# Mask of Zorro, The (1998)

### reviewed by
Curtis Edmonds

    The Mask of Zorro
    by Curtis Edmonds -- blueduck@hsbr.org

The title begs the question: Why the mask of Zorro? "Zorro" would have been a perfectly good title, save that this movie has actually two Zorros -- Anthony Hopkins as the legendary bandit and Antonio Banderas as his young protege. "The Sword of Zorro" would have been all right as a title -- there is enough swordplay to delight the heart of the most avid Errol Flynn fan. "The Horse of Zorro" would have been a cool title, too -- Zorro's black stallion Tornado is a source of occasional slapstick. For those more interested in the physique of Banderas, you could have "The Pants of Zorro" -- or, contrariwise, "The Plunging Neckline of Catherine Zeta-Jones" -- both of which get ample screen time.

But, no, it's the mask that's most important. The mask allows Zorro to do the dashing and dangerous things that he does, while still allowing him access to the society of Old California. But like everything else, in life, the mask isn't so simple. All the main characters in The Mask of Zorro wear masks of one sort or another -- save the lovely Ms. Zeta-Jones, for whom a mask would only hide her sensuous beauty. It's the masks that give The Mask of Zorro a little bit of psychologial resonance and lift it above its origins as a costume swashbuckler.

Hopkins appears first as Zorro, mask and all. To its credit, The Mask of Zorro figures that we already know who Zorro is -- there's no explication of his origin, how he came to wear the mask, or any of that stuff. There's just a great action sequence (it would be the climax of a lesser movie) which sets up the legend and the relationship between Zorro and chief baddie Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson). However, no mask is perfect. Hopkins is unmasked, his wife is killed, and his daughter kidnapped by Montero.

The action restarts 20 years later, as Montero returns to California with Zorro's daughter (the aforementioned luscious Zeta-Jones) at his side. Wilson has to wear a mask, too -- he has adopted Zeta-Jones as his daughter, and must hide his dark, scheming heart behind a veneer of courtliness and gentility. Wilson is much better than this than, say, Alan Rickman in Kevin Costner's Robin Hood movie. It's a quality performance in a quality movie.

The titular mask, though, belongs to Banderas, and he wears it nobly. We first see Banderas as an unlettered Mexican bandito, picked by Hopkins to be his instrument of revenge. We see a training sequence where Banderas learns to fence and tumble, and there's a gloriously goofy comic sequence where he tries to steal a horse and fails miserably. But the bandit's mask isn't all Banderas has to wear. He has to impersonate a Spanish don so that he may get intelligence from Don Rafael -- and not incidentally, dance a passionate tango with the beauteous Zeta-Jones. (We are spared a lot of the Eliza Doolittle business that must have gone on between the elder and younger Zorros -- who wanted to see Hopkins dancing with Banderas, anyway?)

While all this is going on, Hopkins has to wear yet another mask -- as the humble servant to Banderas's ersatz don, which leads to a couple of very touching scenes. All of the masks everyone wears gives the movie a strong psychological dimension that would be lacking if this was a straight action movie. Not that the action isn't great -- it's just fine, with some great swashbucling scenes -- but the real action is of the mind and the heart. The Mask of Zorro succeeds because it's driven by good performances and a good story. It's clearly a sword slash above this summer's mindless action films.

    Rating:  A-

    --
    Curtis Edmonds
    blueduck@hsbr.org

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