6. The Mask Of Zorro (1998)
Before writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio hit it big with the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, they made an attempt to revive Johnston McCully's classic superhero Zorro. And what an attempt it was! The story of The Mask Of Zorro is your typical "passing down the mantle" one, concerning Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) and his passing down of the Zorro hat and cloak to young naive thief Alejandro (Antonio Banderas), who seeks revenge for his brother who was killed by Captain Harrison Love (Matt Letscher). Along they way they battle Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson) who stole Don Diego's daughter as a baby (Catherine Zeta-Jones). This is a largely forgotten film, which is a shame because it was seen as a crowd-pleaser upon its release, and I think still holds up today. The performances are top-notch, the swashbuckling swordplay is very well choreographed, and the use of humor in the film (of which there's a ton) saves it from being too dark or cynical. An all-around good time that you should really be given a second look.