The Lone Ranger Review.

Thoughts: The Lone Ranger is being critically panned and is failing at the box office, does it really deserve such a negative response from most audiences? Absolutely not! The Lone Ranger is fun, entertaining, and an all around good time. While the movie certainly has its problems, the Lone Ranger was never boring and Johnny Depp as Tonto was freaking hilarious. Sure, the movie should probably be named "Tonto" since Tonto has most of the best scenes, but I never rarely have a problem with "side-characters" stealing the show. Something that I have never understood is why so many people dislike movies that run over two hours. There is one aspect that definitely should have been cut from the Lone Ranger, which will be explained later, but longer movies mean more for your money in the theater; maybe I have more patience than some. The main problem with the Lone Ranger is the narrative device used to tell the story. The film uses an old Tonto telling a kid the story of the Lone Ranger and it occasionally cuts back to Tonto telling the kid a story, which is annoying! The movie starts to loose momentum and it is entirely unnecessary, if it were removed, it would make the movie a better length. Most critics dislike the uneven tone, but it the mix of darkness and humor actually worked for me. The dark scenes are awesome, and most of Tonto's humorous scenes are absolutely hilarious.


Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Genre: Western, Action, Action Adventure, Action Comedy,
Release Date: July 3, 2013
Running Time: 149 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13


The Good: Often hilarious, Surprisingly dark, Fun action set pieces, The William Tell Overture is used perfectly, Johnny Depp is hilariously awesome, Hans Zimmer soundtrack, Visual treat, Perfect ending scene,

The Bad: Unnecessary narrative device (explained above), Outlandish final set piece,




Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
In 1933 at a country fair in San Francisco, a young boy named Will encounters a seemingly ordinary mannequin that is revealed to be Tonto, an elderly Comanche spirit warrior, who proceeds to recount his experiences with lawyer John Reid.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 7.5/10- The movie tells a fun origin, almost in a superhero kind of way, because the Lone Ranger is kind of a Batman in the wild west. While the plot was never particularly deep, the script was a ton of fun and felt new and fresh, despite a few clichés. The tonal shifts actually worked well for me, since the context of when the shifts happen make sense in the story's narrative. When the cannibal villain is on screen the tone is usually darker, and when Tonto is making humorous remarks the tone is lighter, it only makes sense.

Action: 8.5/10- The action was a lot fun, featuring surprisingly long set pieces. Every action scene was framed and directed well, there was never any use of shaky-cam or choppy editing. My only problem with the action was that the final set piece felt a little too much like a cartoon for a few moments, completely forgetting that physics even exist, although who actually expected this to be a super serious movie anyway.

Acting: 7.8/10- Johnny Depp was positively brilliant as Tonto, he was hilarious and serious when he needed to be. Many are complaining that he is basically playing Captain Jack Sparrow again, to which I disagree. His character was vastly different and entirely unique, no one else could have played the better. Another complaint is that Depp is not Native American, which is most likely true, although it was not a huge problem for me after seeing him actually in the role. Armie Hammer was solid as the Lone Ranger, while certainly not the standout performance, he did a good job. William Fichtner was overall very good in his role as the main antagonist; he definitely pulled off the completely evil part of his role well. Helena Bonham Carter gave a fun performance in her minor role. The other cast member all gave fine performances for the most part. Also the horse was hilarious.

Special effects: 8.9/10- Even though a few of the most outlandish parts looked unrealistic, the movie looked excellent overall. It is one of the few relatively realistic movies to actually impress me with its effects.

Soundtrack: 9.7/10- Hans Zimmer prove yet again why he is the second best composer around. However, it was the William Tell Overture and how it was used that I have to give extra critic for. While I was never a crazy fan of the old Lone Ranger show when I was a kid, I did watch it a lot and enjoy it, and when the classic theme was used; it was pure awesomeness.


Comedy: 9.6/10- Possibly the best element of the film, the humor was spot on perfect for the majority of the film. Although there was one or two immature comedic moments that fell flat, I laughed so hard during some scenes that it literally hurt! Johnny Depp is a comedic genius, his timing is always perfect and the scenes with the horse are so funny.

Would I Watch This Again: Definitely, although I will not be buying it on Blu-Ray or DVD.

Overall: 7.8/10- Overall The Lone Ranger is a blast, it could have been even better with a few tweaks to the narrative, but in the end, it is a fun ride that I was glad to have seen, even in theaters.


Closing comments: For those who were mostly certain that they want to see the movie, you should probably go see it, because it is a blast. However, if you are on the fence, just wait for the rental, it does not have the Iron Man 3 or Avengers must see in theater quality.

Recommended for: Lone Ranger fans, Western fans, Johnny Depp fans, Action Comedy fans, Action fans.


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