THE MASK OF ZORRO (1998)
Rating: 3.0 stars (out of 4.0) ******************************** Key to rating system: 2.0 stars - Debatable 2.5 stars - Some people may like it 3.0 stars - I liked it 3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie 4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out ********************************* A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Written by: John Eskow, Terry Rossio, and Ted Elliott. The character Zorro first appeared in Johnston McCulley's serialized 1919 pulp fiction novel THE CURSE OF THE CAPISTRANO.
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Casey the stallion
Ingredients: Romance, masked swordsman, old master training young guy to be a swashbuckling superhero.
Synopsis: The story takes place in 1800s California, then a part of Mexico. A haggard but aristocratic martial arts master named Don Diego (Anthony Hopkins) used to be the sly swashbuckling sword fighting superhero named Zorro ("fox" in Spanish). After 20 years of languishing in an awful prison the nobleman Don Diego finally escapes only to find out that his infant daughter Elena, now a beautiful young woman (Catherine Zeta-Jones), has been raised by his mortal enemy Don Rafael (Stuart Wilson). Elena wrongly believes that she is Rafael's daughter, when in fact Rafael murdered Elena's mother, Don Diego's wife.
Realizing that he is too old to destroy Don Rafael alone, Don Diego trains a young bandit named Alejandro to inherit his superhero legacy (the mask of Zorro), a job description which entails championing the poor and sending corrupt colonial aristocrats scurrying fearfully back to their haciendas with their tails between their legs - - through the use of superior swordsmanship, horsemanship, and the whip.
Similar to a James Bond movie, Alejandro/Zorro romances the bad guy's girl, invades the rich guy's party, sneaks into the compound at night to tangle with guards, gets into a stunt-filled chase (with horses), and discovers how the bad guy plans to get the gold and take power. THE MASK OF ZORRO even ends with a pop theme song. The difference is, James Bond normally discovers the bad guy's master plan after getting captured and tied up with the heroine, but Alejandro/Zorro does not. Also, James Bond takes place in modern times, while the setting of THE MASK OF ZORRO is colonial Mexico.
Will swashbucklers Don Diego and Alejandro save the girl and thwart Don Rafael's greedy, power-hungry plan?
Opinion: Zorro is a character similar to both Robin Hood and Batman. Like Robin Hood, Zorro champions the oppressed poor in a bygone era ruled by the greedy rich. Like the popular Batman (or the earlier Scarlet Pimpernel), Zorro has a secret identity whereby he poses as an affable aristocrat by day but avenges injustice by night. Laughing at the thrill of danger, Zorro shames the bad guys by defeating them and scratching big embarrassing Zs onto their skin with his sword.
When I was a kid, my siblings and I used to play Zorro with kite sticks all the time. As a Zorro fan from way back, I find THE MASK OF ZORRO enjoyable because it seamlessly weaves together action, romance, and drama. Banderas in particular is excellent with the blade. His charm and skillful swordplay, along with a more awkward slight tendency to slouch and sideways forward roll, make him completely believable as a Zorro-in-training. The other characters are good as well, from the sexy but innocent Zeta-Jones to the elegant but out-of-breath Hopkins as the paunchy, graying master. Aside from the dashing swordplay, an extra choreography treat involves a tango-like ballroom sequence between the dashing Alejandro and a passionate Elena.
In THE MASK OF ZORRO attention to detail can be found in every facet of the film, from the crisp, flamenco-style music and Spanish guitar, to the period scenery, and design of the swords. The man responsible for the excellent sword choreography in THE MASK OF ZORRO is swordsman Bob Anderson. Anderson, who has been a swordmaster in Hollywood films for 45 years, is the man inside the Darth Vader costume in the STAR WARS movies sword duels. He was also responsible, as swordmaster, for the exquisite THE PRINCESS BRIDE and HIGHLANDER battles. Livestock coordinator Corky Randall should also be commended for the detailed chase scenes and horsemanship stunts in THE MASK OF ZORRO.
The beginning of THE MASK OF ZORRO and the end of the film are very exciting. THE MASK OF ZORRO comes very close to being a fantastic, sweeping epic, but the middle sags slightly because the part where the good guy stumbles upon the bad guy's master plan seems a bit stretched out. In the middle - - for all Zorro's climbing around and detective work - - he finds out that politician Don Rafael's earthshakingly evil master scheme is to merely to make California an independent country by purchasing it from Mexico. That doesn't seem like much of an evil idea, considering that today the state of California's economy is larger than that of every country in the world but five. So, as far as nefarious master schemes go, Californian independence is too tame. Only twenty minutes later, when Don Rafael decides to mercilessly kill off imprisoned slaves, does the situation get dire enough to propel ZORRO. This extra time causes the middle to appear stretched. But soon the action starts back up again. Once the blades start flashing and the protagonists rush to the rescue, all is well.
Reviewed by David Sunga July 18, 1998
Copyright © 1998 by David Sunga This review and others like it can be found at THE CRITIC ZOO: http://www.criticzoo.com email: zookeeper@criticzoo.com
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