(Review originally written at 19 February 2008)
This is the very first Zorro adventure movie and in that regard this movie is already an interesting one and also a must-see for the Zorro fans as well as for the fans of the swashbuckler genre and Douglas Fairbanks.
The movie is really fast paced, so the movie really flies by and its over before you know it. This means that the movie also really never bores and basically offers plenty of fun entertainment from start till finish.
I however didn't really found the story to be very interesting. It was not that the story was bad or anything but I thought it was all pretty standard material, also in the way it was approached and told in the movie. Oh well, perhaps I've just seen 1 or 2 too many of these sort of movies already. It's the usual standard sort of Zorro story you would expect, if you've already seen some of the other Zorro movies/TV-series or read any of the books/comics. It's about Zorro fighting the Spanish oppressors in California of the 19th century and of course Zorro also finds the time to fall in love with a girl.
It's funny to notice that basically every made Zorro production has the same light kind of atmosphere and humor in it. So this movie included does a good job at capturing the mood of what Zorro is all about.
For 1920 standards this movie is also quite action filled. It was all some quite spectacular action for its time and the movie features lots of sword-fights, horseback riding, jumping and Douglas Fairbanks once more showing off his athletic skills.
It was kind of weird thought watching Douglas Fairbanks halve of the time walking around without a mustache. He looked so much different without it. But he of course was great in his role and shows once more why he is regarded as the father of the swashbuckling genre. I also liked Robert McKim in his villainous roles in this movie.
The movie has some nice production values and it features some good looking locations and sets. They obviously had some money to spend for this movie and they spend it well on props and other details.
Fun entertaining movie, that also is less outdated then you would expect it is, considering its year of production.
8/10
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