion, Armand is informed by his butler, Ferroq, about Elena's deception. Showing her the bodies of the dead Pinkerton agents who died in vain, Armand brutally confronts her with his knowledge. He takes her and Joaquin hostage on the ten-car train, forcing Zorro to stop his own sabotage of the train, getting himself captured. Zorro is unmasked in front of his wife and son, much to Joaquin's shock. Joaquin and Elena are taken away by Armand, while McGivens is tasked with killing Alejandro. Unexpectedly, Felipe arrives and helps Alejandro overpower McGivens, who is killed when a drop of nitro lands on his head. Felipe then reveals that the crucifix around his neck shielded him from McGivens' bullet when he was shot in the church, and Alejandro goes to save Elena and Joaquin. Zorro catches up with and lands – along with Tornado – inside the ninth car of the train, and engages Armand in a sword fight. Meanwhile, Elena has Joaquin escape into the back cars of the train, which she subsequently disconnects. Elena then fights Ferroq in the nitro storage car; both he and Colonel Beauregard are then killed in an explosion. Joaquin collects Tornado, Zorro's horse, jumps off the train, and then follows the train on Tornado. Further along the tracks, under the eyes of a huge crowd, the governor is preparing to sign the bill to make California a state. As the train gets closer, Joaquin leads Tornado to hit a track switch, causing the train to pass around the governor's car. Zorro and Armand's duel takes them to the very front of the locomotive; however, the track is a dead end, blocked by a large pile of rails. Zorro hooks Armand to the train and escapes with Elena. The train plows Armand into the block, killing him and causing the nitroglycerin to detonate, destroying the train. With Zorro as an official witness, the governor later signs the bill, and California becomes the 31st state of the United States of America. Later, Felipe remarries Alejandro and Elena with Joaquin as the only witness. Alejandro apologizes to his son for not telling him the truth, and he admits that Zorro's identity is a family secret rather than just his own, being passed from father to son. Elena then allows Alejandro to continue being Zorro, accepting his secret identity. Zorro then rides off on Tornado to his next mission. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Legend of Zorro」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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