Throwback Thursday - The Mask of Zorro (1998)
Hey guys, Chuck here, and welcome to the return of Throwback Thursday here on Chuck's Movie Breakdown. The 1990's were an interesting time for films to say the least. Unlike today's film and pop-culture obsessed world, movies back then were just a means of entertainment. We didn't think too deep into the movie we were watching, and we just enjoyed them for what they were. This especially was true if you were a kid growing up back in the late 90's. The use of CGI in film was a growing trend, and thanks to films like Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, Jumanji, and The Mask, the computer was used a lot in the filmmaking process. Disaster films like Twister, Volcano, Deep Impact, Armageddon, and such were financially successful, and they were a lot of fun to watch at the time. Unfortunately, the critics weren't particularly kind to these movies, and looking back at them now, I can say that they don't hold up nearly as well as we would have thought back then, and they're not as good as we'd like to remember them being. I mean, I enjoyed movies like Godzilla, Inspector Gadget, Twister, Batman Forever, Small Soldiers, and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers back then, but I can honestly say that, while I still enjoy them today, they're not as good as I thought they were when I was a kid, and the only thing that keeps me watching them today is childhood nostalgia. However, of the films released in the late 90's that don't hold up nearly as well today as they did back then, there are a few that stood out back then that are still fondly remembered to this day. Such films include Men in Black, The Matrix, Titanic, and the subject of the first Throwback Thursday of 2020: The Mask of Zorro.
Released in the summer of 1998, this swashbuckling action-adventure was directed by Martin Campbell, who was just fresh off directing the James Bond film GoldenEye. The movie has two main protagonists: Don Diego de la Vega and Alejandro Murrieta. The film starts off with Deigo, also known as the masked swordsman Zorro, rescuing a group of peasants who are to be executed by a firing squad on the orders of the governor of the California region, Don Rafael Montero, who later deduces Diego's true identity, and goes to his home that evening to arrest him. During the scuffle, Diego's wife Esperanza dies from a stray bullet, and Diego's mansion catches on fire. Montero then takes Diego's infant daughter, Elena, and raises her as his own, leaving Diego to die in prison, a shell of his former self.
Twenty years pass and we meet brothers Alejandro and Joaquin Murrieta (Fun fact, Joaquin Murrieta was a real person. He was a famous outlaw during the California Gold Rush of the 1850's, and became known as the "Robin Hood of El Dorado."), who are a pair of criminals working with another man named Three-Fingered Jack. After an encounter with Captain Harrison Love, Joaquin is killed, with Captain Love taking his severed head as a trophy. Alejandro, who had witnessed the events from behind a shrub, swears revenge for his brother's death. Meanwhile, Montero returns from Spain to California, along with a now adult Elena, which motivates Diego to make his escape from prison and start carrying out his plans for revenge against Montero. It is around this time that Diego meets a drunken Alejandro, and seeing potential in the young man, he takes him in for training to eventually become the next Zorro. And do Alejandro and Diego defeat their adversaries? Well, you'll have to watch the movie yourself to find out.
One of the best elements about The Mask of Zorro is, of course, the cast. Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Catherine Zeta-Jones are all fantastic, Stuart Wilson and Matt Letscher were great as the villains, and even Tony Amendola was a lot of fun to watch. I also really enjoyed the stunt work done in this movie. Now keep in mind that CGI, while it was being used only sparingly, was being used in moves quite often at the time this movie was made. So, it was really refreshing to see a movie made with practical effects, real stunt work, and actual explosions. Director Martin Campbell did a fantastic job, and this movie is honestly one of his best. I'd also like to point out that Amblin Entertainment was the main production studio behind this film, and they were involved with a great number of films back in the 90's. So, in truth, Steven Spielberg, who one year before this film's release had just released his Jurassic Park sequel, The Lost World, was responsible for getting this movie made, and he definitely deserves credit for doing so. All in all, The Mask of Zorro is definitely one to watch. If you haven't seen it yet, give it a watch, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Therefore, I give The Mask of Zorro a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time.
Released in the summer of 1998, this swashbuckling action-adventure was directed by Martin Campbell, who was just fresh off directing the James Bond film GoldenEye. The movie has two main protagonists: Don Diego de la Vega and Alejandro Murrieta. The film starts off with Deigo, also known as the masked swordsman Zorro, rescuing a group of peasants who are to be executed by a firing squad on the orders of the governor of the California region, Don Rafael Montero, who later deduces Diego's true identity, and goes to his home that evening to arrest him. During the scuffle, Diego's wife Esperanza dies from a stray bullet, and Diego's mansion catches on fire. Montero then takes Diego's infant daughter, Elena, and raises her as his own, leaving Diego to die in prison, a shell of his former self.
Twenty years pass and we meet brothers Alejandro and Joaquin Murrieta (Fun fact, Joaquin Murrieta was a real person. He was a famous outlaw during the California Gold Rush of the 1850's, and became known as the "Robin Hood of El Dorado."), who are a pair of criminals working with another man named Three-Fingered Jack. After an encounter with Captain Harrison Love, Joaquin is killed, with Captain Love taking his severed head as a trophy. Alejandro, who had witnessed the events from behind a shrub, swears revenge for his brother's death. Meanwhile, Montero returns from Spain to California, along with a now adult Elena, which motivates Diego to make his escape from prison and start carrying out his plans for revenge against Montero. It is around this time that Diego meets a drunken Alejandro, and seeing potential in the young man, he takes him in for training to eventually become the next Zorro. And do Alejandro and Diego defeat their adversaries? Well, you'll have to watch the movie yourself to find out.
One of the best elements about The Mask of Zorro is, of course, the cast. Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, and Catherine Zeta-Jones are all fantastic, Stuart Wilson and Matt Letscher were great as the villains, and even Tony Amendola was a lot of fun to watch. I also really enjoyed the stunt work done in this movie. Now keep in mind that CGI, while it was being used only sparingly, was being used in moves quite often at the time this movie was made. So, it was really refreshing to see a movie made with practical effects, real stunt work, and actual explosions. Director Martin Campbell did a fantastic job, and this movie is honestly one of his best. I'd also like to point out that Amblin Entertainment was the main production studio behind this film, and they were involved with a great number of films back in the 90's. So, in truth, Steven Spielberg, who one year before this film's release had just released his Jurassic Park sequel, The Lost World, was responsible for getting this movie made, and he definitely deserves credit for doing so. All in all, The Mask of Zorro is definitely one to watch. If you haven't seen it yet, give it a watch, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Therefore, I give The Mask of Zorro a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time.
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