THE MASK OF ZORRO, one example of updating a venerable adventure tale that actually gets it right, slashing Z’s for Zest! into 1998, rousing and romantic enough to have the spirits of Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power and Guy Williams smile in approval.  ZORRO: “Do you surrender?”  ELENA: “Never, but I may scream.”  ZORRO: “I understand. Sometimes I have that effect.” *

Alta California; prologue in 1821, the body of the story in 1841. In this version, the ‘new’ Zorro, bandit ‘Alejandro Murietta’ (Antonio Banderas, 37), brother of Joaquin, is trained to fight like a tiger by ‘Don Diego de la Vega’ (Anthony Hopkins, 59), the original Z-Man of the prologue scenes. Sprung from prison, Diego seeks to reunite with his daughter ‘Elena’ (Catherine Zeta-Jones), stolen as a baby by swinish ‘Don Rafael Montero’ (Stuart Wilson), now the governor of the province (our old Alamo pal Santa Anna ruling Mexico, again) and working in concert with a nasty gringo officer Harrison Love (Matt Lescher, based, quite unfavorably on the real Harry Love, 1810-1868, a California Ranger). New blood Alejandro will mask up and make with the swordplay.

Owing as do all Zorro’s a debt of honor to the 300 pages of Johnston McCulley’s 1919 novel “The Curse Of Capistrano”, the screenplay was initially a tripartite effort from John Eskow (Air America), Ted Elliott (Shrek) and Terry Rossio (four Pirates of The Caribbean,  with Elliott). Then David S. Ward (The Sting) was summoned to do extensive rewrites (perhaps as much as 85%), sans credit. Martin Campbell directed, in between Bond smashes GoldenEye and Casino Royale, showing equal panache with earlier one-man-army/quipster/fox magnet romps of the 19th-ccntury Latino quasi-Robin Hood, reviving we oppressed peasants thru the message that one stud’s quiver is another’s scabbard, with society/s churning a seemingly inexhaustible supply of puncture-deserving aristocrats and lick-spittle minions.

Shot in Mexico—Guaymas, Durango, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo—the handsome cinematography from Phil Meheux (The Long Good Friday, Casino Royale) casts a warm glow that doesn’t merely favor the attractive leads but summons a nostalgic pull for the Old California of collective imagination. Sight to sound: whether it’s El Cid or El Mariachi, Old World or New, “Malagueña” or Shakira, music is key to firing up the blood when it comes to glances of meaning, dances of seduction or chances at glory: thankfully epic aficionado James Horner blessed this with another choice entry in his treasure trove. Need to somersault onto a table and fight a squad of dragoons?—he’s your wingman. **

Hopkins, looking to do an action film instead of a drama for a change, is his usual cool and commanding self. The villains are suitably rotten, the art direction and costuming dandy, and the fight scenes, done with flair and pluck, are choice, especially a classic when Banderas (and his acrobatic double) perform a grand one-against-many standoff that runs down a hallway, off a balcony, onto a circular table, into a tree and against a wall, clobbering everyone sent against him. This highlight immediately leads into another, a delightful flirt & parry face-off with Zeta-Jones’ devilish and daring Elena. At 27 in her breakthrough role she’s assured, confident, funny and stunningly gorgeous; her chemistry with Banderas couldn’t be better. Crucially, he’s a marvelous choice for the hero, the right blend of casual virility and a droll sense of humor, just the sort of roguish dash the role requires.

The production cost looks to have been $65,000,000, with prints & marketing possibly pushing that up to $95,000,000. Ranked 98’s 18th in Norte America, where $94,100,000 liberated from pockets accounted for 38 of a global arrest topped off at $250,300,000. Critics applauded, and Oscar-time induced nominations for Sound and Sound Effects Editing; it should have been up for the score, too. Seven years later, sequel The Legend Of Zorro, despite reuniting stars, director, cameraman and composer, didn’t leap but limped into 67th place, 49 rapier cuts lower on the dinero chart. Cost more, made less, pleased fewer. ***

137 minutes with Tony Amendola, Pedro Armendariz Jr., L.Q. Jones (based, way roughly, on the real ‘Three-fingered Jack’), José María de Tavira, Maury Chaykin, Victor Rivers (as Joaquin Murietta) and Jose Perez.

* Something in the Evian?—1998 saw revisits/homages/pillages of Godzilla, The Avengers, Mighty Joe Young, Psycho, Lolita, Lost In Space, Les Miserables, The Odd Couple, The Man In The Iron Mask, Dr. Doolittle, the Blues Brothers, Great Expectations and The Parent Trap.

** James Horner, 1953-2015—“In all the films I work on, there’s always that “What is the heart of the film?,” and I try and nail that.” He did that again here, adding to his roster which would boast the likes of Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Aliens, Glory, Braveheart, Titanic, A Beautiful Mind, Troy and Avatar. Y’know, minor stuff. To that we add that your pensive/waxing/bloviating El Hefe of MoviesAla is of northern European descent, with 400+ years in what is now (or wuz) the United States, yet there must be a restless cadre of Iberian chromosomes in there somewhere, because along with bagpipes, those take-the-floor/take-her-hand/take-the wall themes of España and her multi-layered offspring hit this soldado de infantería where it counts—the soul. Devotion may have started (in a previous century…cough) with Dimitri Tiomkin’s The Alamo or George Antheil’s The Pride And The Passion (or even Herb Alpert’s “The Lonely Bull“) but Horner’s typically heartfelt work on this fun actioner stroked the same nerve endings that have been & are always blessed by Alfred Newman (The Mark Of Zorro, Captain From Castille), Victor Young (For Whom The Bell Tolls), Miklos Rozsa (El Cid) and Jerry Goldsmith (Caboblanco). Written while in Cartagena, Colombia, on the Gulf of…who knew?…MEXICO.

*** Have Sword,Will Grin—besides Antonio and the three he-dudes mentioned at the top, other subterfugic Diego’s on screens large and small include Gordon Scott, Sean Flynn, Guy Stockwell, Alain Delon, George Hamilton, Henry Darrow, Frank Langella, Duncan Regehr, Jean Dujardin, and St. Teresa of Avila knows how many stick-wielding kids in their backyards…