the original Zorro – Don Diego de la Vega. With the Mexican army led by Santa Anna coming to claim California from the Spanish, de la Vega does one last ride as Zorro to make sure his arch-nemesis, Spanish governor Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson), actually leaves. However, Montero is also planning on tying up loose ends and goes to take down de la Vega upon his return home. In the course of the confrontation, de la Vega’s wife ends up taking a bullet meant for him, Vega is arrested, and his daughter is taken by Montero to raise as his own.

Cut to 20 years later. Santa Anna’s war against the US isn’t going great, leading to Montero returning from Spain with a cunning plan – use asecret gold mine to buy Mexico from Santa Anna with what is technically his own money. With him is de la Vega’s daughter, Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Meanwhile, bandit Alejandro Murieta (Banderas) sees his brother killed by Montero’s enforcer, gringo lawman Harrison Love (Matt Letscher). Murieta ends up running into a recently-escaped-from-prison de la Vega, who makes him an offer – de la Vega will teach Murieta the skills he needs to defeat Love if Murieta becomes Zorro and helps stop Montero.

This is, quite possibly, the highest budget Zorro film in the history of the franchise, and it shows on screen. Anthony Hopkins is one of the best actors in general to take the role of de la Vega, and Banderas similarly fits splendidly into the film. Further, the