HomeAbout UsAbout FencingLinksPhoto GalleryImage Bank
Reviews
Book ReviewsMovie ReviewsFencing FunContact Us
UCFC Movie Reviews
|
|
The Mask of Zorro Year: 1998 |
As an avid film watcher, I find that if a movie can entertain me thoroughly during my sixth viewing, it has that little something extra that makes a great movie. The Mask of Zorro is one of those films.
Overall, the story is excellent. Each major conflict is introduced with exactly the right amount of prior history. We are not overwhelmed by previous encounters between Don Raphael and Don Diego's Zorro, but we interpret an entire series of prior conflicts. By adding Alejandro and Joachin to the initial scene, the writers were able to give the audience a sense of their affection and closeness as brothers. This provides ample background for Alejandro's vendetta against Captain Love later in the movie. My only major complaint in terms of plot comes at the end of the film. The conflict at the mine can be a little over the top at times, but the film asks for only minor suspension of disbelief. For example, Captain Love screaming as the gold wagon comes down on him. He's got a sword run through him, he's dead anyway, and yet he lets loose a full-bellied scream? But we put such minor discrepancies to the side.
I truly have very few complaints about the acting. Catherine Zeta-Jones at times lost her accent, but she has a mobility of facial expression that more than makes up for those stumbles. Antonio Banderas is a highly underrated actor. He manages to go from uncouth and uneducated to a gentleman that still retains some of those qualities with ease. He is also very good at communicating with facial expression. Anthony Hopkins is, of course, a wonderful actor. I especially enjoyed the moments when his Don Diego covered his amusement with Alejandro's antics. I would have liked him to have appeared more weak at the end of the film (the man is on his deathbed), but after seeing Titus Andronicus, I've realised that Hopkins doesn't do weak (just beaten), and he doesn't save anything for later. The other characters were all well played. The only thing marring the actors' performances were some very, very obvious stunt doubles. Couldn't they have at least done something with makeup to make the stunt men seem like Banderas and Hopkins?
The fencing in this film is ever present, so it is difficult to isolate scenes. On the whole, the choreography is good. Alejandro's lessons with Don Diego are well done, though passage of time is not clear. The individual fight scenes are also fairly accurate. There are times when the fencing degenerates into the whole-arm swinging and two-handed grips, but Anderson generally reserves these moves for characters who become frustrated or angry, allowing the audience to associate the "sloppy" techniques with persons who are not under control. And there's a woman fencer! How rare is that in historical films? Zeta-Jones has a tendancy to bounce on her feet with each movement, but the scene is handled masterfully, with scripting, acting and choreography working together to make it funny, intense, and sexual at the same time.
The Mask of Zorro treads the line between comedy, action, and fantasy, and stays solid throughout. No matter how many times I watch it, I always marvel at the strength of character displayed by the protagonists, I always laugh at the horse, and I always hear Alejandro say, "Don't worry, little Wookie," to his son Joachin. It's just one of those films.
Home | About Us
| About Fencing
| Links | Photo Gallery
Image Bank | Reviews
| Fencing Fun | Contact Us