A Cowboy and An Indian

The Lone Ranger:
            Before I begin I have a quick scenario: Imagine you're walking through a museum and one of the exhibits comes to life starts telling you its story--would you stop and listen or would you call security? It would probably have some cool stuff to say of course, but, then again so would a person being kept on display 24 hours a day for the general public. Do you follow me? Neither do I. You could say it's a little confusing when an American classic such as The Lone Ranger is made to be almost a mockery of what it stood for by Hollywood and even more baffling when one of the most beloved actors in the world is a part of it.

            Johnny Depp has portrayed almost every personality one can think of and has made is career of three decades one of the most mesmerizing to hit the screen. It's really difficult to find a starting place when addressing an actor of Depp's caliber because he has done so many things and it's easy to find yourself saying, "Oh yeah...I forgot he played that character too!" Truly this man is a chameleon in character and his choice of movies to act in have proven to be of great taste--this one being an exception. Another highly-anticipated film of the year has come up short and this guy is sorry to admit its short comings.

            There's really not that much that goes into the phenomenon that is The Lone Ranger. A white hat, white horse, white guy wearing a black mask, accompanied by a wise Native American riding a horse as well. Pretty simple concept that should be kept simple, right? Well Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) thought differently when taking this movie as his next directing job and decided to make it 150 minutes long. Jumping through time periods, stretching out scenes, making jokes that may be funny but just did not fit the subject or the era can't be put any simpler than "unnecessary". Verbinski's take on the Lone Ranger is a lead up of how he became what the legend from the 1950's made famous and tell more of the back story. Too much story and not enough Ranger.

            Armie Hammer (The Social Network) is our hero, the man behind the mask, if you will. Standing next to the likeness of a raven-clad Johnny Depp on screen while attempting to be the star of the same film is not an easy task, my friend, and Hammer was over-done and kind of annoying if I am going to be blunt. Sorry, nothing personal. To be more of an optimist, the cinematography was very well done and some of the camera shots alone were creative and captivating. The bad-ass "walking through the desert dust away from an explosion" was cool and worked for a film like this but I wish there was just more of that. In the favor of the characters themselves, I will say that Hammer does look the role well and pulls off the intimidating, skillful horse riding Clayton Moore established back in '49. Tonto has the sarcasm, stoic looks, monotoned voice, and wisdom that comes when Depp is doing his thing. Think of the facial expressions (and skin complexion) of Edward Scissorhands and then the mannerisms of Captain Jack Sparrow, that is how I picked out the transformation into The Lone Ranger's loyal sidekick. Not exactly how Tonto is imagined but is tolerable to some degree in this movie and, the last time I checked, Tonto did not use more than four or five words in a sentence.

            Some final thoughts include a weak supporting cast. These are more great actors such as Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech) and Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan) just not firing on all cylinders- literally- in this film. If I seem to be coming down hard, I am, but you should still see The Lone Ranger for yourself if you feel the need. Hey, my buddy sitting next to me in the theater seemed to disagree on what I had to say. Still following me, Kemosabe? Grade: 5.7/10