The "Zorro" character has been around for more than a hundred years and has also been an inspiration/predecessor to the superhero genre. So, it felt right for a big-budget adaptation of the character to be made after many serials and shows and even parodies. Don Diego de la Vega is Zorro, a Spanish noble who fights for the oppression of the Mexican people in California. When his long-time enemy, governor Rafael Montero, finally captures de la Vega, the vigilante is thrown into prison after his wife dies and his infant daughter taken as Montero's own daughter. Twenty years later, de la Vega escapes from prison upon learning of Montero's return from Spain and plans to get his revenge and reunite with his grown-up daughter. In the process, he plans to pass the mantle of Zorro to a young thief named Alejandro whose brother was killed by a captain working under Montero himself. The story is both a revenge drama along with a classic comic book-esque origin. Both narratives surrounding the two Zorros actually balance out well, which is mainly thanks to the characters. The story is cliche at times, but it's not a huge factor seeing how the tone is meant to be far more on fun and thrills. It's very much like a prototype to "Pirates of the Caribbean" in regards to the swashbuckling adventure.
Antonio Banderas makes his career-defining role as Alejandro/Zorro, a performance the actor constantly parodies and emulates in many of his films. Banderas plays Alejandro as the reluctant, but eager hero who at first only wants to seek revenge, but later learns about Montero's plan and abuse to his people that turns him into an honourable Zorro. Anthony Hopkins is quite good as de la Vega, considering his lack of action or campy roles. Even though Hopkins is far from being a convincing Spaniard, he slays the physicality and the mentor needing someone to carry his mantle. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Elena, the daughter of de la Vega and the love interest for Alejandro. Zeta-Jones is decent for what is a rather cliched and shallow role. She can be enjoyable at times mainly when she's onscreen with Banderas or Hopkins, but the character of Elena is a bit awkward in regards to her lust for Zorro and a weird moment where Alejandro cuts off her clothing for PG-13 nudity. Stuart Wilson as Montero is pretty convincing as the Spaniard governor and although a rather generic villain, Wilson plays it with both a sleaziness and bit of humanity. The last character to mention would be Captain Harrison Love, the historical lawman who killed Alejandro's brother, played by Matt Letscher. Again, Love is a rather generic villain who serves as Montero's muscle and commander, but it's Letscher's slimy performance that sells both his evil nature and as a great rival for Alejandro. Also, he has one of the best death scenes of the 90's to boot. While the characters themselves are on the more campy/cliched side, but the actors are giving it their own both by the stunts and their charming charisma they lead onscreen, especially to the likes of Banderas and Hopkins.
If there's one thing that you can take away out of Martin Campbell as a director, it's that he's a talented action director that also has a sense of scale and epic feel to them. The fact that Campbell chose to shoot entirely in Mexico shows that he takes both the aesthetic and Spanish nature of Zorro seriously. The daytime scenes feel hot and dry, while the nighttime scenes feel cool and relaxing. The set design is also aesthetically gorgeous as it offers tons of lavish and detailed interiors and locations from Zorro's lair to Montero's palace. The cinematography by Phil Meheux is pretty good with the use of tracking and panning shots with clever angles here and there. It's not the most ambitious or striking aspect of the film, but it's still good, especially during the action sequences that captures the theatrics of the titular character. The score by the late James Horner is mainly just various Spanish/Mexican beats that fit the appropriate tone, whether it's action, romance or drama. It clearly works for this type of movie, but it's by no means Horner's best work. The action sequences are as engaging as it can be for a PG-13 swashbuckling venture. It's very much helped by the stunts and choreography from the main characters. The swordplay with Zorro and the various people he fights with are energizing, the horseback sequence is clever and well put-together, and the climax offers not only a great villain death from Love, but also a lot of pyrotechnics and on-screen explosions. I still think the best action Campbell has done is in "The Foreigner", but this is a close second in regards to scale and technique.
"The Mask of Zorro" is just a really fun movie at the end of the day. It's not perfect as the story and characters can be too cliched or underdeveloped for some with Elena being a good target for some, but I think it's a really effective action-adventure flick. From the dual narratives of Alejandro and de la Vega, the lighthearted and over-the-top tone that allows comedy to flow naturally with the characters and action, Banderas as Alejandro is iconic in its own field, Hopkins offering a nice change of pace with his performance as de la Vega, the villains being just hammy and despicable that the viewer wants them dead thanks to Wilson and Letcher's performances, Meheux's camerawork is good, Horner's Spanish-inspired music perfectly fits the film's setting and tone, the action sequences are filled with energetic stunts, swordplay, and explosions, and Campbell's direction allows the film to offer the aforementioned action while also showing off the Mexican landscape and lavish set and production design to the film. If you are a fan of superhero/comic-book movies or even just the swashbuckling adventure epics that have yet to make a grand return in recent years, "The Mask of Zorro" will quench that hunger.
Verdict: 8/10. About as good as even modern superhero films can get, save for some specific beats and tastes. Give it a watch, especially if you love the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie!
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