# Mask of Zorro, The (1998)

### reviewed by
Nick Amado

    Review: The Mask Of Zorro

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta Jones, Stuart Wilson, Matt Letscher

    Directed by Martin Campbell
    Approx Running time : 140 min

There are some moments in Zorro that make you feel like a kid again. That is, if you recall ever liking Zorro. The duels, the mysterious mask, the passion and the action all are present in Zorro's latest reincarnation, The Mask Of Zorro. But these moments are surrounded by nearly two and a half hours of really arduous story-telling.

This story, starting in the early 1820's Mexico spans 20 years. The first scene establishes that the Zorro of the time (Don Diego, played by Hopkins) is a freedom fighter out for peace and justice. But when his nemisis, the governer of Mexico, kills Zorro's wife and takes his baby daughter for his very own, Zorro disappears. (Which is easy when you're in prison.) After 20 years, he breaks out and takes on a lowly but talented theif, Alejandro, played by Banderas, as a pupil. One of the governer's captains killed Alejandro's brother. So now there are two Zorro's who seek revenge.

There is a near-pointless side plot that involves the heavies attempting to buy California with gold stolen from there. It provides for a few James Bondian bad guy scenes (the head honcho standing around a huge table addressing the other baddies, while standing in front of a map, talking about world domination.) But really only makes for a setting for the final showdown.

Zorro has as many highs as it does lows. First off, watching Antonio Banderas is a delight. He is as funny as he is heroic and devilishly handsome. He does some fantastic stunts with the sword, and still, throughout his heroism, he manages to play the buffoon from time to time.

Anthony Hopkins, sadly, phones in his performance. Though he too is enraged at the evil-doings (and has more of a vendetta than Banderas' character) his eyes never change. He never shows the passion that has driven his character for 20 years. Aside from that, he is the only Mexican (well, former Spaniard) that speaks with a British accent. Which is a shame, too, since Hopkins is brilliant at masking his voice.

And then there is Catherine Zeta Jones. This newcomer to American cinema manages to steal every scene she is in. Partly because she is one of the most strikingly beautiful women I've ever seen on the silver screen. But there is a tenderness that she brings to her character. She plays the love-interest for Alejandro, and is the only person in the film that can out-do Banderas' fine performance in each of their scenes together. The Welsh actress also hides her accent quite well, adopting a Spanish one. (Strange, though, that she plays Hopkin's daughter and yet...)

The action in Zorro doesn't disappoint, but it is sparce. The film is so overlong that characters seem to pop up out of nowhere just to keep it going. I kept asking myself, "now, why would she be there at this time?" or "where the hell did he come from? And why is he here?" I was never satisfied with the drive of the storytelling, the primary fault of director Campbell. The cuts from scene to scene often left me with a sour taste.

Aside from two of the lead performances, the big winner in Zorro is the Art direction. The sets are out of this world, particularly Zorro's training lair. The film is beautiful, no doubt, but it just can't quite hit the mark, even if you do care about some of the characters relationships in the film, as I did.

    * * 1/2 out of * * * * stars
    © 1998 Nick Amado
    email me at
    namado@concentric.net

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