Big screen entertainment at nearly its best
Its story parallels The Phantom . (And both movies star Catherine Zeta-Jones. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.) Out with the old hero, in with the new guy. The ubiquitous Anthony Hopkins is the old Zorro. And the movie's prologue has Hopkins playing the character from 20 years earlier, something he strains at pulling off and doesn't quite make it.
Twenty years zip by as Hopkins whiles away in a dungeon. Once he escapes (as if you didn't know that was going to happen), he hooks up with Banderas. Melanie Griffith's main squeeze then is mentored into becoming the new Zorro. Along the way there are bad guys to skewer and a babe to romance.
Today's movies seem bent on how violent they can be. There's action, and then there's violence--it's a matter of degree. Zorro stays on the "action" side of the fence. The writing which went into the predicaments which Banderas' inexperienced Zorro gets himself into (and out of) is top-notch. Not only is the action Errol Flynn-excellent, they are laugh-out-loud funny too.
Everyone handles their characters with aplomb. Banderas is the arrogant jerk who grows into being Zorro. Hopkins is his usual overrated self. Ms. Jones, who simply is not in enough movies, is the take-no-crap heroine.
Production values are peg-the-meter terrific. The photography is gorgeous. The editing is not Armageddon ultra-quick to the point of giving you a headache, but proper for the moods of the story.
The horse stunts are also amazing. At one point a stuntman is riding two horses Roman style. (That's two horses galloping side-by-side with the rider placing one foot on each saddle as he straddles the horses' gap.) I've only seen this in one other movie and it's a sight to behold. And Zorro's horse even gets into the act from a humor standpoint.
The swordplay is drop-your-jaw incredible. Even tho the fights are choreographed to the point of being amber-locked, I'm still amazed that no one ended up with their eye plucked out. Even Jones gets into the act and holds her own with a sword against Banderas.
The Mask of Zorro has got it all. Hopefully it won't get lost in the crowded summer movie market and will find an audience. It thoroughly deserves it.
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