Review of Rango (2011) by Ivan E — 27 Jun 2012

"Not much call for cowboys these days.".

"You would be surprised.".

Desmond Harrington & Timothy Olyphant - Justfied("The Gunfighter").

"Rango" starts with the Lizard with No Name being stranded in the Mojave Desert without any water after almost being run over by a couple of drug addled hipsters on the way to Las Vegas. After a close encounter with a ravenous hawk, he has a much more positive meeting with Miss Beans who is in danger of losing her father's ranch. In fact, very few of the residents of the town of Dirt have much interest in sticking around, considering the water shortage. In the midst of which, he takes on the name and persona of Rango, a feared gunfighter.

As delightful as "Rango" is, it is surprising how good it is, considering how steeped in pop culture it is which also keeps it away from true greatness. Part of that is not drowning the story in it. However, there is one otherwise cool set piece that leads to an unfortunate bit of predictability. While the movie's plot borrows heavily from "Chinatown"(minus the icky bits), it does not matter as much with a western since it is a genre with not that many variables. So, what matters is the execution and with "Rango," being the best western in a good long time, it is top notch, especially the animation in its photorealistic style. The movie also has some good thoughts on the closing of the frontier and the spirit of reinvention while being surreally meta on occasion. That's not to mention the great voice cast on hand.