By: debbie lynn elias
“Hi-Yo, Silver, Away!” And sadly, that’s what you may be doing – going away – before reaching the 2 hour 17 minute mark (plus credits) of the latest Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, Johnny Depp vehicle, THE LONE RANGER. Over-directed by Verbinski, over-mugged by Depp and just over-the-top by Bruckheimer, Disney should have stuck to its guns when it first pulled the plug due to the film’s over-exaggerated budget. Bigger doesn’t always mean better.
THE LONE RANGER is a beloved part of American radio and television and by extension, the mythic history of the American Old West. John Ford would have loved making a movie about THE LONE RANGER, and should have. (Oh wait, in a way he did – “How the West Was Won”, “Stagecoach”, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” and the list goes on and on.) Typically, when one thinks of THE LONE RANGER, they think tv’s Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels or going farther back in time, Brace Beemer, John Todd or Roland Parker on the radio. One thinks of silver bullets, Silver and Scout, a masked man (“Who was that masked man?”), Kemo Sahbee, and the William Tell Overture. One does not think of THE LONE RANGER as being an at times buffoonish simp (as Verbinski has made Armie Hammer appear) nor Tonto a Native American whose accent vacillates between possible Native American and a Bulgarian Count Vlad.
Written by Justin Hathye together with those “Pirates of the Caribbean” scribes, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, THE LONE RANGER is a mash-up of the worst parts of the “Pirates” franchise now set in the desert – in Utah – with Texas Rangers – and really really really ugly looking dirt-covered bearded folk (Personally, I think the only person in the film who knows how to bathe is Helena Bonham Carter’s madam, Red Harrington.), yet filled with some of the most beauteous cinematography to hit the big screen thanks to Bojan Bazelli and some of the most stunning natural locations in the United States – Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, Rio Puerco, Fossil Point and Dead Horse Point Bojan Bazelli – and hard-to-be-believed, jaw-dropping action sequences with horses, trains, cliffs, mountains, water, cavalry – you name it, it’s there!
Thankfully, Verbinski and company start with the basic premise of the Lone Ranger myth but with a little tweaking. Outlaw Bruce “Butch” Cavendish is the meanest, baddest man in the west. Wanted by every lawman across the country, Cavendish and his men ambush an eight man team of Texas Rangers hot on his trail. (Original radio serial has it a 6 man team but you’ll understand the difference with the film.) One of them, Sheriff Dan Reid, has allowed his brother John, the county’s new District Attorney, to ride along as Cavendish was his prisoner who escaped in a train-break and let’s face it, John looks a bit foolish at letting the prisoner escape a moving train.
Leaving them all for dead after the canyon shoot-out, Cavendish and his men move on. Later that night, Tonto, a Comanche Indian imprisoned on the train with Cavendish but who helped save Reid and vice-versa, stumbles onto the dead Rangers. But imagine his surprise when one, tenderfoot John Reid, is not dead. A shining white stallion (uh, Verbinski used a mare) stands vigil by his body, a sign to Tonto that this man is a Spirit Warrior – he cannot be killed. Nursing Reid back to health, it is clear to Tonto where the future for these two men lies. They must seek justice on Cavendish not only for the death of Reid’s brother (whose heart Cavendish cuts out and eats), but for what is happening to the West with the railroad, the cavalry, the Comanche and something that haunts Tonto from his past. Fashioning a black mask for the presumed dead Reid from his brother’s vest, the masked man and Tonto set out to find, and bring to justice, those that have wronged them.
As the story progresses, the plot thickens and Verbinski’s literary license and changing of history unfolds, centering around the building of the Transcontinental Railroad (an event that took place in Utah, a thousand miles away from Texas and the Rangers) and the power of brotherhood, be it by genetics, as brothers in arms or as blood brothers. It is the latter plot device that gives some substance to the storyline but is never fully brought to the forefront, as the film instead falls to mugging and jokes that garner perhaps a snicker but never a belly laugh, and never finds a tonal balance within the story or the characters.
Moments of the film, such as the Comanche massacre, are beautifully yet brutally lensed, warranting respect for the Native American but which instead has brisk edits to a light comedic moment between Hammer’s Reid and Depp’s Tonto with dead Comanche bodies floating behind them. Tasteless? There is also much historical reference which misses the chance to engage young minds in American history as it is tossed to the wind in favor of excessive cuts to Depp’s winking, grimacing, best sober Captain Jack Sparrow impersonation ever. Is this a film about the beginnings of THE LONE RANGER or “Tonto’s Story”? And again, Verbinski never finds even tonal footing.
A wonderful plot device, however, is telling this story as a narrative from a very old Tonto. Now appearing as a 1933 sideshow attraction in a traveling carnival, Tonto attracts the attention of a little boy dressed as “The Masked Man” who, on appearing at “The Native Savage” exhibit, parks a questioning “Kemo Sabe?” from the believed to be Indian statue. Imagine the young lad’s surprise when then “wooden Indian” walks and talks! Intercuts throughout the film of the wide-eyed wondering child engrossed in the old Indian’s story are endearing and give hope that the legend of THE LONE RANGER and the Old West will live on.
As Tonto, Johnny Depp is Johnny Depp. Been there. Done that. Seen that. Phone it in. The stand-out with Depp, however, is his Comanche make-up and crow head-dress, all of which is based on I Am Crow, a stunning Native American painting by Kirby Sattler. And while throughout the film, Depp’s Tonto weirdly repeatedly tosses bird seed/grain to the dead crow perched on his head, as the story progresses, we come to learn the symbolic act stems back to his childhood and his love for this pet crow. Unfortunately, Depp’s continual winking and wide-eyed “aha” moments detract from his performance as does a hit and miss Native American accent.
Although enjoyable and enthusiastic, Armie Hammer’s talents as John Reid/THE LONE RANGER are vastly underused and misused but for his clear cut skills as a horseman. And yes folks, in the seminal “Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!” moment, that IS Hammer rearing back in the air on Silver.
A real surprise is newcomer Ruth Wilson who delivers a warm strong performance as Dan Reid’s widow (and the love of John Reid’s life), Rebecca. Scene-stealing is the virtually unrecognizable William Fichtner, exuding evil from every pore as Butch Cavendish. Tom Wilkinson gives a respectable, albeit seemingly disgruntled, turn as greedy railroader Latham Cole. Not to be missed is Barry Pepper who, as cavalryman General Fuller, delivers a wonderfully boisterous character reminiscent of General Custer in both appearance and demeanor. But the real show-stopper is an under-stated, subtle and stunning Helena Bonham Carter as the scrimshawed, peg-legged madam Red Harrington.
Some of the most intricately choreographed and executed action sequences I have ever witnessed on film bookend the film with palpable energy and excitement as does the signature William Tell Overture which is complimented by Hans Zimmer’s easy hand. Where no expense or detail was spared is with the stunts, horse wrangling, costuming, firearms and props. Authentic down to the last lacing, last feather, last silver bullet, the historical accuracy and detail in the production elements is meticulously executed. Kudos to stunt coordinator Tommy Harper for his work, Harry Lu for his firearms techniques and costumer Penny Rose whose name I would start bandying about for Oscar consideration (along with cinematographer Bazelli). One of the real gems in this production, however, is the work of Special Effects Coordinator John Frazier and train coordinators Jim Clark, Jason Lamb and Luke Johnson who built two full size 250-pound trains and tracks leading to action that defies the laws of physics. A herculean effort that led to the best pay-offs and most fun in the film.
Will THE LONE RANGER ride again? Or just ride into the box office sunset? This weekend will tell.
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Written by Justin Hathye, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio
Cast: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Helena Bonham Carter, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson
