The Mask of Zorro & Downsizing

I don't have a lot to say about either of these movies, so I'll combine them into one post. The Mask of Zorro is fun and well-made. I remember watching some of the 1950s Zorro TV show when I was a kid. My dad was a huge fun and he got my older brother, Brent, into it the most. One year for Halloween, Brent went as Zorro while I was one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The beauty of Zorro is that it isn't a story of populism run amok. He's a Robin Hood or Batman-type who uses his abilities and position to benefit an oppressed populace. Zorro is virtuous and easy to root for.

I can understand how much fun Martin Campbell's film must be for kids, so it's no surprise that Dean wants to watch his favorite scenes over and over, or that John's kids started sword fighting around the house afterward. I definitely would've done the same.

When I watched movies as a kid, I loved origin stories. The culmination being the moment when our hero has all of his costume and gear, and is riding off into the final battle. While this film isn't necessarily an origin story, I do love the moments when Alejandro Murrieta gets his horse and his mask.

Having Catherine Zeta-Jones in the movie adds some fun, seeing as how her character is also pretty skilled with a sword. I guess I would expect her character to be a little more selfish and nefarious, given the personality of her adoptive father. But that's only a minor gripe.

My biggest issue with Downsizing is that I don't feel like I know why Matt Damon's character would choose to "downsize." I can project reasons on him, based on what I know about his life, but it still seems like too big of a decision to make just because he wants some change in his life. In general, there's too much emphasis on the technology and not enough on the characters. 

I enjoyed Christoph Waltz and Hong Chau for the most part. I don't mind the approach that Alexander Payne takes with his actors. The performances are mostly pretty small, to decent comedic effect, but there wasn't enough in the film to get me onboard with the story.