Sign In / Sign Up

The Mask of Zorro

The Mask of Zorro
Release date: 1998-07-16
Rating: 6.6
Votes: 4202
Genres: Action, Adventure
It has been twenty years since Don Diego de la Vega fought Spanish oppression in Alta California as the legendary romantic hero, Zorro. Having escaped from prison he transforms troubled bandit Alejandro into his successor, in order to foil the plans of the tyrannical Don Rafael Montero who robbed him of his freedom, his wife and his precious daughter.

Reviews

John Chard

John Chard

High definition a necessity for this delightful homage to swashbucklers. Zorro senior tutors Zorro junior in the way of the blade, their combined goal? To enact revenge on Don Rafael Montero and Capt. Harrison Love respectively. Martin Campbell was an interesting and wise choice for this latest take on the swashbuckling heroics of the Latin Robin Hood. Campbell was the man in the director's chair for both of James Bond's reinvigoration's, firstly with "Golden Eye" in 1995, and then with "Casino Royale" in 2006. For here it's evident that The Mask Of Zorro has no delusions of grandeur in the pantheon of cinema, it wants (and is) to be an action film with pure fantastical flamboyance pouring from practically every frame. It honours the swashers of old by ensuring all genre boxes are ticked, yep, we got swords a plenty, yep, we got a dashing hero (x 2 actually), yep, we got a spiffing looking villain, and yes we got a heaving bosom led romance into the mix as well. While Campbell and his team of screenwriters gleefully ensure that humour is a very prominent thing, thus keeping the fantasy in the comic book realm from which Zorro's essence comes. The stunt work on show is top draw, none more so than during a horse chase sequence where this Zorro tips its hat to former glorious genre pieces (well done Tony Angelotti). Other notable technical aspects deserve a mention, the costumes from Graciela Mazón are desirable and now in this age of High Definition Cinema, good make up work really comes to the fore, so it be that that department did sterling work on this picture (check out Elena's gorgeous face). The cast are basically very strong, Antonio Banderas slips into the Zorro cape with charming ease, and though it's nice to see a Spanish actor playing the famous Spanish character, here in this adaptation the irony is that Zorro is Mexican! Anthony Hopkins is as elegant as ever as the elder, newly retired Zorro AKA: Don Diego de la Vega, and Catherine Zeta Jones is positively ravishing as Elena, while Stuart Wilson does a nice line in pompous villainy as Don Rafael Montero. Some minor complaints do dwell within the picture. Campbell has a lot to fit into a running time of two hours and twenty odd minutes, and this makes the wait for the rip roaring finale longer than one at first wished for. Though for sure let it be noted that the gold mine action bonanza at pics end is totally worth the wait. Weak in the cast is Matt Letscher as Captain Love, oddly looking like some Kiefer Sutherland tribute act, he lacks any real menace for what is a pretty well written role. James Horner's score lacks the necessary boom boom bang bang that someone like Alfred Newman would have provided, and a comedy horse strand pushes the boundaries of acceptable genre homages a little too far. But really why moan and groan at irks that don't alter the trajectory of The Mask Of Zorro's blade? It isn't trying to do anything other than whisk you along for a blade swashing ride, and that is something that it most assuredly succeeds in doing. 8/10

JPV852

JPV852

Solid swash-buckling action-adventure cast perfectly with Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and finely directed by the great Martin Campbell. I don't remember much about its sequel, The Legend of Zorro, but kind of wished there would be one more to complete a trilogy (maybe titled Zorro's Last Ride?). In any case, was a fun ride and been a good decade plus the last time I watched. **3.75/5**

