Movie Review: "The Lone Ranger"

Movie Review: "The Lone Ranger"/Rated PG-13/Walt Disney/149 min./Dir. by Gore Verbinski

In the press, much has been made of the re-pairing of Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp for "The Lone Ranger".  The two team up for the fifth time with the film, having worked together on the original "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy and the animated western, "Rango" (a film that I believe to be criminally over-rated).  What people fail to mention is that they're reunited with the "Pirates" screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and it's that pairing that is the most influential on the final outcome of "The Lone Ranger".  The tone, the pacing, and the humor are clearly from the writers who brought the world the adventures of Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan, and the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow.

This incarnation of the venerable defender of justice in the wild, wild west could have been called "The Accidental Ranger", in that John Reid (Armie Hammer) doesn't start the film as a lawman, but as a lawyer.  The real lawman in the family is John's brother, Dan, played by James Badge Dale, who between this, "Iron Man 3", and "World War Z", is having quite the summer.   Not only is Dan the better lawman, but he also got the girl.  He married John's girlfriend, Rebecca (Ruth Wilson) while John was at law school.  However, circumstance (i.e., the script) force John to take a more active roll in bringing in the bad guy, no matter how awkward he is in that roll.  In fact, much of the humor of the film comes from the fact that, while originally from the west, John is a fish out of water and possibly not up the task of being a fearless lawman.  Certainly, his Native American sidekick Tonto (Johnny Depp) doesn't think he his, however, Tonto had received a vision that Reid was the spiritwalker destined to help him find justice of his own.  Fortunately for their partnership, the object of justice for both of them is the same man, the villainous Butch Cavendish (William Fitchner).

The acting in "The Lone Ranger" is solid across the board.  Of course, Johnny Depp is in full "Deppy"-mode, bringing the potentially boring sidekick to the forefront with humor, strength, and just a touch of insanity (although, it should be noted that he is more understated here than he was as Jack Sparrow).  Hammer has been given the thankless "Will Turner" roll here:  Look pretty, fight hard, step back and let Johnny Depp do what he does, although the script does give his character more physical humor than Orlando Bloom got in the "Pirates" films, and Hammer shows himself more than equal to the task.  While there's nothing particular about the rest of the cast that stands out, they all perform admirably.

The biggest problem with the movie is that it stands in need of three or four good re-writes to trim the fat a little (the story would make a fun and zippy 90-min. action movie, but clocks in at a borderline tedious 2 1/2 hours), and to sharpen the jokes, which mostly work, but are pretty bad when they don't. 

It's not until the last 15 minutes of the movie that everything works superbly.  Of course, many westerns wrap things up with a chase on board a train (heck, this one bookends the movie with train chases), but the finale has a joyous energy that was truly delightful on the big screen.  Much of the joy is that, finally, the movie stops being "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Western Plains", and it allows itself to be a full-fledged, fully realized "Lone Ranger" movie.  It's here that we're allowed to see how these classic characters can own a film that is armed with modern special effects and filming techniques.  It is also here that the screenwriters allow the title character to no longer be the good-hearted, but bumbling, comic relief, and truly become the hero of the film.  Even the music score, by the ever-talented Hans Zimmer, feels belabored and lethargic throughout the movie until this sequence.  At this point, we hear the familiar opening notes of the famous "Ranger" theme, the "William Tell Overture" by Rossini, and Zimmer fully embraces everything great, noble, and even a little cheesy about "The Lone Ranger".  He is especially successful when he takes the flourishes that end Rossini's famous overture and tweaks them with noticeably Zimmer-ian chord progressions and rhythmic intensity.

If only the other 135 minutes were this fun and energized.  There is great promise in this finale of what these actors and filmmakers could do to breathe new life into Tonto and his "Kemosabe" (a nickname that is given a different meaning here than in other versions).  If Rossio and Elliott are brought back for a sequel (which may be unlikely given the amount that the film would need to earn to re-coup it's astronomical budget), I hope that they back off on the needlessly complex and contrived plotting and just give us a full-blooded western.

Lastly, a parental note:  "The Lone Ranger" is a hard PG-13, with a few very disturbing scenes, not unlike similar scenes in the "Pirates" movies.  If your child enjoys those films, they'll be fine with this, but if those films were too intense for your little ones, this will be too.

In summary, "The Lone Ranger" is 115 minutes of an OK western action/comedy, followed by 15 minutes of pure awesome.  It's neither the sure-fire franchise starter that Disney was hoping it would be, nor the bomb it's being made out to be by the press.  If you're looking for an entertaining, if forgettable way to beat the heat and you enjoyed the first three "Pirates" movies (this is way better than the fourth one), than you should have a good time with "The Lone Ranger"

Grade: B-