A swish, a swoosh, the snick-snack-snick of dueling blades--the nice thing about swordplay is that it doesn't make a lot of noise. When cold steel is their weapon of choice, men can actually exchange snappy dialogue while engaging in mortal combat. Better still, when heroism and villainy go at it mano a mano, a certain clearly identifiable humanity as well as a certain cinematic grace and fluidity is imparted to their conflicts.
This alone would be enough to recommend The Mask of Zorro--and separate it from its competitors. Imagine a summer action spectacle that saves its only explosion until the end,...