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“The Lone Ranger” has its moments, and anyone who’s gaga for Westerns will fleetingly appreciate the old-school feel and John Ford references, but there’s more to loathe than love in this overloaded tentpole movie, yet another disappointment in what’s become a grim summer for Hollywood. Starring square (and square-jawed) Armie Hammer as the titular masked hero, and Johnny Depp as Tonto (who’s a sidekick despite the fact that Depp received top billing), the origin tale comes from “Pirates of the Carribbean” helmer Gore Verbinski, and it’s clearly meant to launch a new franchise for the director, Depp, and Disney.
Running 149 minutes, the film has a beefy plot, which involves John Reid (Hammer), the upright D.A. goes on to become a resurrected justice-seeker; Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner), a squirrelly outlaw hunting for silver; Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson), a tycoon bringing the railroad to an 1860s Texas town; and Tonto, an outcast Native American of few words, who rocks a bird on his head and claims to be tracking an evil spirit. There also are two female archetypes, played by Helena Bonham Carter and Ruth Wilson, but they’re as sidelined as the dark-skinned “savages,” none of whom the studio could be bothered to cast in place of the markedly white Depp.
As he showed in the first three “Pirates” films and the beautifully rendered “Rango,” Verbinski has a knack for dreamy, detailed, tactile visuals, and he brings that to his latest work in fits and starts. More often, though, he reaffirms his stance as a director of great indulgence, piling action scene upon action scene, climax upon climax, until any urgency or weight in the adventure is hammered into dust.
Watching “The Lone Ranger” is exhausting in many more ways than one, for beyond the length and bombast, there’s Depp doing the same tired schtick he’s been pushing since the first “Pirates” flick, and here, the work is unavoidably offensive. The real mask in “The Lone Ranger” is nostalgia, which is unsuccessfully used to downplay what’s another pro-white, pro-male and pro-effects spectacle.
The Lone Ranger
PG-13
One-and-a-half reels out of four
Now playing at area theaters
Recommended Rental
42
PG-13
Available Tuesday
Harrison Ford is tough to stomach as yet another grumbly curmudgeon, but budding star Chadwick Boseman, who takes the lead in this affecting Jackie Robinson biopic, is something of a revelation, especially when forced to suppress the racism-fueled rage is real-life dealt with tale when hitting the big leagues. Rarely sentimental, and transcending offensive “magical negro” cliches, “42” inspires and surprises, and features strong support from the underrated Nicole Beharie.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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