|
If you're thinking that Antonio Banderas, born in Spain, is the
ideal Zorro -- the Latin folk hero who donned a mask and drew his
sword to free Mexico from Spanish rule -- think again. Anthony
Hopkins, born in South Wales, has the role of Don Diego de la Vega,
the Spanish nobleman who led a secret life as Zorro. Huh? It's just
one of the peculiar surprises in this lavishly produced
swashbuckler that should have been far more entertaining.
Banderas plays Alejandro Murieta, a common thief who ends up in
Zorro drag. To shorten a long story: Don Diego has rotted in jail
for twenty years thanks to Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson), the
villain who has also raised Don Diego's daughter, Elena (Catherine
Zeta-Jones), as his own. Naturally, Don Diego is pissed. He escapes
from prison, hooks up with Alejandro and trains the stud to replace
him as Zorro.
It's not easy. Alejandro needs a makeover, which requires
lessons in manners as well as swordplay. Hopkins, while never
convincingly Latin, hams it up royally. And Banderas cuts a sexy
romantic figure, especially when he crosses swords with Elena --
newcomer Zeta-Jones needs no lessons in being gorgeous -- and turns
the battle into a delicious game of strip-fencing.
What a shame, then, that director Martin Campbell (Golden
Eye) bogs down the fun stuff with subplots about a gold mine
and Don Rafael's plan to buy California from Mexico. The stunts are
a kick, except when it's indefensibly obvious that we're watching
stunt doubles. And the constant crosscutting from Banderas to
Hopkins -- was it contractual that each has equal screen time? --
is needlessly distracting. Banderas and Hopkins prove that there's
life in the Z-boy yet, but by leaving in the dull patches, the
filmmakers may find audiences catching zzzzzs in ways they never
intended.
PETER TRAVERS
RS 792
|
Action
® © 1948-2005, Muze Inc
