The Lone Ranger

I was excited to see the creators of "Pirates of the Carribean" bring the Lone Ranger to the big screen once again. Two of the writers of this movie, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, were able to successfully reboot Zorro back in the late 90's so why not this masked man (whoever he is)? The good news is that the film does entertain. The bad news: not enough. The casting/acting worked and Oscar-winning director Gore Verbinski did his job well enough. The story is what was lacking and that is the most important characteristic of a film for me. The climax sort of made up for everything before in this film but there is a chance that this show in later years may be classified alongside "Wild Wild West" (even though I personally don't mind that show).

The framing device of the story wasn't needed, simplicity was. The stunts were too outlandish such as John and Tonto surviving the train crash at the start of the film. Those rabbits made no sense and the plot was somewhat convoluted. It wasn't fun trying to figure out the story in this case as I watched it. The character of Red was another part of the plot that seemed unnecessary and the surprise twist towards the end of the film wasn't much of a surprise. The smart portion of the audience already had it figured out with the use of the pocket watch. I feel that the filmmakers were trying too hard to make another "Pirates" rather than let the Lone Ranger entertain us himself. The plotlines of both "The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "The Lone Ranger" have similarities, enough to make "The Lone Ranger" artificial in terms of its narrative. Mixing fantasy with pirates is easier than mixing fantasy with cowboys. Sure there was less fantasy in "The Lone Ranger" but it was still too much. The movie would have been better if it had been a straightforward western. What Butch does to Dan does not belong in a family-friendly movie like this by the way. On a more positive note, the filmmakers did an okay job in utilizing the stereotypical characteristics associated with the Lone Ranger. As mentioned, the climax of the movie ended the movie well. I feel that music can do wonders in entertaining an audience and the film's use of the William Tell Overture was perfect. Its first use in the film fools us into thinking that the filmmakers were getting it out of the way early so as to make way for their version. The use of the Overture in the climax was genuine and it helps us to forget many of the imperfections earlier in the movie because suddenly, the movie is fun.

We owe thanks to many of the filmmakers as well for saving this show. The casting was well done and the actors did their part. Sometimes Johnny Depp's presence in "The Lone Ranger" worked and other times it didn't. The humor that came from Tonto was funny but there was a little too much of it. It made him less reputable as a Native American. I will admit that there was clear similarity of the character to Jack Sparrow but costume and makeup are most responsible for that I believe. The crow for example reminds us of a pirate hat. It is hard to figure out whether the role would have been better with another actor so I won't try to. Five years ago, few people would have known who this actor was behind the mask of the Lone Ranger. Thanks to "The Social Network", Armie Hammer's career took off and it doesn't look like this movie will slow it down. He did wonderful in playing a moral man in a lawless land. His character was made even better because of a great villain in the form of Butch Cavendish. William Fichtner has worked for producer Jerry Bruckheimer before in "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor" and his performance was the best of anyone's in "The Lone Ranger". I also like Tom Wilkinson and Barry Pepper in this show. Co-screenwriter Justin Haythe apparently made the film less supernatural and I am grateful that happened. Things might have been really out of hand.

This film was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards and I wanted it to win the makeup Oscar but it lost both. This movie proves why the story is so important for any film. Sometimes, great characters can make a film story better than it is but not always. The acting and directing in "The Lone Ranger" was fine but the story could have used a lot more work. I think moviegoers should wait until this show is in the cheap theaters before seeing it.

3.5 Stars