Zorro may wear a mask, but there's no disguising the fact that this is an absolutely splendid swashbuckler. Anthony Hopkins plays the original righter of wrongs, who hands over his rapier, and his mission, to the younger Antonio Banderas. Catherine Zeta-Jones, as the fiery heroine, proves she's a match for the men in the action sequences. Director Martin Campbell (following on from the success of blockbuster Bond movie GoldenEye) makes the most of the dramatic swordplay and paces the film perfectly to its explosive conclusion.

It has been twenty years since Don Diego de la Vega fought Spanish oppression in Alta California as the legendary romantic hero, Zorro. Having escaped from prison he transforms troubled bandit Alejandro into his successor, in order to foil the plans of the tyrannical Don Rafael Montero who robbed him of his freedom, his wife and his precious daughter.