Friday 9 May 2014

THE LONE RANGER - 2013

Just got around to watching the Johnny Depp Show - after all he was the star despite hiding beneath fifty shades of grey make up.


In many ways it was a pity that everyone managed to miss a trick and leave a mess of a movie that didn't know whether it was a comedy or a spoof or something else. And I felt sorry at the way Armie Hammer was wasted as he was pretty good when Johnny 'Tonto' Depp wasn't around.


Despite having a negative feel towards the movie there were parts that brought back memories of the original series. For example the massacre of the Rangers in which it may be recalled was the only time that we saw Clayton Moore without his mask.


Lurking beneath it all was a plotline that should have been the centre attraction with two well crafted villains one of which, Butch Cavendish, bore  a striking resemblance to the comic book character Jonah Hex.


Although I was left disappointed by the movie my grandchildren thoroughly enjoyed it. And, therein lies a different aspect.
Like many that I know - we grew up with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. They set the bar and when people talk about 'The Lone Ranger' that is the image that we see. No one can match them but we do expect to see a kind of image that thrills us.
My grandchildren, fans of 'Pirates Of The Caribbean', see this western in a similar vein. In fact all one of them wanted for their birthday was a complete cowboy outfit. So if 'The Lone Ranger' can do that for him so much for the better.


However, I suggest that Disney heeds the last words uttered by Johnny Depp's Tonto to The Lone Ranger - "Don't ever do that again."

2 comments:

Neil A. Waring said...

I liked it, considered it a spoof and thought it did a nice job as such.
I am a big western fan and never got all the hate for this movie. If it were made like the old Clayton Moore movies and plot lines I believe it would have been trashed even more than this one.
I took my nine year old grandson and he loved it, bought the DVD later and has watched it several times.
I think if this movie had not been trashed before anyone had seen it that it might have done fair at the box office.

Ray said...

I have to agree with you that a Clayton Moore type movie would have failed. For obvious reasons I use the original as a yardstick. The Depp version had it's moments but taking a 9 year old (my grandsons are of comparable age) to see it - well, if it was to be remade in fifty years time they might well be critical too. The Depp version isn't aimed at my age group but to our grandchildren - hence why I am a touch critical.