Anthony's Film Review - The Mask of Zorro (1998)

This swashbuckling action-adventure is exciting and lots of fun...

I love all kinds of movie action heroes, but for some reason, I find the sword-wielding ones especially cool. Good guys in pirate movies fit the bill. Another one is Zorro, a Spanish outlaw who wears a black cape and mask and wields a rapier. This character, created in the early 20th century by pulp writer Johnston McCulley, has made numerous appearances in books, television, and movies. Any Zorro fan can keep track of all of these adaptations better than I can.

The first Zorro movie I've ever seen was the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro starring Antonio Banderas as Alejandro Murrieta, a man who becomes the new Zorro after Don Diego de la Vera, the original Zorro played by Anthony Hopkins, has grown old. As you can tell, this is a variation of the classic Zorro stories where Diego is young and in his prime. But that doesn't matter. The important thing is not who dons the cape, mask, and rapier but rather if Zorro continues to exists at all. You can have generations of men being Zorro and it would still be like having the same immortal hero around to save the day.

I'm not going to talk about the story all that much. It's just your usual good guy fights bad guy and saves the beautiful girl, who in this movie is Elena, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Keep in mind that she is not just a gorgeous damsel in distress. At one point, she learns to fight as well. She can sizzle the screen with her quick sword moves as much as her alluring beauty.

Basically, the pleasure of watching The Mask of Zorro lies in the action. There are plenty of great action scenes with fights that are well choreographed. It's just thrilling to see Zorro and his foes attack, parry, and defend themselves because they do it so quick and gracefully. The climactic action scene is perhaps the best part of the movie. There is a mixture of suspense and excitement as the final act plays out.

This is one of those movies where I ended up liking the movie a whole lot more than expected. It was the kind where I held a big smile during the final scene and applauded once the credits rolled. Hopefully, that should inspire you to see it if you haven't done so already, and if you have, great. Now, like I said, I can't compare other Zorro movies to this one, but based on what I experienced the first time, The Mask of Zorro is a definite must-see if you're looking for a real exciting action-adventure.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about The Mask of Zorro, visit the Internet Movie Database.