This is a fun movie which is a blast to watch.
The story in a nutshell... The original Zorro (Anthony Hopkins) loses everything one fateful night and spends the next 20 years in jail. When his enemy returns to Mexico, he escapes, and trains a new Zorro (Antonio Banderas) to help him save the day...and his daughter (Catherine Zeta Jones) and continue the legend of...
Zorro!
This movie falls into that "Hollywood remakes" that gets it right instead of failing to be inspired by the original versions.
By 1998, had you asked me what the greatest comic book movie ever made would have been, I likely would have responded that this movie was the closest to a great comic book movie that you could get.
Technically, Zorro was a creation of the pulp digests of the day, which was the forerunner to comic books. So yes, I would have been correct.
: )
Now that another decade has passed, Zorro will slide out of the comic book movie and take its place as a fun action picture instead.
The opening sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
The introduction, at least to me, of Catherine Zeta Jones, was similar to Jack Black's appearance on the countdown yesterday. Apparently she'd been in stuff before this, but for the majority, this was her big break in a larger role, and she seized it to become the star she is today.
She has great chemistry with Antonio Banderas, who revels in the part of the new Zorro. The movie is his to carry, and he does a great job proving to audiences that he deserves a chance as a leading man in Hollywood.
The sequel, while okay, was not as fun and exciting as this one.
Better, was the inspired casting of Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise. While those also do not make the countdown, they were under serious consideration, and frankly a lot of that was due to Antonio's charisma as the little cat who was clearly an extension of this character.
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