by Lorie Lewis Ham
Special coupon for Dinuba Platinum Theatre at the end of this review.
When I heard that Johnny Depp was going to be in a remake of the Lone Ranger I was excited. I remember watching reruns of the show with my dad as a kid, and in my mind the Lone Ranger was the first super hero. When I found out Depp was Tonto and not the Lone Ranger, I was skeptical. When I found out Armie Hammer was the Lone Ranger, I thought well it could be good.
For anyone not familiar with the story, here are the basics. The Lone Ranger is a masked ex-Texas Ranger (in the original story) named John Reid who goes about with his friend and sidekick, a Native American named Tonto, fighting against injustice. In this version Reid’s brother is actually the Texas Ranger and John is instead an awkward lawyer who really doesn’t even believe in guns. He sets out with his brother and other Texas Rangers to catch outlaw Butch Cavendish but they are ambushed and everyone but John is killed. Tonto finds him, tells him he is a spirit walker who cannot be killed, and talks him into putting on the mask and setting out to catch Cavendish and bring him to justice. This version also has the twist of being told from the point of view of Tonto–who in this story has an odd and sometimes interesting back story. It turns out that the main villain here really isn’t Cavendish, but that’s all I’m going to say about that.
There was a lot potential in this movie–unfortunately it just couldn’t make up its mind what kind of movie it was, and that was its biggest problem. It constantly went back and forth between being a silly, campy spoof to being a violent and serious drama. Had the director just picked one or the other it could have been really good. Personally, I really enjoyed when the movie was serious. There were some awesome action scenes (especially at the end of the movie), some heartbreak, and some good character development for the character of the Lone Ranger. Depp’s Tonto was kind of weird but had he been used to just bring a little comic relief now and then it could have worked really well. Both Hammer and Depp did well with what they were given. Loved the Lone Ranger’s horse Silver–probably my favorite character in the movie.
Oddly at the end of this movie I was thinking–yes, they finally got it right and I’d like to see another one if they continued with the serious action side. Overall this movie was enjoyable but just too odd and confused to be a good movie. I’d say unless you’re just trying to get out of the heat and feel like picking just anything to see–wait for the DVD.
The Lone Ranger is no longer playing at Dinuba Platinum Theatres 6. However, many other great movies are! Showtimes can be found on their website. Platinum Theaters Dinuba 6 now proudly presents digital quality films in 2-D and 3-D with 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound to maximize your movie experience.
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Good review, Lorie. I plan to follow your advice and wait for the DVD.
Latest spoof: “NASA Announces GO BLUE Initiative” http://is.gd/bq8QON