Are You With Us?
The Mask of Zorro
By Ryan Mazie
July 18, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
1920
1936
1959
1998
If you guessed “D” then you’d be correct. Antonio Banderas was surprisingly
the first Spaniard to play … well, the Spanish Superhero.
I never saw The Mask of Zorro before or any of the other incarnations, but thought this supposed-franchise starter related well to another caped crusader origin story released this week, Captain America: The First Avenger. And if the latter has half the amount of charm this flick has, then Captain should be set-up for a windfall.
Starring the suave Antonio Banderas in the heat of his career and the sexy Catherine Zeta-Jones at the start of hers, Zorro and its incredibly attractive cast plays to the times where CGI was non-existent, and bar brawls were built into the script, not the other way around.
I find real explosions and fight scenes without the aid of computer fakery make a film that much more thrilling. You can tell by the look of excitement on an actor’s face when they are jumping off a real building, not a two-foot ledge with a green screen. And Zorro’s authentic swordplay provided enough summer entertainment to become a hit.
Mask opens with Anthony Hopkins in the Zorro-get up, thwarting a public killing by evil egomaniac Don Rafael Montero’s (a perfectly pompous Stuart Wilson). However, Montero finds Zorro’s real identity, Don Diego de la Vega, and kills his wife, imprisons la Vega and raises his baby daughter as his own.
Cut to 20 years and a daring prison escape later, and la Vega is out to seek vengeance on Montero, but must find a successor first to do his bidding. The heir of the mask is Alejandro Murrieta (Banderas), a Zorro-worshipper as a child, but now a bandit.
Don Diego uses Alejandro to end the blood war between him and Montero and let his stolen daughter Elena (a now beautiful and buxom Zeta-Jones) know who her real father is. However, Alejandro also uncovers a sinister James Bond-like plot Montero has hatched to take over California (not quite the world, but the same idea).
Poor Matin Campbell. He just can’t catch a break. He revived the James Bond franchise … twice, gave Mel Gibson his first (and probably one of his last) starring role after his career implosion, and tried his best to start Green Lantern’s fire. However, with flops in between his successes (the both very underrated Vertical Limit and Beyond Borders), Campbell strangely remains one of the most unknown directors who helmed some of the most commercial movies of recent years. So, where does Zorro fall on his resume? Somewhere near the middle.
I enjoyed the dueling action sequences. While most directors would rely on background explosions to keep the viewer’s attention, Campbell and the film’s fight choreographer do a good job varying the action by keeping the elements simple yet the moves complex. With fine editing, Campbell makes the swordplay quite thrilling. However, some of the sequences become overlong and the constant gags are an interruption (there are only so many times you can laugh about somebody being hit in the face so Zorro can safely escape).
The script is straightforward, but not pandering. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (the team behind the Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure franchises) are credited with the story and screenplay along with Randall Jahnson (story) and John Eskow (screenplay). Yet there have been stories where even more writers’ pens have touched the script without credit.
With a popular TV show in the early ‘90s called Zorro on what is today ABC Family, TriStar and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment (he remains an executive producer), put a feature film version in the works in 1992. However, after scripts were thrown out, actors (notably Sean Connery in Hopkins’ role) left, and a director’s game of musical chairs took place (at one point Robert Rodriguez was set to helm), the film was a slow process to reach theaters.
Usually when a movie has this much trouble to get made with so many fingerprints on it, the end result is disastrous. I was happy to find that this was not the case. The Mask of Zorro is quality entertainment with witty banter and an appropriate tone that is the right amount of serious yet winking at its own ridiculousness.
The best scenes are the ones between the chemistry-spewing Banderas and Zeta-Jones. Both are feisty and fierce in a love/hate dynamic. Zorro’s tricky swordplay results in interesting states of undress for Elena that are quite hilarious and attractive. If the film has one fault, it is that the time between the two is all too little.
Critics agreed, highlighting both of the actors being one of the pluses of the film. On Rotten Tomatoes, the top critics ranked the swashbuckler at 77%.
Audiences reacted favorably as well. Released July 17th, Zorro topped the box office with $22.5 million ($38 million adjusted). While nothing that eye-popping, considering that the movie is based off of a low-list hero, is a period piece set in Mexico, and falls under the usually ill-fated genre of swashbuckler, the result could have been much, much worse. With light competition and good word-of-mouth, Zorro cut up an impressive $94 million ($158 million). However, the success of the film depends on what budget report you believe. Various sources claim the film cost as little as $60 million to as much as $100 million and everything in between. I tend to believe that it was higher for the impressive sets, name cast, and the long development process. With $156 million coming in from overseas, though, and a ton of merchandising, I’m sure money was to be made.
However, another reason why I believe the budget was high is that it took over seven years for a sequel to have been spawned (Sony must have been counting their change to see if it was worth it). The Legend of Zorro was released in 2005. That was the year where the studios collectively raped their catalogs, making abysmal sequels that bombed at the box office like XXX: State of the Union, Miss Congenitally 2: Armed and Fabulous (what genius came up with that title?), Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Beauty Shop, and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. Unfortunately, Legend of Zorro fell among those films as well, stumbling with critics and even bigger at the box office (Its final gross barely doubled the first one’s opening weekend. Ouch!).
Banderas’ career stayed steady after Zorro, playing essentially the same role in darker films (Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Original Sin) while still raking in the big bucks by taking parts in Spy Kids 1-3 and Shrek 2-4. I like Banderas and think he is charismatic to watch on screen; unfortunately, he is still doing the same old shtick. Evidence? This year his movies are a new installment in the Spy Kids series and a Shrek spin-off.
Catherine Zeta-Jones followed-up with hit films and an Oscar. Unfortunately, the T-Mobile spokeswoman has been by and large absent from the big screen. However, early next year Zeta-Jones will costar with Gerard Butler and another actress I enjoy, Uma Thurman (she hasn’t had a major release since 2006!) in the rom-com Playing the Field.
While Zorro is entertaining, I can’t remember the last time anyone has mentioned the name in any superhero conversation. Nor can I remember any excitement over a franchise reboot. And with a failure of a sequel, The Mask of Zorro is not with us anymore. I feel like that this film was like the Green Lantern of 1998, albeit better. Both have attractive casts with a bunch of hype, but no real lasting qualities outside of some action sequences.
Worth a rental for some escapist entertainment that won’t kill any brain cells, The Mask of Zorro is a fun flick that should be uncovered by audiences once again.
7 out of 10
Verdict: Not With Us