THE LONE RANGER

Naïve yet zealous lawyer John Reid rides out with a Texas Ranger posse led by his brother. They aim to apprehend the fugitive outlaw Butch Cavendish. But Cavendish ambushes the group of law men and guns them all down. Seven men die but one wondrously comes back from the dead. Reid, the lone survivor, has been given a second life but this renewed life comes with a bizarre guide named Tonto; an exiled Comanche Indian. And so this incompatible duo must unwittingly band together to avenge the murders of both Reid’s brother and Tonto’s entire village and in the process uncover a more devious conspiracy.

The Lone Ranger was first presented to audiences in the form of a 1933 radio show. The popularity of that spawned a television show which ran from 1949 to 1957. The last time The Lone Ranger rode on any screen was in a made-for-television film in 2003. Since there aren’t any Lone Ranger fans under the age of thirty to be found, this seemed like the most opportune moment for Disney to resurrect the ranger and his sidekick. In order to accomplish this cinematic revival, the studio called on the producer/ director team who brought us the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski along with their own posse of untalented screenwriters have made a grand mess of a movie. The filmmakers seem unable to decide what tonal direction to take. Disney is known for making films that cater to viewers of all ages, but surprisingly this particular movie has many scenes of graphic violence sans the blood spatter. This film is like a confused teenager; it doesn’t know if it wants to be, a family movie, a comedy, an adventure or a fantasy flick. If the goal was to incorporate all these genres; then they’ve succeeded in making a Hollywood contraption where none of the components gel with one another.

The opening scene is beyond illogical. An aged Tonto is on display at a Wild West Exhibition in 1933. What he’s doing there or how he puzzlingly comes to life is never answered. Instead Tonto starts relating the story of his first adventure with the Lone Ranger to a little boy. This structure of storytelling made me disconnect with the main storyline taking place in 1869. The tone is confusing from the start. Scenes of entire tribes getting massacred put beside shots of deranged rabbits are instances of silly story arrangement. The writers have turned the Lone Ranger character into a distrustful coward and Tonto into the Jack Sparrow of the West. How many times does Tonto have to help Reid until he (Reid) realizes that Tonto is his ally?

Johnny Depp loves bringing quirky characters to life such as Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka and Captain Jack Sparrow but Tonto’s eccentricity is just plain annoying. Depp seems to be trying to emulate actors of yesteryear like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin but does it poorly. The Lone Ranger character could have been played by any currently popular Caucasian actor. Since Armie Hammer happens to be one of the up-and-comers of Hollywood it’s not surprising that he was cast as the pseudo lead. Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner and Helena Bonham Carter are all great actors and they do justice to their respective roles, especially Fichtner.

If you are either a Disney Movie Lover or a Johnny Depp Worshipper it’s very likely you’ll love this film. If Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) and Wild Wild West (1999) had a baby; The Lone Ranger (2013) would be it. Originality in the film is as dead as the raven on top of Tonto’s head. The John Reid character is extremely unlikable even at the end and the William Tell Overture is overused. The action is repetitive; two train crashes in one movie and the action defies the laws of physics; Tonto leaping off a moving train, falling nearly fifty feet and landing without a scratch. The only thing this film did for me was remind me of the countless mass executions suffered by the Native Americans at the hands of the greedy White Man. Obviously Disney, Bruckheimer and Verbinski are more concerned about Box Office returns than making a good movie but Depp choosing to be a part of this stale project is disappointing. A once visionary actor turned Hollywood Sell-out is as tragic as what happened to Tonto’s village. Even though this film cost a whopping 250 million to make, I’m sure it’ll break even especially in the International market. But creatively this film isn’t worth two hundred and fifty dollars. This film is yet another example of Hollywood excess turning out creative scarcity. Hi-Yo, Sell-outs! Away!

Rating: 3/10

S. V. Fernando