The Lone Ranger - quick review (1 Viewer)

[Michael Elliott]

I haven't seen this yet but re: Depp. He has a pretty good interview in Rolling Stone but I think it's safe to say that he's taking money projects over "art" projects but I really don't mind. As with DeNiro, they've both given us years and years and quality products that probably wasn't putting much into their pockets so I don't really mind either of them going for the money.

I've seen every summer movie (and pretty much every other movie) released so far but I'm really nervous about this one because of the PIRATES team and the running time. I might watch it eventually but this might be one I skip until video.

 

[Malcolm R]

The film was pretty good once the Lone Ranger actually appeared. Unfortunately, that wasn't until about 2 hours into the film, after the audience was treated to yet another, apparently studio-mandated, origin story.

Audiences know these iconic characters. We don't have to see their origins again and again. Just drop the characters into a decent story and run with it.

I also think I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have some woman sitting behind me with a very annoying laugh who seemed to think that every single line and scene was hilarious.

 

[TravisR]

I've seen every summer movie (and pretty much every other movie) released so far but I'm really nervous about this one because of the PIRATES team and the running time.

Go in about two hours after the start of the movie and you'll think the negative reviews were crazy. See the whole movie and you'll probably agree with them.

 

[Al.Anderson]

Just saw it last night and I fall on the more mild end of the criticism spectrum as I enjoyed it. But I thought it was eneven in it's treatment throughout; it bounced back and forth between tougue-in-cheek and serious western. They had to pick one. One moment we're getting slingshot grapes, the next a long shot of a masacred Indian tribe.

I thought Tonto's response to "Hi-ho Silver!" was hysterical, but it took you completely out of the moment. TLR's dimwittedness was way overdone, naive is one thing, but he bordered on stupid. That wasn't that actor, that had to be directed into the mix. And why would the nice guy in the extreme LR walk away and leave Tonto buried up to his neck. (The answer, to set up a joke, didn't belong in the final cut.)

I think if they would have picked a tone and stuck with it it would have been a fine film.

Audiences know these iconic characters. We don't have to see their origins again and again. Just drop the characters into a decent story and run with it.

I have to disagree with that one, although I agree it would certainly work. But as contrary example I thought the backstory of Batman Begins was the best part. A well done intro enhances the characters.

 

[JohnMor]

I, too, think an origin story into iconic characters can be quite beneficial, especially when dealing with younger audience members who may never have seen, say, The Lone Ranger before. But it needs to be good, cohesive and respectful (but not slavishly so, IMO).

 

[Dee Zee]

Wow, I must live on another planet. I saw it yesterday afternoon and I loved it. It paid homage to every Western ever made, from Buster Keaton to John Ford. I thought it was the best escapist summer action film since Raiders of the Lost Ark. My partner and I even could back and see it again.

 

[TravisR]

^ While I didn't like The Lone Ranger, I'm glad to see someone 'admit' that they did. Whether I agree or disagree with them, I love reading people's opinions on movies, TV shows, music, comic books, etc but I've found that there's a sizable chunk of people who don't seem to know their own opinion until they read what everyone else thinks. Most likely it's just human nature of wanting to go along with the crowd but I hate that kind of thing. The worst is seeing something who likes a movie but then they read a bunch of nitpickers pulling at every thread of a movie and then decide that they don't like the movie anymore because of those whiners. That's not to say that people shouldn't listen to others and then re-evaluate their own opinion but I find it sad that so many people can't think for themselves on something as simple as a movie.

EDIT: Sorry for the basically off topic but I guess I felt like getting on my soap box.

 

[Ejanss]

Wow, I must live on another planet. I saw it yesterday afternoon and I loved it. It paid homage to every Western ever made, from Buster Keaton to John Ford. I thought it was the best escapist summer action film since Raiders of the Lost Ark. My partner and I even could back and see it again.

You can almost draw a dividing line between the folks who saw Shanghai Noon, and the folks who saw the train crash scene and said "It's a classic salute to The General!"
For the record, one Disney survey asked me if I had ever seen Shanghai Noon, and I had to answer "yes".

 

[RobertR]

^ While I didn't like The Lone Ranger, I'm glad to see someone 'admit' that they did. Whether I agree or disagree with them, I love reading people's opinions on movies, TV shows, music, comic books, etc but I've found that there's a sizable chunk of people who don't seem to know their own opinion until they read what everyone else thinks. Most likely it's just human nature of wanting to go along with the crowd but I hate that kind of thing. The worst is seeing something who likes a movie but then they read a bunch of nitpickers pulling at every thread of a movie and then decide that they don't like the movie anymore because of those whiners. That's not to say that people shouldn't listen to others and then re-evaluate their own opinion but I find it sad that so many people can't think for themselves on something as simple as a movie.

Of course, it's equally true that people don't have to like a movie (and should be willing to say so) simply because a lot of other people do. Discussion threads should never contain posts ONLY from those who dislike OR like a movie.

 

[Greg Chenoweth]

I knew it! I knew it! Disney has finally spoken out on why THE LONE RANGER bombed at the box office. Was it poor execution with the script? Was it poor direction with the actors and the material? Was it because of a budget that was enormous and egos flying everywhere? Of course not! According to Dave Hollis, Disney Executive VP of Theatrical Exhibition Sales and Distribution, it was none of those reasons. The reason it failed was because of the Lone Ranger character himself. Always blame it on the property, not the people responsible for bringing it to the big screen. Here is a quote from the article:

Hollis doesn't blame Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, or any of the filmmakers for the weak box office performance. He thinks it was a lack of familiarity with the titular masked character that did the Lone Ranger in. “The heritage and legacy of the Lone Ranger story,” says Hollis, “didn't connect as well with the younger audience. It wasn't something that was known, and it didn't draw their interest as much as we’d hoped.”

