Review: Disney's THE LONE RANGER

THE LONE RANGER  (WESTERN/ACTION)
Three out of Four Stars
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fitchner, Ruth Wilson, Tom Wilkinson, Helena Bonham Carter, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale
PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, and some suggestive material.
Verdict: The creative team behind Disney's super-lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean franchise gets back together with hopes of doing the same for the adventure-western genre as they did for the pirate-swashbuckler, and the results are around the same level (maybe a tad under), bringing along many of the same strengths, including some of the best action set-pieces of the summer, but also with similar weaknesses, such as script and tonal inconsistencies.  The obligatory origin setups weigh down the film where a leaner plot and more fun would be preferable, but it's a delightful summer thrill ride and a sequel would be very welcome indeed.

You May Enjoy THE LONE RANGER if you liked:

THE MASK OF ZORRO (1998)

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (2007)

RANGO (2011)

JOHN CARTER (2012)

Walt Disney Pictures' THE LONE RANGER is a mess.  It's littered with odd plot elements that lead nowhere, the tone is inconsistent and at two-and-a-half hours long, it could have easily been trimmed up to something leaner and more efficient.  But, damn it, it's also really fun. deliriously fun at times even.
The film is based on, or rather, inspired by the classic radio character, The Lone Ranger, who has also starred in his own serial, a television series and a couple films previously.  The title character is John Reid (Armie Hammer), a lawyer in a family of lawmen, traveling west to the frontier where his brother, Dan (James Badge Dale), Dan is carrying on in their father's footsteps as a Texas Ranger.  The railroad is building through the territory, with the progress being overseen by Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson, who seeks to bring law and progress to the Wild West.  The scourge of the territory is Butch Cavendish (William Fitchner), a sadistic outlaw with a penchant for cannibalising his victims and a personal vendetta for Dan, so when his hideout is located, Dan and John, who's just been deputized, take a posse out to either kill (Dan's preference) or arrest (John's preference) Butch.  Thanks to treacherous machinations within their group though, they're sprung upon and John sees his brother brutally murdered.  When Tonto, a Comanche spirit warrior who's "mind is broken", wanders upon the remains of the posse, he prepares the bodies for burial but is informed by the "Spirit Horse" that John is a "Spirit Walker," chosen to assist Tonto on a quest for justice. 

The buddy cop genre- late 19th Century.

The fact that Disney hopes this will be a new franchise on the level of Pirates of the Caribbean is obvious and unmitigated, and the team behind the first three of those films, including director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio and of course, star Johnny Depp are all together again for THE LONE RANGER.  Naturally, this makes those films a bit of a measuring stick to judge this film by, but I have an unpopular opinion toward those films in that I loved them more than most people, and the much-maligned, bloated PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END was probably my favorite of them, so my comparisons in that regard may not be consistent with the sensibilities of a majority.  Regardless, I recognize that THE LONE RANGER has a great many problems.  It's second major movie of the summer to have had a well-publicized production riddled with misfortune, delays and out-of-control budget inflation, following the surprisingly successful WORLD WAR Z, but I don't think there's as much evidence of revisions in THE LONE RANGER, but part of that may just have to do with how bizarre the movie is anyway.  The sense of humor here is similar to that in AT WORLD'S END, with an odd and hallucinogenic approach to comedy that gleefully damns reason and relevance, such as a largely inconsequential but recurring "nature out of balance" element.  Around the time that Disney actually shut down production after the flop of JOHN CARTER in Spring 2012, news got out that there was a supernatural subplot involving werewolves in THE LONE RANGER; during budget revisions, that was (thankfully) written out (although there are clearly apparent elements lingering here and there), but there are light supernatural elements, but nothing so prominent as in Pirates of the Caribbean, and most of it played for comedy or otherwise disregarded.

John Ford's Country

Despite the budget revisions, after the film was headed toward an estimated $250 million cost, the final tally is believed to have wound up at about as much, and it really isn't too hard to see how that all came about.  While Disney might have done just as well or better with a less bombastic route, THE LONE RANGER is a model of excess, with extensive and destructive action sequences that could have easily been wound down some, and some that may just have well not been there at all.  By the time the relevant plot even comes around, the film has spent about 30 minutes, including a prolonged train heist/wreck sequence, and that's not even the "big" train wreck action scene.
Yet, despite all the chastising that I feel compelled to lay out, I enjoyed it immensely.  Perhaps I should be cautious, because I did enjoy PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (with which Verbinski was not affiliated) the first time around but just felt embarrassed in subsequent viewings, but I think that THE LONE RANGER is more on par with 1995's WATERWORLD (I do mean that in the best way possible), but not quite so idiotic.  My feelings about it all are rather in contrast to my feelings on MAN OF STEEL, which was a not-so-bad movie but so disappointing nonetheless, while THE LONE RANGER is hot mess that's just too fun to condemn.  I think it's a shame that we get so few old-fashioned adventure films anymore, so I appreciate that Disney is still trying, but they could be so much better with more prudence, i.e., with less expense on visual effects and pyrotechnics, and more attention to script development and action choreography.
Speaking of action choreography, THE LONE RANGER does have some of the most entertaining and kinetic action set-pieces of the summer, much welcome after the overly destructive and monotonous action in MAN OF STEEL.  The climactic sequence between two speeding locomotives put an idiotic grin on my face as a swelling rendition of The William Tell Overture booms on the soundtrack.  I'll admit, as fun as that was, it was inconsistent with what seemed to be the tone of the film, but then again, the intended tone is almost impossible to pinpoint.  We're talking about a film that has old-fashioned heroics, mysticism, cannibalism, cartoony gags, a cross-dressing bandit, a one-legged prostitute, monstrous desert rabbits, a mocking "Hi-yo Silver!" moment but sincere and fully-invested use of William Tell Overture, and all this wrapped up in a framing story where the geriatric Tonto recounts his tale (Depp's makeup is excellent).
When the film goes dark, it is surprisingly dark, and although Disney cautiously entered PG-13 territory only ten years ago with PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, THE LONE RANGER now strains the rating with violence that, while given more leniency thanks to genre elements, has at least a couple of genuinely sick moments and more blood than the typical PG-13 action film (even if that's not saying all that much).  They also get kind of sexy, in a primarily comic fashion, in a whorehouse scene, filled with kinky sight gags and one-liners.

"Madness?  This...is...DISNEY!"

With its massive budget and numerous other issues, the success of Disney's latest is highly in question stateside, but with a PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN crew and Depp starring, it will likely fare better than JOHN CARTER.  Either way, today's films rely most strongly on the international market, and although it's been a long time since a big budget western last came along, Depp's involvement and the promise of high octane and inventive action bode well for business overseas.  I would love to see a follow up to THE LONE RANGER, but with the stipulation that it be leaner, meaner and altogether more efficient.  The consistent problem area for these big budget Disney adventures seems to be the scripts, but Elliot and Rossio clearly have great ideas for these genres, so if they wrote the story treatments and a more reliable writer wrote the screenplay, this could develop into something just as fun, but more durable.  As always though, I reserve the right to change my mind with future viewings, but for now, I'll be one of the few defenders.  I'm like the Lone Ranger of the movies or something.