Quite frankly, I was highly skeptical on attending the screening of the hugely anticipated Johnny Depp, Arnie Hammer starrer The Lone Ranger, primarily because I am not such a huge fan of western movies plus a runtime clocking almost 150 minutes seemed to long to handle. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try owing to the Depp factor and the director, Gore Verbinsky who has a pretty neat track record as a director.I haven't actually seen The Lone Ranger T.V series which aired from 1949-1957, so I pretty much knew nothing about the characters as such and went in with a clean slate, which in my opinion is a good thing as it removed unwarranted comparisons and biasness.
Settling down in my seat and 10 minutes into the movie, I was hooked on. A spectacular opening scene, where the outlaws make away with their chief held captive and being transported on a train. The scene introduces us to the principal characters of the movie namely Tonto (Johnny Depp), John Reid (Arnie Hammer) and Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner). Verbinsky establishes his characters smoothly and seamlessly throughout the narrative which is definitely one of the high points of the movie. The entire story unfolds as Tonto, recounts the tales of his journey and how John Reid becomes The Lone Ranger. The two form an uncanny team to bring Cavendish to justice, each in his own manner. John believes in non-violence and the court of law and Tonto is just the opposite. The two share an electrifying chemistry and Depp gets his comic timing spot on as the quirky Tonto. Tonto, belongs to a native American warrior tribe, who feels responsible for the death of his fellow men and his family owing to a trade he made with two white Americans he saved from certain death when he was a child. John seeks revenge from Cavendish as he is responsible for the death of his ill-fated brother Dan Reid.(James Badge Dale).
Inspite of its length, the movie never drags or feels lethargic at any point of time, instead it provides a good dose of laughter at regular intervals and Depp shines in those scenes. The scenes where the Native American, trades a feather or grains for everything he steals from dead people or the scene where the white stallion chooses John over his brother, and Tonton repeatedly tries to force the stallion to switch the selection, Depp is just fantastic.
Depp rises above his co-stars with his impeccable comic timing and one liners. The best facet to his character is the fact that he is so unpredictable. You never know what is he going to do next. Arnie Hammer pitches in an earnest performance and nicely complements Depp. Despite, all its triumphs it does have a couple of blemishes. It's understandable that the entire writing revolved around the two principal characters, John and Tonto and I'm guessing due to the focus on these two characters some other supporting characters got sidelined. The sub plot involving Rebecca (Ruth Wilson) and her relationship with John is half baked and is not well developed. Similarly, Helena Bonham Carter as Red Harrington is unconvincing as the deadly leggie and neither does her character get enough screen time leave a mark.
Barring the two minor hiccups, The Lone Ranger overall is a fine movie which is high on entertainment value. I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone who seeks a good time at the movies. Fun guaranteed!
Settling down in my seat and 10 minutes into the movie, I was hooked on. A spectacular opening scene, where the outlaws make away with their chief held captive and being transported on a train. The scene introduces us to the principal characters of the movie namely Tonto (Johnny Depp), John Reid (Arnie Hammer) and Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner). Verbinsky establishes his characters smoothly and seamlessly throughout the narrative which is definitely one of the high points of the movie. The entire story unfolds as Tonto, recounts the tales of his journey and how John Reid becomes The Lone Ranger. The two form an uncanny team to bring Cavendish to justice, each in his own manner. John believes in non-violence and the court of law and Tonto is just the opposite. The two share an electrifying chemistry and Depp gets his comic timing spot on as the quirky Tonto. Tonto, belongs to a native American warrior tribe, who feels responsible for the death of his fellow men and his family owing to a trade he made with two white Americans he saved from certain death when he was a child. John seeks revenge from Cavendish as he is responsible for the death of his ill-fated brother Dan Reid.(James Badge Dale).
Inspite of its length, the movie never drags or feels lethargic at any point of time, instead it provides a good dose of laughter at regular intervals and Depp shines in those scenes. The scenes where the Native American, trades a feather or grains for everything he steals from dead people or the scene where the white stallion chooses John over his brother, and Tonton repeatedly tries to force the stallion to switch the selection, Depp is just fantastic.
Depp rises above his co-stars with his impeccable comic timing and one liners. The best facet to his character is the fact that he is so unpredictable. You never know what is he going to do next. Arnie Hammer pitches in an earnest performance and nicely complements Depp. Despite, all its triumphs it does have a couple of blemishes. It's understandable that the entire writing revolved around the two principal characters, John and Tonto and I'm guessing due to the focus on these two characters some other supporting characters got sidelined. The sub plot involving Rebecca (Ruth Wilson) and her relationship with John is half baked and is not well developed. Similarly, Helena Bonham Carter as Red Harrington is unconvincing as the deadly leggie and neither does her character get enough screen time leave a mark.
Barring the two minor hiccups, The Lone Ranger overall is a fine movie which is high on entertainment value. I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone who seeks a good time at the movies. Fun guaranteed!
