Susan Granger’s review of “The Lone Ranger” (Disney)
It’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” in the old West. And any resemblance between the old-time radio/TV Western and this theme-park-ride-ready-to-happen is exactly what Disney had in mind.
While the titular hero is the legendary masked man wearing a big, white Stetson and riding a scene-stealing steed named Silver, the plot pivots on his quirky Native American companion, Tonto (Johnny Depp), because the origin story is told as he recalls it. Initially, there’s no mystery about the
lawman’s identity. He’s John Reid (Armie Hammer), an earnest, uptight lawyer who has come to Texas to be District Attorney. John joins his older Ranger brother Dan (James Badge Tate) in pursuit of Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner), a fiendish outlaw whose sadistic sneer terrifies Dan’s wife Rebecca (Ruth Wilson), who married Dan when John left for Harvard Law School.
But they’re bushwacked. All the Rangers are killed except John, who’s determined to avenge his brother’s death and rescue kidnapped Rebecca and his nephew. But Tonto, a bizarre spirit warrior, is the brains behind the operation – with his chalky white-streaked face, fake nose and a dead crow perched atop his head. He’s come to recruit Reid to bring to justice those responsible for destroying
Comanche villages. He convinces Reid to wear a mask made from his late brother’s vest, calling him ‘kemosabe.’ Then there’s the conniving railway baron (Tom Wilkinson) and a saloon madam (Helena
Bonham Carter) with an ivory leg that shoots bullets.
Screenwriters Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and director Gore Verbinski take an
exhausting 2 ½ hours to tell this vigilante tale, chock full of explosions, crashes and chases – with a climactic shootout on dueling steam trains, accompanied by Rossini’s rousing “William Tell Overture.”
FYI: It’s PG-13 but wary families should know there’s a great deal of bloodshed…and if Armie Hammer looks familiar, he played both Winklevoss twins in “The Social Network.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Lone Ranger” gallops in with a slapstick, slyly silly, high-spirited 6, evoking days of yesteryear with, “Hi-ho, Silver! Away!”
