Movie Review Madness: The Lone Ranger

What's up with the mask? That's a running joke in The Lone Ranger and it does get laughs. However, this movie is way, way too long and is not for young kids. At 2-1/2 hours, I found myself checking my watch. It's a shame because with a whole lot of editing (down to one plot line please), it could have been hilarious. Johnny Depp as Tonto is a crazy man. You're never sure what he'll do or say, and he keeps you laughing.


Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger is a fine manly specimen. He's a good looking guy with a nice sense of humor and is actually a bit of a klutz. His sidekick, Tonto, seems to always save the day. The filmmaking and stunts are fine. There's plenty of action, gunplay, and explosions. It's just not cohesive. When they are on a roll, we seem to meander off to a plot with Tom Wilkinson, the rich guy in town who's amassing even more. Fine, he needs to be stopped. But let's do it, not talk about it.

Westerns seem to have trouble attracting audiences and this is no exception. They put a lot of money into this film, but forgot the goal - entertain us. The final twenty minutes with the Lone Ranger theme blaring and some Hi-ho-Silver ended up exciting and fun. But it took a long time to get there. Wait for DVD and you'll be amused. We came out laughing, but also tired of sitting. I give The Lone Ranger a C for cumbersome plots, and a special grade T for Tonto. Johnny Depp is a weird creative man.