The Mask of Zorro Reviews

110 Pictures

Splendid swashbuckling entertainment!

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago on 5 December 2022 01:19

I will not deny that I am not particularly into swashbucklers that much, but I will be prepared to say that the Mask of Zorro is splendid entertainment. Antonio Banderas gives a very spirited performance as Alejandro, and the well-choreographed sword fights, beautiful score and witty screenplay allow Banderas to do what he does best. Anthony Hopkins is perfect as Don Diego, giving his character a sense of bitterness, sensitivity and vulnerability that make all his performances so endearing. In fact, this, Silence of the Lambs and The Elephant Man just go to show what a great actor Hopkins is; the only film he disappoints in is in Chaplin, where he played the rather unnecessary role of the fictional autobiographer. Catherine Zeta Jones is lovely beyond words as Elena, and Stuart Wilson plays his his-sable villain almost to perfection, but Matt Letscher as Captain Love isn't quite as threatening as he should be. The cinematography is very handsome, capturing perfectly the beautiful sets and costumes. The only other criticism I have of the movie, is its length, it's quite excessive. But I will say the explosive finale and spirited performances more than compensate, making it a very well-done and entertaining film. I wasn't as impressed with the sequel, the swordplay was more like slapstick and the plot was less involving and a little bloated. 8/10 for Mask of Zorro though. Bethany Cox

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"The Mask of Zorro" (1998)

Posted : 8 years, 10 months ago on 21 June 2015 05:48

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This was exactly what I expected from hearing Doug Walker talk about it in several of his videos. It's a tightly written, solid, fun action movie that works in the same way as Indiana Jones before it: it has dark undercurrents, but doesn't take itself seriously and has a lot of fun with its concept. Aside from the gleeful action scenes, the characters are what really hold it all together: they're presented and built up so well that you're fully invested in seeing where the story takes them. I especially love the scene where Love tests Murrieta's disguise to the extreme. Good stuff.

My rating: 75%

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A surprising movie

Posted : 13 years, 3 months ago on 18 January 2011 07:15

To be honest, before watching this flick, I had some rather low expectations about the damned thing. Indeed, even though I thought that Zorro was pretty awesome when I was kid, by that time, I didn’t care much for this character anymore. Eventually, in spite my low expectations, I have to admit it, I actually liked the damned thing. Indeed, there were some nice action scenes, some pretty good performances and the story was quite entertaining. Of course, the fact that Anthony Hopkins was involved didn't hurt at all but I must admit that Antonio Banderas was actually pretty good in the title role. Basically, it is a really straightforward adventure flick and even though it didn't offer anything really original, it was actually very well made and just fun to watch. Also, I thought that the whole thing was really faithful to the spirit of Zorro (at least, the idea that I had in mind after watching the TV-show when I was a kid). The only thing missing was Sergeant Garcia (who won't show up either in the sequel) but it wasn't a deal breaker. To conclude, even though it is definitely not a masterpiece, it remains an enjoyable and entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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