Written by / 7/03/2013 / No comments / , , , ,

JOHNNY DEPP & ARMIE HAMMER IN THE LONE RANGER

year: 2013 cast: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Rebecca Reid rating: **
Anyone familiar with the Comedy/Western LITTLE BIG MAN will recognize the first ten minutes of THE LONE RANGER... The main character, noticeably aged, tells the story we’re all about to see: It’s Tonto spinning a yarn to a gullible young tyke – and yes, the quirky Native American’s even more important than John Reid, played by Armie Hammer, a young lawyer so annoyingly honest you’ll want to knock his block off. Well Tonto sure does... And we don’t have to wait long for the best sequence: a high speed train escape where the duo, chained together at the wrists, survive the impossible... and then some. Here Director Gore Verbinski moves the action with sublime finesse – but there's a long two hours to go.

Johnny Depp’s Tonto is a little like his PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Captain Jack Sparrow. During any situation he can be relied on for dry wit – but here he plays it a bit too dry. Seeming like an intentional imitation of those old school "Indian" characters, with halting speech trying to over-pronounce each word, Depp gets stuck with a one-note expression: balancing dimwitted surprise and world-weary agile. Like the film itself it’s never clear if he’s silly, serious, brave or banal. And with a caked white face striped with black streaks, resembling a chocolate swirl cookie, and a dead crow strapped to a grungy turban, the preposterous costume, attempting to define his character, ultimately hinders the performance.

Meanwhile a square-jawed Hammer plays Reid, brought back to life after a well-filmed bloody massacre (aesthetically reminiscent of the maligned 80's RANGER), like such a stubborn, naive, idealistic dork he's just begging to come around to a more primitive/vengeful outlook. Up against William Fichtner’s cutthroat Butch Cavendish and another unnamed villain (whose nefarious intentions shouldn’t be spoiled), with Tonto's help he eventually morphs into a bonafide superhero, mask and all.

With a two-and-a-half hour run time, including a bloated midsection replete with farfetched mysticism, tedious bouts of rambling backstory, and a preachy message against industrial “progression" (would there be a Hollywood without it?), perhaps a leaner, tighter pace would make this LONE a more involving and less of a chore. Thankfully, during the William Tell blaring climax, we get another cool train sequence to make one forget (and partially forgive) all the downtime in-between.
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ROBERT WAGNER IN THE OBSCURE GOLF PRO CURIO 'BANNING'

Robert Wagner in BANNING Year: 1967 Rating: **** The extremely elusive and rare BANNING is a 1967 film about former golf pro Robert Wagner a...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "I don't know what it is, but it's yoga." Elliott Gould, The Long Goodbye

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE SYSTEM 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE HEROIN BUSTERS 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE BREAK 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN LANDIS 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)VAL GUEST 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE