John Reid (Armie Hammer) is an idealistic lawyer returning to Colby, Texas. His train's held up by the gang of Butch Cavendish (William Fitchner), a sadistic outlaw rumored to be a wendigo, or evil spirit. Also on the train is Tonto (Johnny Depp), a crack brained Comanche Indian who reluctantly befriends John. After Butch kills John's brother (James Badge Dale), John gets reborn as The Lone Ranger, a vengeance-seeking, mask-wearing vigilante. He and Tonto contend not only with Butch, but Latham Cole (Tom Wilkinson), an amiable Union Pacific official who's not what he seems.
Besides filming in Monument Valley, Gore Verbinski lards Ranger with homages to The Searchers (the farmhouse massacre), The Wild Bunch (a shootout juxtaposed with Shall We Gather at the River?) and Once Upon a Time in the West (too many to count). Verbinski enjoys playing John Ford for awhile, but ultimately returns to the Pirates blueprint: straight-laced hero teamed with sleazy sidekick; the double-dealing corporate bigwig; villains who hate each other more than the heroes; "progress" equated with mass murder; Johnny Depp in strange makeup. Verbinski demonstrates the thin line between hack and auteur.
The Lone Ranger nonetheless works, jettisoning Pirates' more absurd plotting and supernatural elements for streamlined storytelling. The buddy dynamic works pretty well, and Verbinski spends enough time shading in supporting players that the interstitial material carries some weight. The main focus though are the go-for-broke, Rube Goldbergian set pieces Verbinski specializes in. Attempting to one-up Buster Keaton, Verbinski opens with a raucous train robbery/chase scene, topping it later on with a spectacular running gun battle complete with William Tell Overture. CGI-aided or no, it hits all the right action movie notes.
Admittedly, Ranger runs long at 149 minutes. The framing device with an antiquated Tonto is worthless, while a digressive set piece featuring ivory-legged hooker Red (Helena Bonham Carter) goes nowhere. There's much puerile liberal whining about corporate greed and maltreatment of Indians, culminating in a massacre straight from Soldier Blue. And the movie undercuts its dark tone and grisly violence with jokes about horse poop and killer bunnies. Still, Butch eviscerating his victims in this family film is scarcely less disturbing than Only God Forgives.
Johnny Depp plays Tonto as, essentially, Jack Sparrow with pidgin English and a bird on his head. Your mileage may vary whether this amuses or annoys. Armie Hammer (The Social Network) proves perfect casting as the straight arrow John Reed. Why this charismatic actor can't catch a break (this marks his third flop after Mirror, Mirror and J. Edgar) is beyond comprehension. William Fitchner makes a ferocious baddie. With his pork pie hat and scruffy beard, Tom Wilkinson uncannily recalls James Mason in Lord Jim. Ruth Wilson plays the perfunctory love interest, while Helena Bonham Carter's part amounts to an extended cameo.
It's no fun defending a movie everyone else hates, but dammit if I didn't enjoy The Lone Ranger. I was grinning like a kid during the wild gunfight/train chase at the film's climax, and really that's all I demand from my summer blockbusters.
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