Corona Scooper

Thanks to Debel for giving me this.

"Finally, a summer film that deserves the season, After filmgoers have suffered through the Summer That Wasn't, Sony has given us the film we want: amazing action, suspense, humor, romance, and a climax where the Good Guys vanquish the Bad Guys (without the modern-day de rigeur 'Sequel Coming' denouement). It's a great movie, it's a date movie, and it reaffirms your belief in cinema's power to transport.

"Think of this as Sony's apology. ZORRO has the two things that GODZILLA didn't: heart and humanity.

"The plot, so well detailed by your 10/1/97 reviewer, is simple and flavorful. (The wonderful thing is that ZORRO *has* a plot.) The first twenty minutes of this film houses more entertainment and story than most films three-hour films. Throught this story, the stakes are always high -- for both Zorro and his townspeople -- and things flow quickly and smoothly. Whether Hopkins or Banderas, Zorro is always shown as a man struggling with the mask. The film's subtext says that, as Zorro, you make an implicit sacrifice of self to don the mask of a hero, and that sacrifice can empty your life.

"Conversely, or because of this, Zorro is always the hero we want: assured, amused, and a little cocky (but never cliche). He's the hero, he's the best at what he does, and he knows it. The film has humor in almost every scene, but it's adult humor. Not sexual, but clever, fast, funny, and character-based.

"Hey, it's great to have characters again, instead of the one-dimensional cut-outs we've endured lately.

"And characters we have. Hopkins is graceful, in mask or out, as a man who's sacrificed much for his people and has felt life's ashes fall through his fingers. Banderas, who gently treads the evolutionary line of fool to jester, plays well with Hopkins. Again, these are men who are very good at what they do, and enjoy life. And Catherine Zeta-Jones is wonderful. She masters a role involving intelligence, confidence, humor, and sensuality. Instead of just another pretty face, she becomes Banderas' equal (in wit, swordplay, and dance -- and what a dance it is).

"When's the last time you saw an action film where people tried *outsmarting* each other? It reminds you what you've been missing.

"In short: THE MASK OF ZORRO. The first film of the summer. Hopefully not the last (THE AVENGERS, anyone?)"