The Lone Ranger (2013) Review

THE LONE RANGER (2013) REVIEW
Director: Gore Verbinski

Writers: Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio

Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski, Ted Elliot, Eric McLeod, Chad Oman, Eric Ellenbogen, Terry Rossio, and Mike Stenson

Editors: James Haygood and Craig Wood

Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli

Music: Hans Zimmer

Starring: Armie Hamer, Johnny Depp, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, and Bryant Prince

Best Credit: Margaret Bowman as "Fat Lady"

Runtime: 2 hours 29 minutes

Rating: PG-13 (intense action and violence, some suggestive material)

Genre: Action/Adventure, Western

Release Date: July 3, 2013

Intro: Well, I went into this one with an open mind. This wasn't a movie I was going to go out of my way to see, but a couple friends were going, so I was like, why not? I could be in for seeing a western version of Pirates of the Caribbean, since that's what it seemed like it was. The Lone Ranger is far from flawless and its writing and lack of originality really drag it down, but it's still fairly entertaining thanks to the visuals, humor, and sometimes the action.

Plot: When district attorney John Reid (Hammer)'s train out west is attacked in order to free an outlaw on death row, Reid gets involved and with the help of an Indian slated for execution named Tonto (Depp), he manages to save the rest of the passengers on the train. Afterwards, they go their separate ways. Reid joins his brother, who makes him a Texas Ranger and takes him out to help find the refugee outlaw, Butch Cavendish (Fichtner). After things go badly for the rangers, Reid is reunited with Tonto, and they decide to pursue Cavendish together. Soon, they get mixed up in the ongoing conflicts with the provoking Indians, the railroad empire, and Butch Cavendish's gang of outlaws, and it's up to them to save the town and Reid's family.

Things people may find “objectionable”: There is a lot of violence and people getting shot and bleeding and so forth. This is surprising coming from a Disney movie, since the company is famous for family movies. Anyway, there isn't much of any objectionable stuff outside of the violence and blood, it's just there's a lot of it.

What was Good:

     -Acting: This was a bright spot for the movie. I really like Johnny Depp as an actor, as he can just disappear into roles, and I feel that he does so with Tonto. Armie Hammer is good as the title character and everyone else does a pretty good job, but Johnny Depp steals the show.

     -Music/Score: Pretty good score. As I've mentioned before, I don't think it's possible for Hans Zimmer to write a bad score and he is one of my favorite film composers. While this isn't his best work, it's better than your average movie score.

     -Directing/Cinematography: Not as visually striking as, say, a Star Trek: Into Darkness, but it definitely had decent visuals and some cool shots. The movie definitely looked good if nothing else. Gore Verbinski definitely knows how to direct.

Why we all love Johnny Depp

     -Action/Suspense: Well, you can't say there wasn't action in The Lone Ranger. It's even debatable that there was too much and that they should've spent more time on character development and the plot. Still, the action sequences were, for the most part, exciting. They probably could even have cut out a couple and shortened the movie slightly. In short, the action was good, but there was too much of an emphasis on it.

     -Humor: This was definitely a bright spot in the movie, and it mostly came from Johnny Depp. There were some very funny moments here and there, but not throughout the whole movie. The movie probably could have benefited from even more humor, as that's one thing it had going for it. 

     -Special Effects: Good special effects. Normally a western doesn't require many special effects, but this one was pretty heavy on them. Everything looked pretty realistic, and the visuals in general were a strong part of the movie.

What Could Have Been Better:
     -Characters/Emotional Involvement: Not the best. I feel like the characters were pretty flat. The filmmakers focused only on the action and in the process, forgot to develop the characters as much as they should have.

     -Story: Pretty cliché-ridden. It seemed to just follow a formulaic Western/Action plot with the typical conflicting natives and the greedy railroad bosses and the outlaws and so on. There really wasn't anything special here. There are also some mystical native american elements that fit in awkwardly and seem to be just thrown in there for the hell of it. The narrative they used also seemed unnecessary.

     -Script: The lines all seemed very cliché and cheesy. Tonto's lines especially seemed really cheesy and generic. It seems like the screenwriters just watched every movie with Native Americans in it and cut and pasted all the most stereotypical lines together. I don't know. It was just really unoriginal more than anything else. I feel I've heard most of the lines or variations of them before.

     -Originality: Sadly, there was very little. Everything was pretty formulaic and cliché. I wouldn't go see this movie and expect any innovation whatsoever. It seems like just another action-filled western.

     -Intelligence: This one's a no-brainer in that brain power isn't at all required. This is a movie that a brain-dead person could enjoy. This doesn't detract from the movie a whole lot, but don't go see it expecting to have your mind blown.

Final Score: I wouldn't say that The Lone Ranger is a great film in any way, shape or form. Having said  that, it is fairly entertaining. My advice is save your money and wait and watch it when it comes to Netflix, Redbox, and TV. It's entertaining and if you want a brainless action flick, fairly worth your time, but I wouldn't go out of your way to see it in theaters.

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