Review of The Lone Ranger (1956) by Andrew M — 01 Jun 2016

The Lone Ranger is a bit of a mixed bag. There's a lot of admirable aspects in this film, and when they work, they really elevate the movie. Armies Hammer is actually a pretty solid lead as the Lone Ranger, despite his characterization being a little wonky at times. Johnny Depp is up to his painted face and goofy mannerism antics again, and despite being pretty derivative to his other roles (not to mention the fact that he's a white actor playing a Native American), he's never truly bad. The infamous inflated budget is put to good use, with lots of beautiful production values. The cinematography is often quite beautiful, and the practical sets and costumes are pleasant and add to the setting. All of these things culminate in a bombastic climax with just the right blend of action and humor, all while blaring Hans Zimmer's ten minute take of the famous overture. The film might just be worth sitting through for that scene alone.

It's the narrative where things fall apart though. The climax may balance humor and dramatic moments nicely, but the rest of the film struggles in that regard. Gore Verbinski can't seem to decide if this is a serious western with fantastical elements or a swashbuckling comedy. Considering his work on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which balanced these two things nicely, it's kind of bizarre that he can't nail down a solid tone in The Lone Ranger. The idea of telling this story ultimately through flashbacks of an elderly Tonto is unnecessary, and really adds nothing to the movie: this story is perfectly fine without it. Also unnecessary is its two and a half hour runtime, which really drags during the less exciting moments of the film. An easy half an hour (at least) could've been shaved and given this one some stronger pacing.

The box office returns may imply a trainwreck (no pun intended), but The Lone Ranger isn't all that bad. In spite of its narrative and pacing issues, there's a lot of fun to be had here, and anyone willing to go into the movie without expecting a western classic will likely be entertained.