The Mask of Zorro is an exciting action film from Goldeneye and Casino Royale director Martin Campbell. This feature is reminiscent of Batman and other comic book heroes due to the title character's ability to fight several dangerous enemies at once, wear an elegant dark costume, and being able to conceal his identity.
Zorro is also a clever and insightful investigator who can track down villains and sneak into places without getting caught. Zorro also likely influenced Puss In Boots in terms of the sword fighting and wardrobe, along with both characters being charismatically portrayed by a great leading man in Antonio Banderas.
What Is The Mask of Zorro About?
The Mask of Zorro takes place in the early 1800s and begins with Anthony Hopkins as Don Diego de la Vega (the older, wiser, and original Zorro) who has an exquisite opening sequence when fighting against Don Rafael Montero (the corrupt governor of The Californias) and his Spanish army while rescuing Mexican peasants from public execution. Zorro engages in swordplay and uses his whip to get up to the rooftops. After that initial battle, Diego takes off his Zorro costume at home and tells his wife Esperanza that his ride as the swashbuckling caped hero is over.
However, when Rafael shows up to interrupt Diego and Esperanza's evening, the governor correctly guesses that Diego is Zorro, especially due to a wound the caped hero sustained on his arm. As Diego and Rafael engage in a sword fight, Esperanza is fatally shot, resulting in Diego's house being burned down. Rafael ends up taking Diego's baby girl, Elena, and Zorro is ridden away as a prisoner. Twenty years later, Diego manages to escape from prison and has his sights set on revenge when Rafael returns to control California (along with its gold and the people).
Meanwhile, Alejandro Murrieta (Banderas) and his brother Joaquin are small-time thieves. However, when Alejandro witnesses Joaquin's murder by the sword of Captain Harrison Love (Rafael's right-hand man), he becomes an emotionally-driven man focused on vengeance like Diego, who he apparently runs into while getting drunk in a tavern. After Diego easily beats Alejandro in a brief battle, the old Zorro agrees to teach and mentor his new protégé on how to properly fight with a sword, so they can both get payback on their enemies.
Zorro Is A Combination of Batman and Puss In Boots
Banderas' portrayal of Zorro served as one of the inspirations for his animated character, Puss in Boots, since both characters are beloved heroes (and occasional thieves). Both characters also have a hat, cape, boots, a pointy sword, and a horse for riding. Each hero also has tremendous likability and a charming sense of humor, even when facing off against dangerous villains or getting caught up in life-and-death situations.
Zorro also has a lot in common with Batman in terms of their powerful fighting skills and dark stylish wardrobes (including masks to conceal their identities). Both heroes are vigilantes who know how to sneak into public places and invade enemy territories, as well as disappear and escape in elaborate fashion. Zorro may not have the high-tech gadgets like the Dark Knight (especially since they live in very different settings and time periods), but Zorro is a skilled swordsman and can use a whip to swing around and go up rooftops (similar to Batman's grapple gun).
Christopher Nolan's first Batman feature, Batman Begins, was released seven years after The Mask of Zorro, but both films have many similarities due to the themes of heroism, vigilantism, justice, and vengeance. Alejandro (Zorro) and Bruce Wayne (Batman) are men who go through traumatic experiences after witnessing the murder of their family members (Bruce's parents are killed by a crook when he was a child, and Alejandro loses his brother Joaquin to Don Rafael's henchman Captain Love). Both men are driven to seek revenge but are approached by mentors who teach them that they can also become meaningful heroes who are capable of fighting evil and pursuing justice.
Diego (the original Zorro) uses his cave (reminiscent of Batman's dark underground chamber but without the vehicles and gadgets) to train Alejandro to fight efficiently with a sword and improve his movement. Henri Ducard (whose real identity is Ra's al Ghul) also teaches Bruce (before his transformation into the Caped Crusader) how to fight with a sword, along with various martial arts techniques including Kung Fu. Zorro and Batman are both skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and even though they're human compared to other comic book heroes, they can tackle multiple opponents at once with rapid movement and surprise tactics.
Zorro And Batman Use Theatricality And Deception To Succeed
When Alejandro and Diego aren't dressed up as Zorro, they go undercover as noblemen to Don Rafael and Captain Love's large estate to figure out how to engage the villains and foil their plan to take control of California and the gold mine. Alejandro briefly gains Rafael's trust, sparks chemistry with a grown-up Elena, and holds his own when confronting his nemesis Captain Love, while Diego goes into secret rooms and extracts information. Without the Batman costume, Bruce uses his status as a billionaire to run Wayne Enterprises his way to secure his family's legacy, while also learning from Lucius Fox how to improve his Bat costume and gadgetry to investigate criminals at night in Gotham.
The Zorro and Batman costumes aren't only used to conceal each hero's true identity, but also to use the element of surprise on villains who intend to cause harm to their people. Through training from their mentors, the caped heroes also learn that there's a fine line between justice and revenge, but are committed to doing everything necessary to defeat evil.