Movie Thursday #5

Here we see Zorro, the legendary Californio "superhero" who fights corruption for the benefit of Alta California's townspeople, train a protégé to stop the evil Don Rafael from his plot to conquer Alta California.

The Mask of Zorro ended up with a 82% rating by Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 63 out of 100.

I enjoyed recently watching this for the first time. My background knowledge of Zorro isn't very immense, so I can't say whether the movie did justice to the character. I particularly enjoyed seeing Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins out of their element. That is, to me at least. Hearing Banderas' voice, I couldn't help but think of Puss in Boots, and seeing Hopkins made me think of Silence of the Lambs. However they both filled the roles well in my opinion, and it eases my mind to know films like this may have paved the way for Banderas to shy away from his more uncomfortable early roles in various Almodóvar films.

I was particularly drawn to the theme of ignoring vengeance, though the theme seems to take the back seat at the end of the film. I can't exactly speak on its historical accuracy, though I do know many aspects (such as characters) are based on true events.

I give it a 4 out of 5 star rating.

In this film, we see our titular hero, John Hancock, take unconventional approaches to fight crime, attributing to his negative public image. He meets Ray Embrey during one of his ill-planned rescues, who offers to improve this public image.

Compared to the average Superhero movie, Hancock wasn't much of a success, achieving only a 41% approval by Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic approval rates where equally unimpressive, with 49 out of 100.

Don't expect Hancock to be like your average superhero movie, as Hancock is a less admirable than usual superhero. This admittedly does add depth to his character, but makes his character development perhaps too predictable. All around I find this movie to be entertaining, though at times over-the-top and raunchy. This "over-the-top-ness" appeals to my sense of humor, though it may not always be intentional.

I give it a 3 out of 5 star rating.

Have you seen either of these films? 

If so, what would you rate it/them? 

If not, do you see yourself watching it/them in the future?

Do you have any recommendations for films to review?