THE LONE RANGER (Gore Verbinski, 2013)

[tabuno]

This is no television version of The Lone Ranger and as a result it while gorgeous to look at and the wonderful humor from Johnny Depp came out in bundles, it was the raw, harsh violence that seemed to throw the movie’s tone off balance through out the movie. Perhaps Depp was miscast for this movie, using the Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) motif too well for a movie that wasn’t Pirates of the Caribbean. Or perhaps it was the rest of the script of The Lone Ranger that let Depp down and instead of writing the movie around Depp in the role of Tonto which he excelled, it was if the rest of this dark dramatic Western with attempts a glib humor couldn’t hold up to him.

While the storyline was decent with its expected, usually predictable twists, there were those technical or logical weaknesses, like the unusual lengthy pause in the ambush when the last Ranger was shot that didn’t seem natural nor the unusual rapidity with which the bad guys showed up afterward or later when the Lone Ranger’s teeth seemed more suited for a Superman’s character than a Western city prosecutor. The flashback storybook technique in The Longer Ranger while again decent enough wasn’t as smooth and stylish as even that in The Princess Bride (1987).

The Lone Ranger presents a rather unique set of theatrical dilemmas in this day and age of super-heroes with their super powers and in this version of The Lone Ranger, it was difficult to distinguish between city slicker suddenly becoming a gun-slinging Ranger or some Native American mystical occurrence. And the serious and substantive dramatic moral issues with respect to Indians presented later in the movie that resembled and more effectively presented in Dances with Wolves (1990) wasn’t quite the smoothly blended topic incorporated into The Lone Ranger with its more wry humor and hero nature of the movie. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock played off which over well in the action thriller Speed (1994) or even Sylvester Stallone and again Sandra Bullock meshed both lighter drama, action, humor in the balanced toned The Demolition Man (1993). Perhaps Pierce Brosnan as an aging assassin was also given a balanced dramatic, comedy, thriller role in The Matador (2005) or John Malkovich was given a script that excelled at the balance between comedy and serious biting drama in as a eccentric Magician in The Great Howard Buck (2008). Even the cult classic Pulp Fiction (1994) dwelt with its dramatic violence in a way that didn’t intrude on the more humorous lightness in the movie. Somehow the lightness and the darkness the create a wonderful composite of color in Robert Downey’s version of Sherlock Holmes (2008) while there is a persistent dissonance with Johnny Depp’s Tonto and his surrounding environment, events, and characters.

As for the legend, fairy tale nature of this Western movie, This version of The Lone Ranger seemed out of place and somewhat lost in the rocky formations of southern Utah.

[Johann]

This movie is patently ridiculous.
You are very right that it is beautiful to look at, but there is nothing there. NOTHING. Zip. Zilch.

I have an issue of Vanity Fair from 2011 with Johnny Depp on the cover, and in it he was just "looking at the script", thinking about doing it with Armie Hammer, who for some reason, was cast as The Lone Ranger. Why didn't Johnny Depp play The Lone Ranger?
Him playing Tonto is fucking stupid. It really is. It shows how "quirky" Johnny can be- to the point where it's banal.
I love the guy- he takes risks no one else would take, he is a huge HST student (it was Johnny who found The Rum Diary manuscript buried in Hunter's basement) and he narrated the best film on the Doors ever made.

But it's choices like The Lone Ranger that take his exalted reputation and throw it into the slums of Hollywood schlock.
It's obvious Tonto (and his Big Giant Nuts, LOL) has a little Captain Jack Sparrow in him- which should offend any red man.
My roommate had a point: there are millions of unemployed Native actors who could've NAILED Tonto and given their career a jumpstart. But no, they let Johnny Depp stroke his quirky cock. Did you see that dead bird on his head??? Yeah, Tonto sure looked like that, Kimosabe....WTF is Johnny doing? WTF is Gore Verbinski doing??


The Lone Ranger is a Disney turkey.
Avoid. Because it's Devoid.
Of anything worth seeing.
It's cringe-worthy, actually. A Lavish empty "slapstick western"

[Chris Knipp]

Ha ha. Well done, Johann. Your vernacular demolition chops are definitely still up. "Have you seen that bird on his head?" :).

Have not seen it. I was put off. Saw White House Down instead. Trashy but at least a fun thriller ride. Amazingl complicated, now I think of it, and a large waste of good actors; or just well stocked with actors. I do not think either Jamie Foxx or Channing Tatum (even) got to do what they're really capable of, by a long sight.

Maybe Arnie Hammer isn't quite ready for or qualified for a lead role. We saw him as J. Edgar's boyfriend; the "Winkelvi" in The Social Network. Enjoyable in both, but minor contributions.

Depp seems to have long descended into hackery. Like others even more gifted, such as Gary Oldman, who, however, has recently had something of a comeback.

[Johann]

Agreed. Gary Oldman is a better actor than Johnny Depp.
Children might enjoy The Lone Ranger, but that's about it.
Strictly for Depp fans.

[Chris Knipp]

Gary Oldman is a better actor than Johnny Depp.

Oh, yes. But has Depp made more of an impact? Oldman's first six or seven films were brilliant, each one totally different and incredible performances. Huge natural talent. Depp is more of a personality, with looks, but for a while he really kept his independence admirably, despite the Hollywood effort to market him as a pretty-boy brand. Oldman was a chameleon.