The Mask of Zorro 1998
The paper gave this movie an A-. I guess I was expecting too much. I have always loved Zorro movies since I was a kid. The rich guy fighting against the evil rich for the people, the two identities, the swordsmanship, the derring do . . . It’s just a great concept, a classic hero.
The challenge in making a new Zorro movie, though, is how much to leave intact and how much to change into something new. So, without giving away too much, they give us the original Zorro training a new Zorro. That’s a pretty good concept. But unfortunately it leads from one kind of movie that’s been done over and over (Zorro) into another: the master teaching the unruly apprentice. There is nothing in this movie that you don’t see coming from about the first 20 minutes.
That said, this is still an entertaining movie and certainly worth watching. Anotonio Banderas was obviously a great choice, but is completely unbelievable as the ragamuffin he plays at the beginning. Anthony Hopkins was also a good choice, but he’s really too old even for the part of the old zorro, let alone the young one he plays at the beginning. He’s a lot of things, but I don’t think he’s much of an action hero. The lead actress is stunningly gorgeous and didn’t need the annoying soft focus that they kept using.
The stunts and fight scenes looked a little too much like stunts and fight scenes. This is a good example of a movie where more is not always better. Because you have two Zorros (Zorri?) you have essentially twice as many sword fights.
This movie might best be enjoyed by people who don’t go to movies a lot and especially younger audiences. More experienced audiences will have seen the plot and heard all the jokes many times before. I have to give this movie a 6. I think if I had gone in with lower expectations or been in a different mood I could easily have rated it a 7. I’ll be interested in hearing what others think.
Written: 25 Jul 1998