Over the years, there have been several movies featuring the character of Zorro. I have seen and enjoyed some of them. I have also seen rerun of the old television show on the Disney Channel at different times and enjoyed that as well. I have seen The Mask of Zorro several times and I still enjoy it.

Don Rafael Montero had to give up control of California. The people were glad to see him go. Rafael was determined to capture Zorro before he left for Spain. Zorro was a masked man that helped the people of California. Rafael planned to publicly execute three men to drawn Zorro out. He showed up to rescue the men and had some help from two brothers, Alejandro and Joaquin. Zorro, who was really Don Diego de la Vega, returned home to his wife and daughter Elena. Rafael figured out that Diego was Zorro and arrived to arrest him. There was a fight and Diego’s wife was killed. Diego was arrested and taken away. Rafael took Elena back to Spain.

Diego spent twenty years in prison before escaping. Rafael returned to California with Elena from Spain. She believed that he was her father, though she seemed to remember things from when she was in California before even though she had been told she was never there. Diego met up with Alejandro, who became an outlaw with his brother Joaquin. Alejandro was plotting revenge against Captain Harrison Love for his brother’s death. Diego started to train Alejandro to take over as Zorro. Alejandro didn’t always listen and acted rashly at times. Alejandro and Elena met and were attracted to each other. Rafael was planning something, and Alejandro posed as a Don to get into Rafael’s inner circle to learn what was going on. Captain Love was mixed up in whatever Rafael was planning. Diego wanted Elena to know the truth about Rafael. She did learn a few things that caused her to wonder about things she had been told by her father.

CAST

Antonio Banderas - Alejandro Murrieta/Zorro
Jose Maria de Tavira - Young Alejandro
Anthony Hopkins - Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro
Diego Sieres - Young Joaquin Murrieta
Catherine Zeta-Jones - Elena
Stuart Wilson - Don Rafael Montero
Tony Amendola - Don Luiz
Victor Rivers - Joaquin
Matt Letscher - Captain Harrison Love

Martin Campbell - Director

The Mask of Zorro was released in 1998. I saw it in the theater, and have seen it several times since then. I had the movie on VHS and recently made it one of the ones I replaced with a DVD copy. The movie was rated PG-13 and 136 minutes long. This really isn’t a movie for young children, but it should be alright for older kids.

The Mask of Zorro was an action adventure movie. There was action throughout the movie. Most of the action came in the form of several sword fights. Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas both participated in more than one fight. They had some fights against each other when Diego was teaching Alejandro. Catherine Zeta-Jones also took part in a sword fight. The sword fights were very impressive. There have been some sword fights in some recent movies like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Die Another Day. There were more sword fights in The Mask of Zorro than there were in the other movies. There were also some chases and a few explosions in the movie. There was violence in several scenes, including some disturbing things, but the movie wasn’t really that violent.

There was a lot going on in The Mask of Zorro. It wasn’t difficult to keep track of what was going on. The movie wasn’t complicated, but it wasn’t really simple either. There was enough going on to keep things interesting without leaving the viewer confused. The movie was fairly fast paced overall, though there were some slower moments as well. I didn’t think that the slower scenes messed up the flow of the movie in any way. Some people might think those scenes are boring, but I didn’t feel that way. There were a few funny things that happened at different times in the movie. Most of the funny moments were caused by something Alejandro said or did. There was some suspense in a few scenes at different times in the movie. Some things happened that I didn’t expect.

The Mask of Zorro wasn’t a romance, but there was an attraction between Alejandro and Elena. She was attracted to Zorro even though she didn’t know who he really was. Elena and Alejandro shared a steamy dance and later some kisses when he was dressed as Zorro. Elena still had no idea that Alejandro and Zorro were the same person. There were no sex scenes or nudity in the movie, but Elena was shown mostly nude at one point. There was sexual tension between Elena and Alejandro. Elena believed she was attracted to two different men for a while, which caused her some confusion.

I thought that the acting in The Mask of Zorro was good. Anthony Hopkins was wonderful as Diego. He had this presence during all of his scenes. He seemed to have an elegance as Diego, even at the beginning of the movie when he was dressed as Zorro. Hopkins has played many different characters over the course of his career. I never really considered myself a fan of Antonio Banderas when he first showed up in some movies in the United States. I have changed my mind about him though. I really liked him as Alejandro and Zorro in this movie. He was very good in the part. This movie was the first one that I really thought he was sexy in as well. I think he made a very good Zorro. I have seen him in several roles since first seeing this movie, though this one remains my favorite he has been in. He did provide the voice for Puss in Boots, a Zorro like character in the movie Shrek 2. I thought he did very well with that too, and I liked how he was poking fun as his own portrayal of Zorro. This was the first movie that I ever saw Catherine Zeta-Jones in. I thought she was very good as Elena. She has gone on to make several more movies, playing very different parts. None of the characters were developed too much.

DVD EXTRAS

I now own The Mask of Zorro on DVD. My copy has the widescreen version of the movie only. I have seen a version listed that has both the full and widescreen versions. There is also a Superbit version of the movie available that has more extras on it. The version I have only has a making of featurette, and the theatrical trailer. The picture and sound quality on the DVD was wonderful.

The Mask of Zorro is a very entertaining movie. I have seen it several times now, and I still enjoy it every time I watch it. I’m glad that I have it in my DVD collection. I have read that a sequel is going to be made. If that happens, I will be going to see it.

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Once Upon a Time in Mexico ~ Never Talk to Strangers ~ Shrek 2 ~ America's Sweethearts ~ Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ~ Intolerable Cruelty ~



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12