The Mask of Zorro (1998)

When Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro (Anthony Hopkins) loses everything trying to protect the people (including his wife and daughter) from the evil Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson) he makes a return 20 years later in order to exact his revenge against Montero. Along the way he recruits a younger man Alejandro Murrieta/Zorro (Antonio Banderas) and trains him to avenge the death of his brother who was killed by Montero's right-hand man Captain Harrison Love (Matt Letscher)...At its heart The Mask Of Zorro is a basic revenge thriller with a very old-fashioned sensibility about it; all the swashbuckling that you see here is reminiscent of the likes of The Three Musketeers and Robin Hood. These things aren't intended as a criticism, but more of an observation and the filmmakers are clearly sticking to the tried and tested formula of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it.' In fact it's the film's old-fashioned sense of fun that is one of it's biggest strengths; it is very tongue-in-cheek, with lots of cheeky humour and some amusing visual gags. These light-hearted and playful touches do make the film palatable and ultimately very enjoyable.The main cast of the film seem to buy into this sense of fun and this is more than projected on-screen; it's very rare to see Hopkins in this kind of role and he delivers a strong and mostly fun performance (although the tragedy and misery that has been bestowed upon him by Montero allows Hopkins to also become the heart of the film). Banderas' character & performance more-or-less reflects that of Hopkins and he easily holds his own against veteran Hopkins and the two have a wonderful easy-going charm in this picture. Zeta-Jones doesn't quite have as much to work with, but she does at least buy into the sense of fun. Wilson and Letscher are both strong in supporting roles as the two villains of the piece as well.Where the film suffers slightly is in its storytelling which to be blunt is fairly uninteresting; the revenge side of the story is OK (despite being a bit generic) and it does give the film some momentum, but I never really cared much for Montero's dastardly scheme and his rather elaborate plan to overthrow his adversary - it seems that the writers gave up on this train of thought as well as this aspect of the story never really went anywhere despite its apparent importance to the story...Still the film is fun and the revenge elements of the story had just about enough heart to them to make me care and become involved in the characters and their quests for vengeance. However, some of the weaker aspects of the story do tarnish the film slightly meaning that I couldn't enjoy it quite as much as I should have been able to.

The Mask of Zorro is quite good fun. In this case good fun is enough. The film promises excitement and entertainment and it delivers on its promise. It even gives you two Zorros for the price of one. Anthony Hopkins plays Don Diego de la Vega, Zorro number one. Unfortunately for de la Vega when we meet him his time as a swashbuckling hero is about to be cut short in rather tragic fashion. He loses everything that is dear to him and is tossed into a dungeon. Twenty years later he escapes and plots his revenge. Only by this point he's a little too old for the Zorro stuff. He needs a protégé. Enter Alejandro Murrieta, played by Antonio Banderas. Alejandro, seeking revenge of his own, is raw and uncultured, nowhere near as suave as the original Zorro. And being suave is part of what makes Zorro Zorro. de la Vega will have to teach the new Zorro so much more than how to use a sword.Conveniently the man who wronged Alejandro, Captain Love, is now the right-hand man of Don Montero, the man who wronged de la Vega. They will take their vengeance together. Of course it's not quite that simple, there are complications. As you would expect in a movie of this sort one of those complications is a stunningly beautiful woman. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Elena, the daughter Montero stole from de la Vega when she was an infant all those years ago. Elena and Alejandro fall for each other because of course they do. Meanwhile there are still those bad guys who need to be dispatched and a plot to steal California which needs to be foiled. This of course will involve sword fights. Many, many sword fights. Hey, it's a Zorro movie, what were you expecting? The movie greatly benefits from the performances of its three leads. Hopkins is reliably brilliant and clearly enjoying himself in a role which allows him to have some real fun for once. Banderas really grows into the role of Zorro as the movie progresses. He may not be very suave in the beginning but by the end he's quite the charmer. And Zeta-Jones brings a great spark to the proceedings. Elena's not your stereotypical damsel in distress, she gives as good as she gets. Zeta-Jones fits the role perfectly, full of confidence and charisma. Being drop-dead gorgeous doesn't hurt either. Banderas and Zeta-Jones have great chemistry but so too, in a very different way, do Banderas and Hopkins. Everyone plays off one another ever so well. While certainly not as memorable as the three stars the villains play their parts well too. A movie like this needs strong antagonists and here we are not disappointed, these are some truly hissable villains. Captain Love is so over-the-top in his evilness it's a little hard to believe. But the character is based on a real-life figure so give the movie the benefit of the doubt I suppose. Anyhow if you hate the bad guys, and you will, that can only help the movie in the end as you become more emotionally invested. This movie has a lot going for it. Action, drama, romance. A great story, great actors, great visuals, great music. Heroes to cheer, villains to despise. It's certainly not the most serious-minded of films but it's serious enough when it needs to be. Really good swashbuckling fun, that's what this movie is. What more could you want from Zorro?

Let's get this straight - Batman Begins currently sits at 8.4 on IMDb, but this is less than 7. What? No. These kind of inconsistencies are a reflection of how dumb the masses really are.This film is infinitely better written and directed and acted than the Batman films. The script is clever and interesting, the humour is spot on (didn't even exist in Batman Begins), you can suspend disbelief to the action and really enjoy it (unlike most films these days with thousands of half-second edits and a melee of mess), there's a proper villain (actually two), and the story makes bloody sense.The characters are all well developed and the pacing is perfect. You see, here's the thing, dumb masses: We need characters we can understand and care about in order to care about the film. If this film went the Batman way and just had fast scene after fast scene with a rushed narrative, no-one would care and it would just be another dumb action movie.Clearly The Mask of Zorro loses out because it doesn't have the marketing muscle and brand name of "Batman".My rating: 4/5

Based on one of the grandaddies of modern superheroes, this 90s take on the crime fighting swashbuckler starts during Don Diego De La Vega's final days as Zorro, when his world is turned upside down, his wife killed, daughter stolen and he himself locked away by the corrupt governor of California. A few decades later, Diego escapes and eventually enlists vengeful bandit Alejandro to take up the mantle of Zorro and bring down the governor once and for all before he can carry out a murderous land scheme.Surprisingly well thought out, this Spielberg-produced 'Zorro' is a a fun ride that also discusses the inspirational power of symbols, masks to be precise, and their transcendent powers. The compelling father-son relationship between Diego and Alejandro is the heart of the film, as each man learns something from the other and lives up to the heroic mantle of Zorro in their own way. One learns to be better than vengeance, the other to be a hero for the people, an icon of good. Despite these hefty themes, the film still regularly has a sense of humour to prevent excess dourness, mainly in seeing the boorish Alejandro become a cultured gentleman, as well as his stubborn horse Tornado.The cast embrace the old fashioned nature of the material. Antonio Banderas knocks it out as a thief-turned-smiling charmer, while Anthony Hopkins & Catherine Zeta Jones wonderfully run with their respective roles of wise mentor and spunky lover, as does Stuart Wilson and Matt Letscher as the governor and sadistic captain. Naturally, also having some great set pieces, like the mine duels, and a passionate, Hispanic-infused score by James Horner, help out further.In terms of criticisms, Campbell's Mexican adventure fills out any adventure lover's bill nicely, and so complaints about the lack of anything drastic, original or confrontational would be to miss the point of the material. The only major complaint is perhaps Letscher is a one note, boo-hiss sadist lackey compared to his more layered, even slightly sympathetic superior, but again, that's just part of this sort of material. Honestly, it's the best kind of film that 'does what it says on the tin'.