The Mask of Zorro is a feat of revitalizing a classic character, mixing it with a little bit of history, and making it a thrilling adventure! Zorro made his debut in the novel, The Curse of Capistrano (1919) by Johnston McCulley. Douglas Fairbanks portrayed him in The Mark of Zorro (1920). He was one of the iconic figures of television played by Guy Williams in the Zorro (1957-1961) tv series. In 1957, comics legend, Alex Toth, drew the adventures of the Disney series for Dell Comics. They are available as a collected trade, Alex Toth's Zorro The Complete Dell Comics Adventures (2013) or you can find affordable reprints by American Mythology. Then, the later series Zorro (1990-1993) featured Duncan Regehr. What stood out to me was the character. The model of the swashbuckler.
This film had Bob Anderson as sword master, his filmography has the best sword films; Lord of the Rings, Die Another Day (2002), First Knight (1995), Three Musketeers (1993), Princess Bride (1987), Highlander, and he was the double for Darth Vader! After I had watched the film, I picked up Zorro Unmasked: The Official History (1998) by Sandra Curtis, and also the original novel, The Mark of Zorro, by Johnston McCulley. The film was directed by Martin Campbell who also has a James Bond connection having directed GoldenEye (1995). The story is by Randall Johnson who also wrote the bio film, The Doors (1991) and also the writing duo of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. They worked on the screenplay with John Eskow who wrote Air America (1990). The writing duo is known for writing the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.
The opening has a closeup of a sheet as two eyeholes are made in it, two boys, Joaquin (Diego Sieres) and Alejandro (Jose Maria de Tavira), are eager to look outside of a wagon. It is a crowd chanting for the fall of Governor Montero. They rush out of the wagon and see Fray Felipe (William Marquez). Marquez played Eduardo in the comedy Bedazzled (2000). Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson) walks out onto the balcony above the crowd. Wilson was Dr. Robin Hatcher in the action comedy Hot Fuzz (2007). Dons are the ruling class that were established by Spain. The governor is ruthless in controlling California and intent on revenge against his nemesis. Don Luiz (Tony Amendola) arrives to warn Montero about the approach of General Santa Anna. The general is almost legendary shaping the countries of Mexico and the United States. He orders the soldiers to take away the children.
Alejandro is taken and sees the boots and then Zorro (Anthony Hopkins) in disguise. Hopkins is an actor known for powerful roles in Silence of the Lambs (1991) and also genre movies like Thor: Ragnarok (2017). He of course is not Mexican, but his English gentleman and man of action pairs with Stuart Wilson’s Rafael Montero. The brothers rush to see the action from a rooftop. The soldiers are about to fire their rifles at commoners. Suddenly, Zorro’s whip swings the rifles at their commander to shoot him. Zorro is a whirl, freeing the prisoners, and parrying the swords of the soldiers. The brothers see soldiers in a balcony ready to shoot Zorro. Joaquin and Alejandro send a statue crashing down on them. Zorro gives Alejandro his locket as thanks to them. He races across the buildings and uses his whip to swing across to draw his blade against Montero’s throat. Zorro makes his mark on the throat of Montero as a warning. He whistles for his black horse, Tornado, and leaps down on him!
Zorro rears Tornado against the setting sun before riding away. There is an incredible seaside hacienda perched on a cliff next to a waterfall. Zorro rides Tornado into a cave by the waterfall. A fireplace retracts as Zorro’s civilian identity, Don Diego de la Vega, enters. The secret identity that is a rich gentleman, the mask and cape, cave secret lair, are all parts of Batman taken from Zorro. Watching the sun set is his wife, Esperanza (Julieta Rosen), who goes to hear her husband telling his baby, Elena, stories of his adventures. Diego kisses Esperanza and they are interrupted by Montero and his men. Montero grabs Diego’s arm and can see from his wound that he is Zorro. They get into a duel, a soldier is about to shoot Diego, and Esperanza rushes to take the bullet. Montero kills the shooter. Diego hears baby Elena’s cries and is knocked out by Montero. Diego is in a cage in the back of a carriage and Montero takes his revenge by taking away Elena.
We get “Twenty Years Later” with a horseman pulling along two bearded men by a rope. The lead prisoner is Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas) and behind him is his brother, Joaquin Murrieta (Victor Rivers). Banderas has the comic timing down and also the action. He was in Pedro Almodóvar’s drama Pain and Glory (2019). Rivers was Captain Ferrar in the drama Amistad (1997). They are based on real historical figures, Joaquin was called the Robin Hood of El Dorado, part of the Five Joaquins, McCulley was said to be inspired by him in creating Zorro. The rider, Three-Fingered Jack (L.Q. Jones) sings and has his two prisoners finish his song. Jones is an actor in Sam Pecinpah’s Westerns like The Wild Bunch (1969). Jack takes them for their bounty to a farmhouse where they find Corporal Garcia (José Pérez), a soldier calls him Sergeant Garcia. The character was large and outwitted by Zorro in the tv series, but absolutely fun not so much here. Garcia shows up, but isn’t a strong opponent here.
They turn the tables on the soldiers and take off with the wagon and its strongbox. The film’s action has Zorro as a hapless hero in training stumbling into adventures instead of dashing into them. Their fun is ended with the soldiers led by Captain Harrison Love (Matt Letscher). The actor played Eobad Thawne in The Flash tv series. His Captain Love is ruthless and a counterpart to Don Rafael. He shoots Jack with his rifle and the brothers run into the brush. Alejandro loses his brother, the locket falls to the ground, it is the connection to the young brothers. Captain Love greets a mysterious passenger come to shore. The cloaked figure reveals himself as Don Rafael. He has returned to search a prison for Zorro. Diego is older, bearded, and wears a blindfold. The prisoners all claim they are Zorro. Diego is able to free himself. Don Rafael meets with Captain Love thinking Zorro is dead. The next morning, Don Luiz announces the return of Governor Rafael to fanfare. The citizens are gathered there, Rafael makes a speech, and instead it turns to a cheer for Zorro.
Diego moves through the crowd toward his nemesis. Rafael promises to make everyone Californians. Diego draws his knife and then is stopped by the appearance of Elena played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. This is her breakout role and she also played Velma Kelly in the musical Chicago (2002). Elena is the link between all of the characters, she is headstrong, and also proves herself as a daughter of Don Diego de la Vega. A later duel between Elena and Zorro makes fencing sexy. Alejandro is drunk at a cantina and is about to charge after Captain Love, but Diego knocks him down to offer to train him. Alejandro takes the part of Don Alejandro del Castillo y Garcia with Diego as his servant Bernardo. The training is awkward at first, but Alejandro is a natural to fill Zorro’s boots, they ultimately have to face Captain Love and Don Rafael with his plans to take over California. Also Zorro is finally played by a Latin actor. The Mask of Zorro is a perfect blend of action and comedy with a touch of history and the classic swashbuckling of the character!
Five Marks of Zorro out of Five!
#TheMarkofZorro, #MartinCampbell, #AntonioBanderas, #AnthonyHopkins, #CatherineZetaJones
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