SummaryA sweeping romantic adventure of love and honor, of tragedy and triumph set against Mexico's fight for independence from the iron fist of Spain. (Sony)
Directed By:Martin Campbell
Written By:Johnston McCulley, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Randall Jahnson, John Eskow
The Mask of Zorro
Metascore
Generally Favorable
62
User score
Generally Favorable
7.1
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
62
59% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
41% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
80
This spirited rerun, neatly mixing parody and panache, squeezes a surprising amount of fun out of the old war horse.
75
The return to an Errol Flynn-style hero, who can swing from chandeliers, fight with two swords at once and ride a horse backward, recalls a movie era both sexier and more innocent.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.1
65% Positive
92 Ratings
92 Ratings
32% Mixed
46 Ratings
46 Ratings
3% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Jan 9, 2026
10
Greetings from Lithuania.
"The Mask of Zorro" (1998) is a superb entertainment, a real crowd pleaser. Made with energy, with and superb performances all over around it's a great flick from start till finish. Like many great revenge stories, this one has everything - a progressing hero, a wonderful central character and so on. "The Mask of Zorro" for me was a near perfect adventure film from the late 90's. I was a teen when this came out and i saw it many times. For me this film has a big nostalgia factor. The story is fantastically simple yet universally involving. Music by James Horner was amazing. Three great actors Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones are splendid here and Stuart Wilson was a superb villain. And leave it to a great Martin Campbell ("Casino Royale", "Goldeneye") to craft such an entertaining adventure film.Overall, "The Mask of Zorro" is a great adventure movie for me personally. I highly enjoy rewatching this film, it is a superbly entertaining one.
Jan 22, 2020
10
In this film, the legend of Zorro, a Mexican masked hero who fights for justice against oppressive Spaniards, comes to life. And the film is excellent in all aspects. Here, the story of the film is intertwined with political intrigues involving the independence of the Republic of California and the American desire to expand from coast to coast. The story is interesting and gives us good moments of romance and adventure. The time when everything happens is interesting and shows the decline of the Spanish Empire and the expansion of the USA. It is a historical time that allows for excellent costumes and scenery, and it was very well portrayed, almost as a compliment to Hispanic culture. Of course, there are certain things that didn't go so well and the historical details of the sets and costumes can be the subject of some debate. António Banderas gained fame and projection, in good part, with this film. Besides being a handsome man, he showed talent and did a good job as an actor. Good moments of action, good sword fights and a certain rebellious boldness characterize his character and the actor was able to meet what was asked of him. Another very evident and very well accomplished thing was the intense chemistry with Catherine Zeta-Jones, with whom he acted and made a romantic pair. She, in turn, was also very well here, exuding sensuality and personality. Next to them, Anthony Hopkins, always impeccable. Stuart Wilson and Matt Letscher are good at villain roles and do their job very well here. In addition to the very good scenarios and costumes, the film has good cinematography, good colors, an elegant light, good fights, good action and a permanent sense of adventure help this film to become pleasant and even memorable. In fact, it was one of the best adventure films of the nineties.
75
Proudly old-fashioned in every way except the often excessive violence that director Martin Campbell splashes across the screen.
70
Old-fashioned fun that goes down as smoothly as a vintage cocktail.
50
Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas work with professional skill in a ludicrous vehicle.
50
A slew of writers and an enthusiastic cast all do their jobs admirably enough to provide a couple of hours of unembarrassing entertainment.
40
A romantic adventure-movie slapstick that's too screwy for the action crowd and too old-fashioned for the Home Alone contingent.
Aug 11, 2010
10
This movie is phenomenal and definitely one of the most underrated movies of all-time. The plot is great, everything flows wonderfully from scene to scene and it gives you that feel of a real authentic movie. The action is fantastic as well, I mean who doesn't love sword-fighting especially when its done this good. I thought characters were also well mapped out and you really do care what happens to them.
Dec 7, 2024
9
Peak 90s action, charme and cheese. They literally don't makethem like they used to.
Feb 16, 2026
6
A good cast makes the best of a cheesy and fairly predictable script but the end result is still pretty mediocre.
Nov 15, 2025
5
Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, and Catherine Zeta-Jones star, two-time Bond reviver Martin Campbell directs, a $90 million budget, James Horner composes the score, and Amblin produces – all the ingredients for a wonderful cinematic adventure!Unfortunately, "The Mask of Zorro" doesn't rise above mediocrity. The reasons are the wooden acting, the classic/old-fashioned direction, the irritating score, bland villains, and an extremely predictable story that doesn't justify the epic runtime of this adventure. When action does occur between the long stretches of boredom, it's competently done. Unfortunately, there's far too little of **** I regret watching "The Mask of Zorro"? No. But this first viewing will also be my last.
Jan 21, 2026
4
The rhythmic machinery of a high-stakes heist: A 2.0-star "stagnant" drift through leather-clad laser beams.2011 (2.0)I watched "Entrapment" (1999) in 2011, and while it remains a "pathetic" 2.0-star record in my archive, it delivered a visceral "revelation" of pure aesthetic admiration. I remember watching it with a high-tension excitement, primarily because Catherine Zeta-Jones felt like the absolute "truth" of healthy, black-haired white beauty—a "vivid" charm that I now see mirrored in the "raw" energy of Alex Vause from "Orange Is the New Black." The narrative rhythm, however, felt incredibly "stagnant," offering a 100% mechanical heist plot that lacked the "chewy" intellectual depth or the "raw" human distrust found in my 5.0-star pillars. Seeing the "vivid" display of her agility through laser beams provided a "sensational" visual payoff, but the overall experience felt like a "pathetic" exercise in style over substance, leaving me in a state of "silent frustration" at its "stagnant" tropes. The 95% preservation of my memory is dominated by the rhythmic, high-tension focus on her "raw" screen presence and that "vivid" black hair, creating a journey that felt more like a "stagnant" fashion showcase than a "sensational" cinematic masterpiece. Unlike the high-tension precision of "The Experiment," this theatrical encounter provided no permanent, "sensational" scar on my soul, standing only as a "vivid" 2.0-star artifact of rhythmic attraction—a "pathetic" yet "짜릿한" encounter with a healthy beauty that remains a "stagnant" but memorable highlight of my 2011 archive.
Production Company:
- TriStar Pictures
- Amblin Entertainment
- David Foster Productions
- Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.
- Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Company Medien KG
- Zorro Productions
Release Date:Jul 17, 1998
Duration:2 h 16 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:When freedom is a memory and justice is outlawed, the just must become outlaws.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Nominations
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
