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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

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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21 comments:

  1. Glad to see that you enjoyed it. It was just as you said: a fun, enjoyable trip to the theater. Had they taken that old-tonto-annoying-kid narrative out, it would have cut about 20 minutes from the film and made it significantly better in my opinion.

    Good review! I think the critics are all pretty embarrassed by how badly they missed the mark on this one. Metacritic has it at a 36 critically while the user score is 6.8. That's a 3.2 difference! One of the largest I have seen in a while!

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    1. Most definitely, without the old Tanto part the movie have been so much better. There should be a director's or fan cut of it.

      Thanks! Wow, that is a big difference! I honestly do not understand those critics at all.

      -James

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  2. I agree with you 100%! Awesome review for such an entertaining movie :).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reviews from the public have been much kinder. I'll give this a run on video.

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  4. Nice review! I thought the movie was pretty good too, the comedy was great (and so was Johnny Depp), but I didn't care for how it kept going back to the old Tonto and little boy either.
    I found it interesting how at the fair or whatever it was the movie opened in the section Tonto was in was marked 'The Noble Savage' and that below it it said 'in his native habitat'. Just interesting to think about. :)
    SW

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    1. Thank you! You had the same problem I had with the movie as well.

      That is probably accurate to how Indians were viewed at the time. But yes, that is very interesting. :)

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  5. SQUEEE I'm so glad to hear your thoughts, I'm now very confident I will love this movie when I go see it! I was getting worried by all the critics that was going to fall flat. At the same time, I've been putting my trust in Johnny and his amazing acting to help carry the film and it sounds like he did! Can't wait to see it now!

    ~Jamie

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    1. Yes, you should most definitely enjoy the movie! Johnny was the best part of the movie by far, so funny throughout. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it.

      -James

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  6. Glad to hear that the movie is a good and fun one(which is what I was expecting of it) :) I also don't understand why people don't like long movies, I always like them since they pack more story(especially if they're good ones) :)
    I do wish they'd cast an actual Native American, but since Johnny Depp is such a good actor, I'm okay with it, since it sounds like he did great :D

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    1. It would be a perfect rental, it is so much fun. :) Glad we agree about long movies, although parts of the Lone Ranger could have been cut, but the length itself was not the problem.
      I thought casting a Native American would have been great, but the movie would have to been completely re-written because no one else could have played the role like Depp. :D

      -James

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  7. I've never listened to critics, especially for this movie! Every time they're super critical about a movie like this, I know they're just being super picky (and in general wrong). I'm really excited to see it, and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, this is not a movie to be over critical about, it is not meant to be taken seriously by any means.

      -James

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  8. I actually loved the narrative device of him telling the story to a kid, because it allowed it to be more of a legend or myth, with some unrealistic parts that worked for the story if not for real life. And most of the time when it popped back to the kid, it was because the story was going somewhere crazy, so the filmmakers were reminding you that it WAS a story. Not a history, not supposed to be realistic.

    Johnny Depp has said in the past that he is part Cherokee. Just sayin'.

    Also, I did not feel like this was "Jack Sparrow in the Wild West" because Tonto was a completely different character in so many ways! Of course some of his mannerisms might be similar -- they're played by the same actor, duh. But I agree with you, that this did not just seem like a retread at all.

    But anyway, so glad you enjoyed it! I'm actually hoping to see it in the theater again later this month.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good point about the narrative device, although I am not entirely convinced.

      I know Depp has said be is part Cherokee, however when it was actually checked professionally, there was no Cherokee.

      Glad we agree about that.

      -James

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  9. I used to watch the old TV shows as a kid and kind of enjoyed them, though I never was into Westerns. So, I had mixed feelings after watching this movie.

    I liked it well enough - though like you I wished they have left out the narrative. I don't like it when the story is getting good and they cut to have some fellow go off on a rabbit trail. (I don't even like it in The Princess Bride, though it hasn't diminished my love for that movie.)
    ANYWAYS....

    I think the best way to describe my thoughts on this movie is that I liked it and disliked it evenly.

    Being that it was supposed to be The Lone Ranger, I disliked it. After all, he was gallant and brave and cool - not the kind of fellow who came off as whiny. (Note here, I might have liked it more if I had been able to hear it better and hadn't been half asleep. I was at a drive - in and not in good range of any speakers. Therefore, I plan to give it another chance someday.)
    Also, I had a few issues with Tonto, again in the area of this supposed to be The Lone Ranger from the old TV shows. He was brilliant, not a kind of wild chap who just did things because they sounded like fun.

    Now, that aside, when I don't think of it as The Lone Ranger, I actually enjoyed it. Tonto cracked me up through the whole thing and he's the reason I want to watch it again. (I almost fell out of my chair at the end when The Lone Ranger reared back and yelled, "Hi ho, Silver! AWAY!" And Tonto said, "Don't ever do that again." One of my top favourite lines in the whole movie.
    I love Johnny Deeps kind of absent sense of humor, and he kind of reminded me of Jack Sparrow in this one, so that was fun. But, all that said, he made the movie fun for me, though again, I think I would have found it more fun had I been able to hear all his lines.

    So, while I don't think this will ever be a huge favourite with me, I think it will be one I will enjoy watching from time to time.

    Great review, as always! I need to get caught up on yours - I saw you reviewed Iron Man 3 *Grin*

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the extra long comment!

      Yeah, that narrative device was definitely the worst part of the movie for me as well. The Princess Bribe made it work for me, but I think it could have been just as great without.

      The Lone Ranger is come off as whiney, and his progression as a character took too long.

      It really was the Tonto show and he was definitely the best part of the movie. Yes, that was my favorite line as well, I nearly died of laughter at the end of the movie!

      Those are my thoughts too, not a classic, but still a lot of fun to watch.

      Thank you, I hope you enjoy my Iron Man 3 review.

      -James

      Delete
  10. The Lone Ranger is a fun film. I loved it, even with all the storytelling bloat and weird flourishes (those rabbits!).

    ReplyDelete
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