Plot: Set in 1821 against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Los Angeles, Don Diego de la Vega unexpectedly inherits the role of mayor following his father’s death, only to discover a city drowning in debt and under the grip of the powerful Don Emmanuel. Determined to restore order and bring vital water access to the struggling community, Diego quickly realizes that politics alone cannot combat the corruption, exploitation, and growing unrest surrounding him. Diego secretly revives his long-abandoned alter ego for the first time in 20 years, becoming the masked vigilante Zorro as he fights for the people while publicly trying to govern the city as its conflicted mayor.
Review: A staple of comic books, novels, and films from the 1920s through the 1970s, Zorro was the first template for what superheroes would become. A wealthy public figure by day and a masked vigilante by night, Zorro reached the height of his popularity in Disney’s 1959 series as well as the hit 1998 film The Mask of Zorro and its 2005 sequel. While the character has entered the public domain, resulting in everything from a horror version to a mash-up with Quentin Tarantino’s Django, few projects have encapsulated what made the character so enduring. The new series Zorro, starring Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin in the title role and the first French actor to take on the role since Alain Delon in 1975, presents a more comedic take on the character and a unique perspective as the aging Don Diego must once again become the masked hero decades after hanging up his cape.
A fan of Zorro for years, Jean Dujardin has been trying to portray the character for years. In his fifties, Dujardin was too old to play the masked hero in his prime, so this new series puts Zorro at the same age as the actor playing him. The series opens with Don Diego de la Vega (Jean Dujardin) preparing to succeed his father, Don Alejandro (Andre Dussollier), as the Mayor of Los Angeles. With crime and injustices still occurring, Don Diego repeatedly tells his trusty and mute manservant, Bernardo (Salvatore Ficarra), that violence is not the right course. Don Diego and his wife, Gabriella (Audrey Dana), take on leadership of their town while learning of a major debt owed to the rich Don Emmannuel (Eric Elmosnino). With Don Emmannuel taking the law into his own hands, Don Diego decides to become Zorro once again and restore order in Los Angeles, which also opens up a lot more trouble than he bargained for.
The eight-episode series stays faithful to the Spanish and Mexican characters and setting of the original stories. It also adds a good dose of comedy to the story, drawing on Jean Dujardin’s extensive experience in films like Michael Hazanavicius’ OSS 117. Dujardin has the matinee-idol good looks long associated with the Zorro character, and he replicates the look he wore in the Oscar-winning The Artist with slicked-back hair and a pencil-thin mustache. Dujardin cuts an impressive figure when he dons Zorro’s cape, hat, and mask, with the alter ego making an appearance in the first episode. How and why Zorro returns sets up the conflict that unfolds throughout the series, including Don Diego balancing his public and private personas and the way his secret alters his relationship with his wife, Gabriella.
As with any reboot or refresh of a classic series, this Zorro risked alienating fans of the original’s legacy. Like the 1998 film starring Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins, this Zorro explores the origins of Don Diego’s secret identity and offers a new take on his avatar. Jean Dujardin is clearly having fun playing both sides of the character, as are his co-stars. Audrey Dana takes a cue from Catherine Zeta-Jones and portrays Gabriella as a smart, confident woman caught up in the whirlwind of Zorro’s return. The arc that this series takes both Don Diego and Gabriella on is one I did not expect, but it works far better than you think. By the final episode, all expectations of what this Zorro would turn out to be are reversed. The series digs into silly bits of humor, including confusion between characters as they debate who is in charge, giving it a broad comedic tone that feels at home in the old-school style. It is as fun as it is exciting. The action is secondary to this series compared to the dialogue and jokes, but it is never completely overshadowed.
Shot in Spain, Zorro was created and co-written by Benjamin Charbit (Under Control, Gagarine, Notre Dame, Savages, The Trouble with You), Noé Debré (Parliament, Stillwater, Dheepan), and Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud (The Test). Directed by Jean-Baptiste Saurel (Parallels) and Emilie Noblet (Parliament, The 7 Lives of Lea), Zorro works in the same serial format as Disney and other versions of the character over the years. Through the first few episodes, I worried the formula would feel a bit stale and not hold up for all eight chapters, but Charbit and his co-creators manage to keep the pace moving, and the shifting dynamics of the lead characters never let your attention waver. The musical score by Julie Roué blends the signature melodies of Spanish music with an Old West flair, giving Zorro the themes that keep you engaged as each half-hour episode unfolds.
While we wait for an adaptation of Zorro that captures the character’s big-budget spectacle, this mini-series does a good job of reviving the genre’s sense of humor and fun. Jean Dujardin is a perfect fit for Don Diego, looking back on his past as a swashbuckling superhero, and this series takes some innovative turns you may not expect. A fun experiment, Zorro is an enjoyable series that does for Zorro what the Adam West version of Batman did for the Dark Knight. This is a light, fun, and funny series that may not be the Zorro you remember, but it is a well-made twist on the legend. It also proves just how much of a missed opportunity it was not to put Dujardin in the cape and mask twenty years ago.
Zorro premieres on June 30th on MHz.
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