From Swords to Sharp Wit
Zorro Has Plenty to Entertain

Like many American kids my age, I grew up with only the vaguest notion of the legend of Zorro. As far as I was concerned, he was the Mexican version of The Lone Ranger, fighting for Mexico the way The Lone Ranger fought for justice in the Old West. Now a new generation is introduced to a new legend, one which begins as the old one ends, in The Mask of Zorro.

One of the most unusual aspects of The Mask of Zorro is its departure from the usual legend of Zorro. In the original telling, Don Diego de la Vega was a wealthy Spanish landowner who disguised himself to fight for the peasants of Mexico. A great swordsman and a daring horseman, he would ride on his faithful steed Tornado and stop the injustices plaguing the country during Spain's occupation of it.

The movie begins at the end of Spain's reign over Mexico, and at the end of Zorro's career. Don Diego (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is ready to give up his mask and cape for good, in order to spend his remaining years with his wife and baby daughter. All is overturned, however, when the Spanish governor Don Raphael Montero (Stuart Wilson) discovers his long hidden secret. Don Diego's wife is killed and he is imprisoned. Montero also takes away de la Vega's daughter Elena for his own.

Twenty years pass, and Montero returns to Mexico with a plan to reclaim it from Santa Anna's forces. Don Diego escapes from prison, trading places with a dead man who is to be buried. In a crowd at the formal welcoming of Montero, he spots Montero's "daughter", his own lovely Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones, from The Phantom) grown into a young woman. Then, from the shadows he begins to search for a way to plot his revenge on Montero.

Along the way, he discovers a criminal named Alejandro Murieta (Antonio Banderas, Evita) who wants to avenge his brother's death on one of Montero's men, Captain Harrison Love (Matt Letscher). Don Diego takes the young Alejandro under his wing and begins to teach him what he needs to take his revenge and earn the mask of the man in black.

The love interest between Elena and Alejandro provides some of the steamiest moments in the movie, but they harken back to the old days of filmmaking in their purity. The dance between the two is but a prelude to their later sword fight, which leaves Elena breathless and half naked -- trying to explain to Montero that Zorro has escaped.

Most intriguing is the calibre of the acting, most certainly by Hopkins, but also by Banderas and Zeta-Jones. While the dialogue is never first rate, the lines are always delivered with a certain wit and style which seem true to the characters. For certain, the action in Zorro is its bread and butter. There are so many moments of breath-taking swordplay, horse riding and rope work that one leaves the theater convinced that the spirit of Errol Flynn lives on. Interplayed with the action are a number of light-hearted moments which help to balance the film and make it more than the average summer fare.

MY RATING: 7 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 126 min.