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News / Columns / Critics Consensus
Critical Consensus: "Zorro" Off The Mark, "Saw II" A Little Rusty
by Tim Ryan | October 27, 2005
Discuss Article
This week's wide releases contain tales of existential, angst-ridden meteorologists ("The Weather Man"), psychopaths in sequels ("Saw II"), swashbuckling spouses ("The Legend of Zorro"), and the trials and tribulations of love ("Prime"). Which of these films will get good marks from the critics?

Zorro is back! And this time he's facing his biggest challenge yet.... domestic issues! Yes, one of the silver screen's favorite heroes is married with child in "The Legend of Zorro," starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. "Legend" is an attempt to mix swashbuckling with family fare, both onscreen and off, but the results are mixed at best, critics say, and too campy and -- gasp! -- dull at worst. At 46 percent on the Tomatometer, this "Zorro" isn't leaving much of a mark. And it's definitely a cut below its predecessor, "The Mask of Zorro," which galloped off with an 86 percent.

The original "Saw" didn't exactly score with critics (45 percent), but its perverse, squirm-inducing catch-22s turned it into an instant cult favorite. Now comes "Saw II," which also features the antics of Jigsaw, but ups the stakes with more potential victims. While some scribes say "Saw II" succeeds on its own grisly terms, others say it's so repulsive that it disgusts more than it thrills. At 50 percent, this is a rusty "Saw" that may still cut, depending on your taste.

Nicolas Cage's character in "The Weather Man" seems to be drawn from a lyric in "Stormy Weather:" "Life is bare/ Gloom and misery everywhere/ Stormy weather/ Just can't get my poor old self together." That's also an apt summary of what the critics are saying about the film. Cage stars as a Chicago TV meteorologist who is unhappy with both his professional and family life. And while some critics have praised the film for its (very) dry, dark humor, others say it's too much of a slog, too dark to really resonate. At 57 percent on the Tomatometer, this one's mostly cloudy.

A romance with an age gap, set in Manhattan, with its protagonists in therapy... is "Annie Hall" back in theaters? Nope, it's "Prime," starring Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep, and Bryan Greenberg. The scribes say this May-December rom-com has its moments, but lacks a strong forward drive. At 43 percent on the Tomatometer, this one might not be ready for "Prime" time.

Recent Swashbuckling Films:
---------------------------------
80% -- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
86% -- The Mask of Zorro (1998)
37% -- The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
26% -- The Three Musketeers (1993)
100% -- The Princess Bride (1987)

Related Items
Movie: The Princess Bride
The Legend of Zorro
The Three Musketeers
The Man in the Iron Mask
The Mask of Zorro
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Annie Hall
The Weather Man
Prime
Saw
Celeb: Antonio Banderas
Meryl Streep
Uma Thurman
Nicolas Cage
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Bryan Greenberg
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Comments (1-4 of 4 posts) | Reply
synergyred
synergyred writes:
on Oct 27 2005 06:35 PM

Was The Weather Man orginally supposed to come out last spring? I could have sword I saw trailers for it. Well, it looks amusing and if I have time I'll end up seeing it. Too bad the reviews are less than steller.

And it's a shame about Zorro too. They really should have just stuck with the orginal I guess.


(Reply to this)
HoneycombSAFARI
HoneycombSAFARI writes:
on Oct 28 2005 09:03 PM

im a gore hound so im looking forward to saw 2

(Reply to this)
dudemovies
dudemovies writes:
on Oct 29 2005 07:32 AM

In reply to this comment (#827104)
[b]Yep[/b]
It was supposed to come out April 1st than September 23 or 30


(Reply to this)
zeromark16
zeromark16 writes:
on Oct 30 2005 11:45 AM

i was waiting for a year and a half for the weatherman. it didnt disappoint- nicolas cage deserves best actor this year (because we all know the academy wont consider mickey rourke or christian bale despite them deserving it too)

(Reply to this)
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