Character research: Zorro

By Callum Brown
Zorro is light-hearted mexican western hero who has been around for generations. He is an iconic character and although there have been many incarnations my favourite has to be Antonio Banderas' version in 'The Mask of Zorro' its quirky, fun, cool, action adventure atmosphere has everything Zorro is supposed to represent, with great performances from Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta Jones as well, its one of my childhood favourites. As far as the character goes its not unfamiliar to the Lone Ranger, both saw their brothers murdered by a military commander and swore revenge, both wear a mask to hide their identities as they fight corrupt governments with personal interests at gain, both villains are military commanders working for a wealthier man, both villains are after gold/silver, both villains die by being crushed by said stone, both also display strangely upbeat atmosphere for a western, with alot of action and romance, maybe this is what draws me to them, its no secret that I enjoy superhero movies and westerns and these characters seem to mash those genres together.