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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Movie Review - The Lone Ranger


The Lone Ranger  $$$     
 

 

PG-13
149 Minutes
Starring: Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, William Fichtner, and Ruth Wilson.
Director: Gore Verbinski. 
 

Hi-Ho, Silver.
The Lone Ranger has arrived in theaters and expectations are high because Johnny Depp and the people responsible for the Pirates of the Caribbean films are involved. And from the short glimpses I’ve seen during the trailers it looks as if the viewers are in for a wild ride.
The movie opens as John Reid (Amrie Hammer) returns home. He plans to bring his idealized notion of justice back to the wild western land where he was born. As it just so happens, the notorious outlaw Butch Cavendish (William Fichter) is on the same train. Cavendish has a date with the hangman. John interrupts the rescue effort that the Cavendish gang has for their boss and ends up chained to an Indian named Tonto (Johnny Depp) who wears a bird on his head.
I don’t remember the original series so I can’t compare it to this film, leaving me to review the movie entirely on its own merits. The Lone Ranger was a fun trip at the theater. All the way around, the acting was good. As expected, Johnny Depp turned in an over-the-top performance. Armie Hammer was a little too inept for my tastes, but I expect others may disagree with me. William Fichtner turned in a creepily awesome performance as bad guy Butch Cavendish.
Special effects were good. This is definitely a film that benefits from being seen on the big screen. The story line was decent. I could probably pick out some flaws with it, but I was too busy laughing to notice most of them.
I felt that The Lone Ranger deserved a solid 3 Movie Bucks. See it in a first-run theater, but wait to catch it during a discounted showing. 
 

                        Randy’s Rating System 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.
$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.
$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.
$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.
0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.

 

 

8 comments:

  1. I can't watch that with the racist casting of Depp as Tonto.

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    Replies
    1. Understood. Who do you think would have been a better choice for the role?

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  2. Good review Randy. Some of it was fun and exhilarating, but most of it was just a bore of a chore to get through.

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    Replies
    1. Which parts did you find boring? I thought it was fairly decent.

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  3. Replies
    1. Considering how the rest of the comments have gone, I'll be interested in hearing what you thought about the movie once you have seen it. Hope you enjoy it.

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  4. Good review Randy… Scott, Luke, Faith and I saw it in Provo last week. I wasn't crazy about how violent it was, and I'm not a huge fan of cowboy movies in general (the kind where most people's faces and teeth are filthy, etc…), but overall was entertained and thought they did a pretty darn good job with it. Johnny Depp's character reminded me a lot of his role on "Pirates of the Caribbean."

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    Replies
    1. I agree that it was a bit too gruesome. They could have gotten the same story elements through in a less jarring manner.

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