Movie Recommendation

  • The Legend of Zorro
    The Legend of Zorro
    2005-10-24
    Despite trying to keep his swashbuckling to a minimum, a threat to California's pending statehood causes the adventure-loving Don Alejandro de la Vega and his wife, Elena, to take action.
    More...
  • Instinct
    Instinct
    1999-06-04
    In a prison for the criminally insane, deranged anthropologist Ethan Powell is set to be examined by a bright young psychiatrist, Theo Caulder. Driven by ambition and a hunger for the truth, Caulder will eventually risk everything—even put his very life on the line—in a harrowing attempt to understand the bizarre actions of this madman.
    More...
  • Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
    Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
    2001-06-15
    Orphaned heiress, English aristocrat and intrepid archaeologist, Lara Croft, embarks on a dangerous quest to retrieve the two halves of an ancient artifact which controls time before it falls into the wrong hands. As an extremely rare planetary alignment is about to occur for the first time in 5,000 years, the fearless tomb raider will have to team up with rival adventurers and sworn enemies to collect the pieces, while time is running out. But, in the end, who can harness the archaic talisman's unlimited power?
    More...
  • The Edge
    The Edge
    1997-09-06
    The plane carrying wealthy Charles Morse crashes down in the Alaskan wilderness. Together with the two other passengers, photographer Robert and assistant Stephen, Charles devises a plan to help them reach civilization. However, his biggest obstacle might not be the elements, or even the Kodiak bear stalking them -- it could be Robert, whom Charles suspects is having an affair with his wife and would not mind seeing him dead.
    More...
  • Scary Movie 5
    Scary Movie 5
    2013-04-11
    Home with their newly-formed family, happy parents Dan and Jody are haunted by sinister, paranormal activities. Determined to expel the insidious force, they install security cameras and discover their family is being stalked by an evil dead demon.
    More...
  • The Quick and the Dead
    The Quick and the Dead
    1995-02-09
    A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.
    More...
  • Maverick
    Maverick
    1994-05-20
    Bret Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them, and needs an additional $3k in order to enter a winner-takes-all poker game beginning in a few days. He joins forces with a woman with a marvelous Southern accent, and the two try and enter the game.
    More...
  • Mission: Impossible II
    Mission: Impossible II
    2000-05-24
    With computer genius Luther Stickell at his side and a beautiful thief on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.
    More...
  • Road Trip
    Road Trip
    2000-05-19
    After an Ithaca College student films his one-night stand with a beautiful sorority girl, he discovers one of his friends has accidentally mailed the homemade sex tape to his girlfriend in Austin. In a frenzy, he must borrow a car and hit the road in a desperate bid to intercept the tape.
    More...
  • Permis de construire
    Permis de construire
    2021-11-15
    When his father passes away, a dentist in Paris inherits a plot and the will to build a house on it. The situation becomes tricky when he learns the plot is located in Corsica.
    More...
  • The Diary of Anne Frank
    The Diary of Anne Frank
    1959-03-18
    The true, harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.
    More...
  • Quest for Camelot
    Quest for Camelot
    1998-05-15
    During the times of King Arthur, Kayley is a brave girl who dreams of following her late father as a Knight of the Round Table. The evil Ruber wants to invade Camelot and take the throne of King Arthur, and Kayley has to stop him.
    More...
  • Entrapment
    Entrapment
    1999-04-29
    Two thieves, who travel in elegant circles, try to outsmart each other and, in the process, end up falling in love.
    More...
  • Son of the Mask
    Son of the Mask
    2005-02-11
    Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist, finds himself in a predicament when his dog stumbles upon the mask of Loki. Then after conceiving an infant son "born of the mask", he discovers just how looney child raising can be.
    More...
  • The Man in the Iron Mask
    The Man in the Iron Mask
    1998-03-12
    Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis, Athos and Porthos, have fought together with their friend, D'Artagnan. But with the tyrannical King Louis using his power to wreak havoc in the kingdom while his twin brother, Philippe, remains imprisoned, the Musketeers reunite to abduct Louis and replace him with Philippe.
    More...
  • Spy Kids
    Spy Kids
    2001-03-18
    Carmen and Juni think their parents are boring. Little do they know that in their day, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez were the top secret agents from their respective countries. They gave up that life to raise their children. Now, the disappearances of several of their old colleagues forces the Cortez' return from retirement. What they didn't count on was Carmen and Juni joining the "family business."
    More...
  • Desperado
    Desperado
    1995-08-25
    El Mariachi plunges headfirst into the dark border underworld when he follows a trail of blood to the last of the infamous Mexican drug lords, Bucho, for an action-packed, bullet-riddled showdown. With the help of his friend and a beautiful bookstore owner, El Mariachi tracks Bucho, takes on his army of desperados, and leaves his own trail of blood.
    More...
  • Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
    Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
    2003-06-25
    The Angels are charged with finding a pair of missing rings that are encoded with the personal information of members of the Witness Protection Program. As informants are killed, the ladies target a rogue agent who might be responsible.
    More...
  • The Prince of Egypt
    The Prince of Egypt
    1998-12-16
    The strong bond between two brothers is challenged when their chosen responsibilities set them at odds, with extraordinary consequences.
    More...
  • The 13th Warrior
    The 13th Warrior
    1999-08-13
    A Muslim ambassador exiled from his homeland joins a group of Vikings, initially offended by their behavior but growing to respect them. As they travel together, they learn of a legendary evil closing in and must unite to confront this formidable force.
    More...

Similar Movies