Last week, my sister-and-law and I headed to Regal Cinemas Bridgeport Village Stadium 18 & IMAX in Tigard to catch an advance screening of The Lone Ranger. An over-the-top homage to spaghetti westerns, this film is an action-packed romp with a sense of humor. The story follows John Reid (Armie Hammer), a naive, rule-following lawyer and future Lone Ranger who finds an unexpected ally in Comanche tribesman Tonto (Johnny Depp). The film kicks right into gear by starting off with a long action sequence, which was great – many films like this really drag at the beginning so I like the fact that they got right down to the action.

There has been a lot of publicity and controversy around some portions of this film, which I can’t properly address without spoiling some parts of the movie, so I’ve put the bulk of my review under a cut. Click the blurred text below to view my full review, which does include spoiler details about the plot:

There has been a lot of discussion concerning the portrayal of Native Americans in this movie, with many voicing concerns about the stereotypes being reinforced and the lack of roles in film for non-caucasian actors. Others, such as the film’s Comanche adviser, William “Two-Raven” Voelker, have defended the film’s approach. Depp, who has stated that he believes he has Cherokee or Creek ancestry, was formally adopted by the Comanche tribe after the president of Americans for Indian Opportunity, LaDonna Harris, heard of the film and extended the invitation.
I don’t blame anyone for feeling either way about this movie, honestly. Depp is not a member of a tribe outside of his Comanche adoption after the film – I think getting into the argument of who is truly “Native American enough” is a real problem in and of itself, but there’s no arguing that most roles in any Hollywood movie go almost unanimously to caucasian-identified actors and that’s a huge issue. I love Johnny Depp, but it’s too bad that roles like these don’t go to actors who are tribe members.
That being said, this film is more like watching Johnny Depp as Hunter Thompson working at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride than Tonto. It felt a little like a purposeful parody of Tonto, and when I read some interviews with Depp after watching the film is seems that is exactly what he was going for. I’ve always liked Depp and his often-eccentric acting style, so I was expecting the movie to be entertaining in that way; as a standalone Johnny Depp character, his Looney-Toons portrayal was really funny and the best part of the movie – the baggage with the cultural implications is the thing that gave me pause, such as the broken English accent.
My overall feeling was that there was a lot of stereotyping and silliness with the outward appearance and mannerisms of all the characters, while their actual personalities and the overall plot are trying to be more progressive. Tonto isn’t a sidekick or idiot as many have feared he would be portrayed – in fact, he’s the only one in the movie who seems to have a brain sometimes – and one of the portions that some have had problems with, the portrayal of spiritual beliefs in a dismissive “New Age” way, are not what they seem. Tonto tells many fantastic tales of visions and spiritwalkers through the movie, which the Lone Ranger dismissed as “Crazy” Comanche beliefs. When they come across a Comanche tribe, the Lone Ranger is stunned when they tell him: “We don’t believe any of that – Tonto is crazy, that’s why he says that!” It’s kind of an interesting twist – the Lone Ranger had just assumed that Tonto’s “Eccentricities” were due to being Comanche, and is stunned to meet the rest of the tribe and find that none of them look or act like Tonto does. The tribe think that both Tonto and the Lone Ranger are nuts and end up burying them both in sand so they’ll stay out of their way!
The film also tries to focus on the very real plight of native peoples more than your typical shoot-em-up western. The centerpiece to the movie is a group of robbers who frame the Comanche people so that they can take their land to steal silver and build a railroad. The Lone Ranger is a true believer in justice and fairness, and is convinced he can sort this big misunderstanding out – only to be devastated to learn that the business interests and local military are only concerned with greed. After a horrific battle where Comanche are slaughtered in droves, the formerly-pacifist Lone Ranger decides to just blow up the train and wipe out the bad guys. The fact that it had a sort-of happy ending is probably one of the least believable parts of the whole thing, but I appreciated the effort they made to really cause the audience to feel grief when we see Tonto’s family murdered and watch the utter injustice that the Comanche are subjected to. It’s a small thing, but people can connect emotionally with films and it does not hurt to remind moviegoers about the cruel parts of history, even if it’s sandwiched in a ridiculous action film.
The action and Johhny Depp are completely absurd, and I mean that in a good way – it’s a silly romp and tongue-in-cheek tribute to old westerns, so it’s supposed to be funny and ridiculous. They push the envelope with the action – absolutely none of it is realistic and that’s why it’s fun. There is a second action sequence on trains towards the end of the movie, complete with the William Tell Overture playing in the background, and it sort of reminded me of an old west take on the freeway scene in Matrix Reloaded – the characters do the most impossible stunts jumping on top of trains, trees, blowing up boxcars, and standing in front of windows full of gunfire without getting shot. It’s absolutely insane and that’s why it’s so fun to watch! Other movie highlights include Helena Bonham Carter, who plays a brothel madam with an ivory leg containing a gun. She is awesome and I have to say, I was shocked to see her and Depp together in a film that wasn’t directed by Tim Burton. 😉

I thought the film kept up a good pace, although it dragged a bit in the middle. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, all modern movies are way too long! Honestly, I thought the parts of the movie where they focused on the mechanics of the plot and how X bad guy cooked up Y scenario made my eyes glaze slightly – I guess I don’t like to be challenged during action movies. 😉 I think it’s because action films will usually tend to have pseudo-complex plots that are hard to follow and don’t really make enough sense to be challenging or interesting. Overall the plot of The Lone Ranger worked pretty well and tried to keep the twists coming, but some of the details of it failed to draw me in, possibly just due to the length of the film.

My sister-in-law and I really enjoyed ourselves – I’ll be honest, I was expecting that it could be pretty boring, but it kept my attention and I loved all the fun and action. We had a fab night at the movies and I know that we’ll be seeing the sequel, because folks, they purposely left the ending waaay open for a sequel!

The Lone Ranger is in theaters today, July 3rd – just in time for the long holiday weekend!