You can read the whole article here: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/07/10/lone-ranger-disney-tentpole-strategy/

 

[dpippel]

Hollywood will just never figure out that even when you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.

 

[TravisR]

I think there might be a difference between what they know and what they will admit to publicly.

 

[Everett S.]

Johnny Depp is also a producer on both DARK SHADOWS and THE LONE RANGER. Depp bought the movie rights to DS and it was always his dream to play Barnabas Collins. He also has a stake in TLR and he was one of the driving forces behind the big budget. He is three years younger than I am and he grew up with these properties just like I did. I don't know why he is so determined to twist them into an ill-conceived mess that has no resemblance to the TV shows they are based on, but he has just as much to blame for these atrocities as anyone.

He said on TV that he was not proud of the series, the way they treated Tonto.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'm not sure how they can justfy that, since they didn't really make a "Lone Ranger" movie.

In this movie, Tonto is the central character and the "Lone Ranger" character doesn't even show up until the climax of the film.

If they actually made a "Lone Ranger" film, they might have had a different result.

 

[Greg Chenoweth]

He said on TV that he was not proud of the series, the way they treated Tonto.

I'm surprised that Depp made such a comment when he wears a headdress with a dead bird throughout the film and constantly feeds it as well. Is that good treatment of Native Americans?

 

[dpippel]

I think there might be a difference between what they know and what they will admit to publicly.

The money people spent a quarter of a billion dollars producing a turkey like The Lone Ranger and are still throwing millions of dollars at directors like Shyamalan, even after multiple rather high-profile flops. This is cyclical. Every couple of years a big budget dud will come along and we hear a lot of doom and gloom talk about how it's "the death of the expensive blockbuster". Then some film makes a couple of billion globally, turns it around, and it's right back to TLR budgeting territory all over again.

I think it's more like a difference between what they think they know and what they actually do know.

I'll also point out that 2011 was the most profitable year for Hollywood ever.

 

[Ejanss]

I knew it! I knew it! Disney has finally spoken out on why THE LONE RANGER bombed at the box office. Was it poor execution with the script? Was it poor direction with the actors and the material? Was it because of a budget that was enormous and egos flying everywhere? Of course not! According to Dave Hollis, Disney Executive VP of Theatrical Exhibition Sales and Distribution, it was none of those reasons. The reason it failed was because of the Lone Ranger character himself. Always blame it on the property, not the people responsible for bringing it to the big screen. Here is a quote from the article:

Hollis doesn't blame Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, or any of the filmmakers for the weak box office performance. He thinks it was a lack of familiarity with the titular masked character that did the Lone Ranger in. “The heritage and legacy of the Lone Ranger story,” says Hollis, “didn't connect as well with the younger audience. It wasn't something that was known, and it didn't draw their interest as much as we’d hoped.”

You can read the whole article here: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/07/10/lone-ranger-disney-tentpole-strategy/

OTOH, you have interviews where Jerry Bruckheimer was on the defensive saying "Yes, the producer is responsible for the budget, but it wasn't my job to 'control' Gore Verbinski on a 'leash'!...The guy's an artist, y'know?" (Or words to that effect.)
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jerry-bruckheimers-disney-future-question-582560
While similar buddies Michael Bay and Jeffrey Katzenberg leapt to Bruckheimer's defense as "the Rock of Gibraltar of Hollywood", developing a convenient case of amnesia for the almost unbroken string of flops and disappointments he'd had at the studio since Pirates 2.

It's all regarding the rumors that Pirates 5 is "up for renegotiation", and it sounds like they're putting the two-pronged blame where it belongs.
You can almost tell it's the people who HAVEN'T seen the movie that are blaming "Old westerns?" and "Nobody remembers the Ranger?" Aw c'mon, that's the lazy man's out.
Like John Carter, there must be a head to roll, or the gods will not be appeased...They demand blood sacrifice.

 

[cineMANIAC]

I had a rollicking-good time with this film and thoroughly enjoyed it. I should point out that I never saw the old TV series but was aware of it, nevertheless I'd wanted to see the film because:

1) I like Westerns
2) I appreciate that Buckheimer films are very well produced and feature great special effects even if the film themselves sometimes fall short. No one can say that his films aren't entertaining, though
3) I'm a sucker for any film with trains in it.

I'm not thrilled the film isn't making much money because it really is quite good IMO. Again, I've never seen the old series but I think a film like this would easily appeal to people looking for a couple of hours of escapism regardless of their past history with the subject matter.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

The film was pretty good once the Lone Ranger actually appeared. Unfortunately, that wasn't until about 2 hours into the film, after the audience was treated to yet another, apparently studio-mandated, origin story.

Audiences know these iconic characters. We don't have to see their origins again and again. Just drop the characters into a decent story and run with it.

I also think I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have some woman sitting behind me with a very annoying laugh who seemed to think that every single line and scene was hilarious.

I might agree for Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and the like, but Lone Ranger? He's not been part of pop culture for a looong time.

I'm 46 and I didn't know the character's origin story!

 

[Gary Seven]

I don't know why he is so determined to twist them into an ill-conceived mess that has no resemblance to the TV shows they are based on, but he has just as much to blame for these atrocities as anyone.

Actually, the TV show was based on the radio show, which is the Lone Ranger's point of origin.