The Lone Ranger

It’s not often that I review a new movie on my blog. Usually when I write about a film it has already been out for a few years – if not decades. I know the reviews have been mixed, but I went to see The Lone Ranger yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it! There was even applause from the theater as the movie credits went up at the end. How often does that happen?  You may have to be boomer who grew up watching the old black and white TV show with Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels to appreciate all the campy references the movie gives to the original series.

The first question I had going in was, Are they going to do The William Tell Overture? Surely they’ll do the William Tell Overture. And boy did they ever do the William Tell Overture! There were the most fantastic shoot-em-up chase scenes imaginable with a richly orchestrated score of Rossini’s musical classic.

Although the film tried to make some serious statements about the white man’s treatment of Native Americans, on the spectrum of movie westerns, The Lone Ranger is perhaps closer to Blazing Saddles than it is to Dances with Wolves.  Johnny Depp brought his usual amazing performance as he showed us a new take on Tonto being more of leader (albeit a little crazy) and with the Armie Hammer's Lone Ranger being more of a sidekick or reluctant hero – that was an interesting twist as well.

If you want a serious drama and if you are prone to say, “That would never happen in real life,” then you may not enjoy The Lone Ranger, but if you want plain fun and excitement (I don’t know how many times I laughed out loud or said “Oh no!”) then be sure to see it. Just watch it remembering those “tales of yesteryear” that were about as accurate as Kit Carson’s dime novels but which provided Saturday afternoon entertainment for lots of kids in the 1950s and ‘60’s. 

I should also say that even though this is a Disney film, it is not a children's movie. There are too many dark and violent scenes to classify it as a family film. What about you? Have you seen The Lone Ranger? What did you think about it? Feel free to post comments pro or con.



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