REVIEW: The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger (2013): Dir. Gore Verbinski. Written by: Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio. Based on The Lone Ranger by Fran Striker and George W. Trendle. Starring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper and Helena Bonham Carter. Rated PG-13 (Guns blazing). Running time: 149 minutes.

2 stars (out of four)

The Lone Ranger is two-and-a-half hours long. If you’re wondering why an action reboot of a 1950s TV show (itself based on a 1930s radio serial) needs to be so long, you may find enlightening the fact that the director, Gore Verbinski, is the man who squeezed a total of seven hours and forty-three minutes’ worth of high seas adventures out of an eight-and-a-half minute theme park ride.

In all fairness, there are a few sequences in The Lone Ranger that gallop along with such jubilant energy you may be willing to forgive the bloated excesses of the film, which too often feels as though it is wading through molasses.

The best of these scenes is the climactic fight on a pair of speeding trains on parallel tracks. Set to the triumphant march of the William Tell Overture (the TV show’s theme), the battle adheres to Looney Tunes laws of physics and is an absolute thrill, though figuring out what exactly is happening and why might prove difficult. The scene is the climax of a jumbled and needlessly complicated plot and features no less than a half dozen participants. But as long as our heroes keep leaping, swinging and dueling, nothing matters except the chugga-chugga-choo-choo nonsense of the action.

During the film’s quieter passages, however, it is hard to muster much enthusiasm for the characters who populate this wild west world or understand their murky motivations. You know a script is weak when you’ve got Tom Wilkinson playing a corrupt politician, Barry Pepper as a mustachioed Army officer and Helena Bonham Carter as a one-legged prostitute, and your mind still wanders during the exposition.

But credit should be given to Armie Hammer who, it turns out, has charisma to match the impressive bone structure of his chiseled jawline. He is likable as John Reid, the dopey lawyer-turned-vigilante of the film’s title. He seeks to bring to justice (not revenge) to his brother’s cannibalistic murderer (William Fichtner, chewing the scenery and at least one man’s cardiovascular organ).

Getting just as much if not more screen time is Johnny Depp as Tonto, the wise-but-dumb Injun sidekick to the Lone Ranger. Tonto talks in fortune cookie phraseology and practices all kinds of goofy hokum, trying the Lone Ranger's patience and very often saving their skin. The character, a mostly inoffensive caricature rooted in decades’ old stereotypes, is a jokester who pokes fun at the white man’s hypocritical ways and acts as a catalyst for much of the film’s action. Johnny Depp, a gifted comedic actor, has a lot of fun with the role.

There’s a weeping damsel too who I very nearly forgot to mention. Rebecca (Ruth Wilson) is the widowed wife of the slain brother and (naturally) a romantic interest for the Lone Ranger. Keeping with the sexist traditions of the genre, the movie uses her as a prop. She spends half her screen time wringing her hands, gripping a scarf and holding back tears.

The Lone Ranger is a genial, good-natured waste of time, as pleasant as it is forgettable. And if you see it on a hot day, you’re guaranteed to get your money’s worth of air conditioning.

- Steve Avigliano, 7/8/13

REVIEW: Rango

Rango (2011): Dir. Gore Verbinski. Written by John Logan. Featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty and Bill Nighy. Rated PG (rude humor, action, language and smoking). Running time: 107 minutes.

3 stars (out of four)

In the crowded market of computer-animated films, Rango comes as a delightful relief. A clever homage to classic westerns with enough wit and charm for two movies, this is one of the best animated comedies in recent years.

Johnny Depp voices the Chameleon With No Name, a pet who unwittingly ends up in the Mojave Desert after his terrarium falls off the back of a truck. He soon finds the town of Dirt, a relic of the Old West populated by an assortment of reptiles and rodents. The locals at the town saloon quickly size him up as an outsider, but our hero sees this as an opportunity to reinvent himself. He has a penchant for the dramatic – in the opening scene, we see him acting out Shakespeare with his tank accessories – so he invents a persona: the infamous Rango. That he should be called upon to prove his skills with a six-shooter does not initially cross his mind, but of course his big talk is soon put to the test. When he inadvertently saves the town from a hawk, he is promoted to sheriff.

Meanwhile, the town faces a drought. This is particularly troublesome considering the town’s water-based economy. Inside the bank’s safe is a blue water cooler that’s getting dangerously low. A plucky iguana named Beans (voiced by Isla Fisher), however, knows about a pipe where water is being mysteriously dumped into the desert. She suspects the corrupt mayor (a tortoise voiced by Ned Beatty) may be behind the town’s ill fortunes and turns to Rango, the town’s new hero, for help.

Fans of westerns – or Chinatown – know where the film is heading and that’s part of the fun. Rango borrows liberally from a number of films – in particular, the central conflict is directly lifted from that Roman Polanski classic – but never feels stale or familiar. The film wears its influences proudly; its plot is a pastiche of scenes and storylines from the great westerns and Rango takes great pleasure in reinventing these genre conventions. The references to other films aren’t merely in-jokes for the parents in the audience to chuckle at. They infuse the story with energy and humor.

The film is also exceptionally smart. Most of today’s animated fare (not bearing the Pixar brand) is too eager to cater to young audiences by dumbing down the story. Even the good ones have a tendency to move the plot along at breakneck speeds, as if the slightest dip in energy will lose a child’s interest. Rango takes time to develop its characters and allows the plot to twist and take unexpected detours. Admittedly, the film loses a little steam in its midsection, though it quickly picks up again.

The script is immensely clever. There are plenty of one-liners and the film boasts a big vocabulary (this is the wordiest animated film since Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox), but the film is not trapped by its cleverness. Rather than providing slapstick jokes for the kids and innuendos for the adults to catch, Rango’s jokes have universal appeal. This is an animated comedy that is simply very funny.

Johnny Depp’s voice acting is a great aid to the film. I’m often hesitant to embrace big name stars in animated films, but Depp is a strong choice for this sort of piteous everyman character. The actor has played a lot of larger-than-life characters in recent years and Rango reminds us how well he fits quieter roles, even if he only lends his voice here.

Industrial Light & Magic animated the film (a first for the special effects company), and the computer animation looks fantastic. Dirt is a richly detailed town with vibrant character. Its inhabitants have a woebegone charm as they scowl and hobble their way down the town’s main street. One character has an arrow stuck in his eye that pokes out the back of his head but he doesn’t seem to mind.

Director Gore Verbinski, who previously helmed the three Pirates films, appears to have had no trouble venturing into animation. He was also behind the unjustly unloved The Weather Man, and I wonder if his real talent is for comedies and not blockbuster epics.

In the avalanche of computer animated movies continually vying for audiences’ attentions, Rango stands a head above the rest. It offers an inventive story and strong characters over tired retreads and sequels, and intellect and humor over 3D glasses.

- Steve Avigliano, 3/5/11