Disney's "The Lone Ranger" begins with a train wreck, and the movie miraculously avoids becoming one itself. The big budget update of the Western hero's tale is schizophrenic yet entertaining.
Movie screens this summer have been filled with new renditions of iconic characters from classic TV shows. First came Captain Kirk, then Superman. But the latest rebooted figure is far less familiar to moviegoers under the age of 70. The Lone Ranger hasn't saddled-up since a disastrous film adaptation bombed at the box office in 1981. (That movie's star, Klinton Spilsbury, was literally never heard from again.) So, the character's mythology is less familiar, and thus moviegoers will be less bothered by some of the major tweaks to the masked man's origin story.
The filmmakers tip us off early that this isn't your father's Lone Ranger by creating a "Princess Bride"-style frame story: A young Lone Ranger fan in 1933 encounters an elderly Tonto at a carnival (Johnny Depp in remarkable old age makeup) and the Native American purports to tell the child the real story of how he and the Lone Ranger met.
The most prominent (and sociologically welcome) change is Tonto himself. Depp's version is no subordinate sidekick. He's a bad-ass warrior who would have no trouble taking care of the bad guys single-handedly.
In this version, John Reid (played by Armie Hammer) does not start out as a Texas Ranger. Instead, when we first meet him, he's an idealistic big city lawyer. It's a notable change, but one that explains his inherent sense of justice and instantly makes him much more relatable. He's a regular guy who answers the call to become a hero.
Reid travels west to take a job as a prosecutor, but when nefarious outlaw Butch Cavendish escapes a date with the hangman, Reid is deputized and rides with a posse of Rangers – including his brother -- to hunt Cavendish down. When Cavendish's gang ambushes the Reid brothers, John Reid is the sole survivor. Tonto – who has his own history with Cavendish -- finds Reid and suggests he take on the persona of a masked vigilante as the pair reluctantly team-up to go after the baddie. In this telling, Tonto is the alpha male and the Lone Ranger is (at least in the beginning) his bumbling, naive acolyte. At times, even the Ranger's white horse, Silver, seems smarter than the man in the white hat.
There are some clever winks and nods to the more hokey elements of the Lone Ranger Legend. This time around, no one asks, "Who was that masked man?" Instead, the constant query is, "What's with the mask?" But Director Gore Verbinski and his triumvirate of screenwriters can't seem to decide if they're making a tongue-in-cheek parody or a straightforward Western. The film alternates between scenes of gruesome (albeit not visually gory) cannibalism and silly poop jokes. Most of the comedy involves Depp and at times it seems like the star is acting in an entirely different movie. Given the inherent ludicrousness of the concept, making a full-on action comedy would have been wiser. But the funny parts are funny enough that I forgave the movie's split personality.
The script uses a sprinkling of non-linear storytelling to try and fake out the audience here and there. For the most part, however, the movie telegraphs its punches. Fortunately those punches make a pretty good impact when they land. The set pieces are great and the William Tell Overture plays on the soundtrack at just the right time. The finale is enormously satisfying and, best of all, the movie remains true to the spirit of the Lone Ranger. If you can forgive inconsistencies in tone, you'll have a good time.
Movie screens this summer have been filled with new renditions of iconic characters from classic TV shows. First came Captain Kirk, then Superman. But the latest rebooted figure is far less familiar to moviegoers under the age of 70. The Lone Ranger hasn't saddled-up since a disastrous film adaptation bombed at the box office in 1981. (That movie's star, Klinton Spilsbury, was literally never heard from again.) So, the character's mythology is less familiar, and thus moviegoers will be less bothered by some of the major tweaks to the masked man's origin story.
The filmmakers tip us off early that this isn't your father's Lone Ranger by creating a "Princess Bride"-style frame story: A young Lone Ranger fan in 1933 encounters an elderly Tonto at a carnival (Johnny Depp in remarkable old age makeup) and the Native American purports to tell the child the real story of how he and the Lone Ranger met.
The most prominent (and sociologically welcome) change is Tonto himself. Depp's version is no subordinate sidekick. He's a bad-ass warrior who would have no trouble taking care of the bad guys single-handedly.
In this version, John Reid (played by Armie Hammer) does not start out as a Texas Ranger. Instead, when we first meet him, he's an idealistic big city lawyer. It's a notable change, but one that explains his inherent sense of justice and instantly makes him much more relatable. He's a regular guy who answers the call to become a hero.
Reid travels west to take a job as a prosecutor, but when nefarious outlaw Butch Cavendish escapes a date with the hangman, Reid is deputized and rides with a posse of Rangers – including his brother -- to hunt Cavendish down. When Cavendish's gang ambushes the Reid brothers, John Reid is the sole survivor. Tonto – who has his own history with Cavendish -- finds Reid and suggests he take on the persona of a masked vigilante as the pair reluctantly team-up to go after the baddie. In this telling, Tonto is the alpha male and the Lone Ranger is (at least in the beginning) his bumbling, naive acolyte. At times, even the Ranger's white horse, Silver, seems smarter than the man in the white hat.
There are some clever winks and nods to the more hokey elements of the Lone Ranger Legend. This time around, no one asks, "Who was that masked man?" Instead, the constant query is, "What's with the mask?" But Director Gore Verbinski and his triumvirate of screenwriters can't seem to decide if they're making a tongue-in-cheek parody or a straightforward Western. The film alternates between scenes of gruesome (albeit not visually gory) cannibalism and silly poop jokes. Most of the comedy involves Depp and at times it seems like the star is acting in an entirely different movie. Given the inherent ludicrousness of the concept, making a full-on action comedy would have been wiser. But the funny parts are funny enough that I forgave the movie's split personality.
The script uses a sprinkling of non-linear storytelling to try and fake out the audience here and there. For the most part, however, the movie telegraphs its punches. Fortunately those punches make a pretty good impact when they land. The set pieces are great and the William Tell Overture plays on the soundtrack at just the right time. The finale is enormously satisfying and, best of all, the movie remains true to the spirit of the Lone Ranger. If you can forgive inconsistencies in tone, you'll have a good time.