As you can tell by the title, I’ll be looking at another
hero who inspired Batman’s mythos: Zorro. Zorro, aka Don Diego de la Vega, was
created in 1919. He first debuted in pulp novels and then moved to other media.
He’s just about been everywhere in media. He’s been in TV, film, radio, books,
comics, and other things. If you can think of it, he’s probably been in it. His
main setting is usually California in the early 19th century before
it officially became a part of the USA. He basically stands up for the common
man against any tyrannical politicians and overall bad men.
It’s easy to see what Kane and Finger took from the character. Zorro’s a nobleman, decked out in all black,
sports a mask, and wears a hat. He also sports a cape, is athletic, and pretty
cunning for the most part. His main weapon of choice is the rapier and he uses
other gadgets in order to help people. From what I’ve seen of the character
(the Banderas movies, an animated show, and a live-action show), he’s kind of a light-hearted guy and we know Batman is far from that these days. The character
has also even been folded into Batman’s mythos. In some versions of his origin,
The Mark of Zorro was the movie that he and his parents saw on the night they
were gunned down.
Instead of a random comic, I decided to look at the more
modern movies of the character and see how they are. They were both directed by
Martin Campbell. Zorro was brought back to American theaters with The Mask of
Zorro in 1998. It was a success back then but a sequel didn’t come until a few
years later. The Legend of Zorro was released in 2005 and wasn’t as much of a
success. I remember seeing the first one a lot on TV. As for Legend, I’ve only
seen it once on DVD. I found both movies for a bargain at McKay’s, so I decided
to check them out. What’s my verdict? Find out below.
The Mask of Zorro
In the movie, the original Zorro (Don Diego) gets imprisoned
for 20 years by his enemy, Rafael Montero. His wife also dies and baby daughter
is taken. After he escapes from prison, he wants to avenge his dead wife. He
ends up finding a younger, unskilled outlaw named Alejandro who also wants
revenge against the main bad guys. Diego ends up training Alejandro in his ways
and Alejandro becomes the new Zorro. As Zorro, Alejandro does his best to help
the people in the land. He also ends up falling in love with Elena, Diego’s
long lost daughter.
Guys, this is probably me on the right... don't even give me a sword.
This was a pretty good movie. I liked all of the characters.
I thought Antonio Banderas was cool as the new Zorro. Anthony Hopkins knocked
it out of the park as the older Zorro. Yeah, you might look at that casting
these days and make a fuss about it. Still, Hopkins was good and I liked the
banter between him and Banderas. Catherine Zeta-Jones was a good love interest
and I liked the chemistry between her and Banderas. The villains were also
pretty good for the most part. Rafael (I don’t know the
guy’s real name) was good and Captain Love was a cold-blooded right hand man.
Sweet.
The story was fine for the most part. It takes you for a
loop at the beginning and it doesn’t play like a standard Zorro story. There
were heartfelt moments and some good funny moments in here too. A lot of the
funny moments involved Alejandro’s new horse, Tornado. The action scenes and
fight scenes were really good. The sword play looked really good here. I can
see why I sometimes want to dress up as Zorro for Halloween. There’s little
about it I don’t like. While I like the story, there were a couple of points
where it wasn’t as good. Also, it could get a little too cutesy at times. Other
than that, it was really good.
.... Nothing to say. Too bad Ant-Man scooped her away!
The Legend of Zorro
The sequel takes place in 1850, about 10 years later.
Alejandro is still at it as Zorro and trying to help California become a part
of the US. Unfortunately, his Zorro time keeps him away from Elena and their son,
Joaquim. Something happens and Elena unexpectedly breaks up with Alejandro. Sometime
later, she ends up hanging around Armand, a French Count. Alejandro is peeved
but is busy investigating a strange explosion and trying to stop thugs from
hassling landowners. Eventually, Alejandro’s and Elena’s paths cross when they
uncover a plot that involves starting America’s Civil War early.
Thankfully, Zorro didn't have to face off against Armand's descendant from Dark City. I still need to watch that movie and I own it!
The movie was okay but pretty lackluster. It does have some
good things. Of course, Antonio Banderas and Cathrine Zeta-Jones were still good.
I also liked that Elena got a lot more to do this time around instead of just
being a love interest. The son wasn’t too annoying and I did like how the whole
family interacted. I also thought the villain, Armand, was alright. Friar Felipe,
Alejandro’s helper, was also pretty funny at times. The final action sequence
was pretty cool. There were also some nice funny scenes.
I don't know what feels more out of place: the kid or that bar of soap.
As for the negatives, something felt off about it. I don’t
know what it is. I feel like a lot of the edge the first movie had is not here.
It feels tame and safe. There was some humor that came off bad. I also thought
some of the writing and dialogue felt a bit off at times. It was weird seeing
Alejandro and Elena butt heads like this. Also, I thought throwing Joaquim into
some action scenes was a bit much to take. The action for the movie in general
felt really tame when compared to the first movie. In the end, it’s lackluster but
it does work as an okay sequel.
..............................................................................................
Overall, I had one good movie and one lackluster movie
featuring the one they call “The Fox.” These days, Zorro is still around.
Dynamite Comics is putting out comics with him. He even crossed over with
Django from Django Unchained in a crossover. Now that is something I might read.
He’s still well-known around the world. As for movies, I did read that Sony may
reboot the franchise into something darker akin to the Nolan Batman films.
Personally, I’d have to see how it works out since I don’t think you need to
make the character too dark. Well, I’m done for the night. Peace and God Bless.
NEXT TIME: THE GHOST WHO WALKS!
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