The Mask of Zorro

Though I watched a fair number of Zorro episodes as a kid, it was far from my favorite series. Safe to say that I didn't expect too much from this film, not in the least because director Campbell has a pretty poor resume. The film turned out to be pretty much what I thought it would be, but with a few silver linings.

Zorro was never very serious and it seems Campbell understood that very well. Especially during the first half there's a certain cheesy mood that makes the film a lot easier to sit through. Not that it was particularly great, but at least the pacing was decent and it never felt like it tried to be too serious.

The action sequences (apart from the explosive finale) are rather dull though and it's criminal to let a simple film like this cross the two-hour mark. The second half also loses some of its lightheartedness and the build-up toward the finale did drag, but I expected a lot worse. That said, I won't be seeing the sequel any time soon.