Video Review |
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Video Review |
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Last Updated 04/16/02
Email: robitai@our-town.com
"The
Mask of Zorro"
There they were in the display case: a
black satin cape with bright red lining, a stellar bandolero hat, a narrow black
mask, and a dazzling silver sword. Last week I stood in front of an exhibit at
Disney's MGM Studios, and it all came back to me. It was 1957. I was six, and I
had a weekly date with that man of mystery, Zorro. I wore a homemade cape and
mask during the show, but adventures continued long after it was over. My sword
was a broken yardstick, but it proved effective for making the sign of the
"Z" in unlikely places.
This
early series, produced by Walt and written by brother Roy Disney, lasted only
two years, but the Disney channel has used it to lure in multiple generations of
Zorroites. Various reincarnations of Zorro have been popular since he made his
first appearance in 1919 in "All-Story Magazine."
In all there have been six Zorro television series and seventy movies.
The
1998 version "The Mask of Zorro" capitalizes on the Zorro legacy, but
it brings new glamour and gusto. The
movie opens during the oppressive years that Spain tyrannized the common people
who occupied territorial California. As champion of the people, Zorro (Anthony
Hopkins) plots to win Mexican independence from Spain, but the evil Spanish
Governor Montero (Stewart Wilson II) discovers his plan.
When Zorro's real identify as Don Diego de la Vega comes to light,
Montero attacks his home, murders his wife, abducts his infant daughter, and
imprisons him.
Twenty
years pass, and Montero returns to California to inflict more pain on the
people. Don Diego manages to escape
from his long imprisonment and prepares for revenge. Incredibly, he meets a
young man (Antonio Banderas) who had helped him years earlier. He enlists him to
be his successor. Diego's lost daughter (Catherine Zeta-Jones), now grown up and
beautiful must be saved from Montero's grasp, and California must be liberated.
The sword and mask pass to the new Zorro, and justice is restored.
The
high-action swordplay steals the show. More stunning scenes than you can count
make for heart-stopping tension as Zorro leaps hither and yon eradicating the
bad guys. Special effects and an occasional fiery blast make the most of good
choreography and capable stuntmen.
Sparks
also fly between Banderas and Zeta-Jones. The
two seem perfectly suited to the roles they play. She's coy, but sexy. He exudes
machismo, but maintains a boyish charm. It's
not long before romance is in the air, in spite of her adopted father's
politics.
This
is not a complicated movie, but it maintains the elements that have made Zorro
popular for more than eighty years. A man who fights for right, who wants no
self-glorification, leaves his mark. This time it happens to be a "Z."
Rated
PG-13
Available
in DVD and video
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