Review of The Lone Ranger (1956) by Jesse M — 26 Jul 2014

It seemed all the right stuff came into place. The director, producers, the writers, the cast, designers, visual fx houses, even the studio behind it all were top notch in their reputation.

The final result is a handsome production, but a total misguidance of the title character. His typically second fiddler sidekick Tonto ended up taking center stage shoving The Lone Ranger towards the backseat.

There's just a severe lack of manned up heroism with this Lone Ranger which is just wrong... It doesn't work. In the film he's a constant screw up. True as it is that this is his origin story, it takes an entire film's runtime to see a glimpse of the ranger as he truly is meant to be.

Meanwhile, you have Tonto as an entertaining native American nutcase, that in the process overshadows the lead hero in terms of intrigue and likability. This is clearly Johnny Depp's movie, and so an opportunity for a respectable tale about the classic hero is sorely missed. He was supposed to be a badass, but ended up more an asshat.

It is still an entertaining film, with only the best in production value. If only the title character was developed properly as a mythic hero, and not a reluctant bumbling joke letting Tonto reap all the glory.