The Lone Ranger: A fun, exciting film

Looking for a fun, entertaining film filled with cowboys, Indians and laughs? Check out Johnny Depp’s latest flick The Lone Ranger. The film stars Armie Hammer as the title role and Depp as a funny, outlandish Indian named Tonto. The Lone Ranger opens in 1933 where a young boy is dressed up as a tiny masked ranger and comes encounter with an old Tonto (also played by Depp who is nearly unrecognizable!) who begins to tell the boy his wild adventures with John Reid (the lone ranger). John Reid was a straight laced lawyer who gained an education and sought justice by bringing people to trial. He went back to his home town, where rangers didn’t believe in his kind of justice. Instead of bringing criminals to trial and to be hanged, they believed in killing, eye for an eye. Reid discovers this culture the hard way and needs to save his sister-in-law and nephew from the evil men seeking to destroy his home town.

The story, although was really interesting and a great twist of events, dragged for longer than it should have. The film is two and a half hours long which is why some people may not have enjoyed the flick. Some action scenes, especially in the end seemed endless. There was too much going on in the film that could’ve been cut, such as action scenes and showcasing several gory parts (i.e. slitting throats, eating insides, etc.) For a PG-13 rating be forewarned, it is very violent and quite gory.

The Lone Ranger was a pleasant surprise, having read several reviews which were all bad, it was thoroughly enjoyable. The acting was brilliant. Johnny Depp proves time and time again that he is never afraid to take risks and there is not a single character he cannot portray. He completely stole the show, but in a good way. He dives into the character and while playing the older version of his character, he is seriously unrecognizable. He’s witty and comical similar to his Jack Sparrow character from his ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ days. He commits whole heartedly to this role, and it’s absolutely fun to catch. Armie Hammer portrays more of a stick-in-the-mud type of character, which is a nice balance between him and Depp. He’s great as this highly educated lawyer, who is naïve and almost dumb enough to believe that he can change the way people handled the law back in the Wild West. With Depp’s absurdity and Hammer’s primness it’s an amusing match up.

Director Gore Verbinski did a great job setting the tone for a gritty, Wild West adventure. The Lone Ranger had beautiful shots of the desert, the costumes and makeup were remarkable especially with Depp’s character which was beyond exceptional. To fully enjoy this film, one must erase all expectations good or bad, and think of just being completely entertained.

The Lone Ranger is highly recommended to Johnny Depp fans and people who want to embrace their inner child by enhancing their imagination and accepting a film that’s fun, action packed and overflowing with entertainment.