With a title like The Legend of Zorro, we wouldn't be asking too much for something that feels legendary, which is what makes this sequel to The Mask of Zorro somewhat  disappointing.  It's not that the new movie lacks charm, humor, or thrills -- it's just that most of it is rote. Our modern incarnation of Zorro appears content to use an action-movie template that will do the job it needs to do and then go home; he should demand better.

He deserves better. He deserves something grandiose. Zorro fights for the people of California in the 1850s and has become their public hero. The movie starts off with the right idea, as the populace votes to turn California into a state only to have the ballot box stolen by some snarling villain of dubious motive. Enter Zorro (Antonio Banderas), giving chase to recover the votes and deliver them to the governor.

After this introductory episode, though, the focus shifts to Zorro's more personal concerns as the movie quickly finds an excuse to separate him from his wife Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and sets up a rather convoluted plot about invented misunderstandings. The action stalls a bit to show how Zorro alienates his young son Joaquin (Adrian Alonso), who doesn't know his father, a man he finds rather wimpy, is actually Zorro, one he naturally idolizes. It's all a tad domestic, but mainly these conflicts feel forced. Why should the movie create a quarrel between Zorro and Elena that involves a suspicious love triangle? The obvious answer is to give these two a reason to come back together in the end, but the idea as a whole isn't convincing. Nor is it about anything in relation to Zorro's status as a hero and how he continues to earn his fame and goodwill.

Eventually, Zorro uncovers a secret plot that involves nothing less than a terrorist organization's plans to "destroy the United States of America." The problem? This plot happens to be so secret the public doesn't really know it's happening, or that Zorro even saved them from it in the first place. The story is more about his concerns for his family, which is understandable as a base theme for a family-friendly action movie, but the events of the story don't really add to his "legend," which brings us back to my head-scratching over the film's name and the grandiosity it implies but lacks.

The Legend of Zorro manages to be fun enough, mainly because the stars make it fun. Banderas plays up his character with flair, and it's great to see Zeta-Jones return to the role that introduced her to the world. Alonso is pretty cute too, and the movie retains a light tone to go along with its PG-rated action. It's all rather harmless, which is nothing to carp about, but, at the same time, that's also the problem. The movie feels like a small, indistinct film trapped in a big film's clothes. It tries just hard enough to get by when it should be working more ambitiously to earn that mark of the Z.

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated "PG" for violence/peril and action, language and a couple of suggestive moments.)

Review also posted on www.windowtothemovies.com.