The Lone Ranger

Dr. Gonzo

New member
Pale Horse said:
I'm seeing one problem that we've alluded to here, and that is that the film doesn't know which audience it should have played to.

You've hit the nail right on the head. I've heard from some who've seen this already that the film doesn't know what it wants to be... like trying to have it both ways. Updated and rebooted for the modern hyperactive generation while trying to remain true to the old style.

My friend also described it in that regard as "kinda schizophrenic" and "about 45 min too long."

I'll get to judge myself over the holiday with some of my younger extended family from out of town.

By the way the draft I read was an early Ted and Terry draft and has since been rewritten by others so Wendigo may not even factor in the picture at all...
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
T'ween this and Despicable Me 2 this weekend, I think the latter will serve my offspring better. Man, has it already been 6 years!?


I wish Hollywood would learn fast of the follies of the rewrite. It's alarming to me. Sure, some scripts can benefit from a talented writer serving in a more editorial capacity, but when it starts becoming piecemeal, look out.

(KOTCS, I'm looking at you!)
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
From Yahoo News:

'The Lone Ranger' Is Lining Up To Be Disney's Next 'John Carter' Bust

The Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer Western "The Lone Ranger" looks like its going to bomb over the weekend.

:)
 

Montana Smith

Active member
roundshort said:
If either (or Both) turn out to be ghosts, I will be annoyed.

Tonto-depp.jpg


the-crow_eric-draven_pictureboxart_160w.jpg



Pale Horse said:
I know I had hope, but it's hard, watching this thing and hearing a plethora of reviews.

Here's another one for you, Horsey.

Last week I happened to say to someone that there was an odd rumour about the new Lone Ranger film.

Before I could finish he completed my sentence for me:

"That the Lone Ranger and Tonto are both gay?"
 

Dr. Gonzo

New member
I won't spoil.

So after listening to just about every other person beat up on this movie, I went in with just about zero expectations...

when I left, I thought three things:

1. It wasn't a horrible piece of ****...
2. but it wasn't a good film either.
3. And yeah, for me it was about 30-50 min too long.

It was an okay little summer blockbuster, but therein lies the problem-

With a budget in the 250 million range, the Ranger can't afford to be an okay little summer blockbuster...

hahaha "little summer blockbuster" -- a contradiction if there ever was one.
 

HovitosKing

Well-known member
Saw it this weekend. It's got some flaws, but all in all it was enjoyable. It certainly doesn't deserve to bomb the way it has...
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Dr. Gonzo said:
I won't spoil.

I won't either, but I will say this....

Dr. Gonzo said:
3. And yeah, for me it was about 30-50 min too long.

Who writes an exposition for an exposition


In some ways the scene progression and plot line reminded me of this:

<iframe src="http://www.snotr.com/embed/6853" width="400" height="330" frameborder="0"></iframe>
 

Dr. Gonzo

New member
Pale Horse said:
I won't either, but I will say this....



Who writes an exposition for an exposition


In some ways the scene progression and plot line reminded me of this:

<iframe src="http://www.snotr.com/embed/6853" width="400" height="330" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Hahahahahaha...

Oh man, that was the funniest thing I've seen from that show in a while... (y)
So I gather you saw it now... I was trying to think of how the film could have been saved... you know like minor fixes, and I finally arrived at: the film needed a Page one overhaul... but the train had already left the station. I heard disney shut it down for awhile about halfway through to sort out problems... and with World War Z doing the same thing it's kinda become a bit of a trend hasn't it?

I wanted to like it... It was just trying to be a western and then subversive all in one.

There were a more than a few tips of the hat to older westerns in there but... I don't know. :confused: I still can't quite put my finger on it.

I guess the lesson here if any studio heads are reading:
Make a film... not a a summer release DATE. You guys decide on the damn release date before the damn scripts are even finished.
A recipe for disaster...
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
I'll say this for those in the know...

I couldn't stop thinking about Brendan Fraser. Anyone else know what I mean?
 

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
I'm getting the sense from a number of trustworthy folks that this movie is far better than the critical excoriation would imply. I'm going to have to go see it for myself.
 

Henry W Jones

New member
Not so good. Special effects are over the top, the Ranger is kind of whiney, way too campy, Tonto is joke after joke, he also is the star. The film should have been called Tonto and the Whiney White Man. Also, Depp as a native american and talking in broken english comes off a little like black face.
 

roundshort

Active member
Pale Horse said:
I'll say this for those in the know...

I couldn't stop thinking about Brendan Fraser. Anyone else know what I mean?

HE is a good looking man - not my thing but I am glad you are accepting what your heart desires... Just break it to your lovely wife easy...
 

AndyLGR

Active member
I think the annoying thing about this film is the Lone Ranger himself. He's a big girl when it comes to the action. I expected him to be all action but he's portrayed as a bit of a hopeless hero. As mentioned some of the effects are OTT, especially the train action at the end. At times I'm not sure what market this filmed is aimed at, going from comedy to violence in the blink of an eye. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but not brilliant.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
In removing Wendigo animal attacks from the script to bring down the cost, only possessed bunnies remained, leaving the mythology uncertain. Also, originally the train finale took place entirely inside the silver mine. Bringing it outside allowed more complexity, but multiple trips to the (very familiar) silver mine made it less mysterious. They could have streamlined the middle, but perhaps wanted to make a point about the US Cavalry, like the East India Trading Company.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
It's Pirates of the Caribbean meets the more recent entries of the The Fast and Furious series. But without the pirates. Or the cars.

Whimsical, quirky and laugh out loud funny in a silly kind of way. (Silver stops to drop a few and...)

It was shaping up to be a fine western until the train jumped the fridge. I also had a hard time telling myself that Tonto wasn't Jack Sparrow reincarnated - the mannerisms and voice were so similar.

It looks nice, very nice in parts, but it plays both sides of the fence, half wanting to be a genuine western, and half comedy. The sum total is something in the vicinity of the surreal.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Oh, and not to forget the Once Upon a Time in the West allusions: from the villains waiting at the station at the beginning; the build-up to the attack on the ranch; and the music that strikes up every now and then, such as when the railroad reaches the Commanche Border.

Once Upon a Time in the West, as with this Lone Ranger, was concerned with the building of the railroad, and of modern America itself. It's sequel, Once Upon a Time in America, depicted the future that the railroad built. And in The Lone Ranger we see that in the 1933 segments.

Encompassing everything is the myth, not just of The Lone Ranger, but of the building of America itself. So I think this story is being told by the boy in the museum, and not by Tonto. It's the boy's imagination running wild, which would account for the inconsistencies in the tale and the surreal elements. (Hi-Yo Silver! Silver? ... What are you doing up a tree?)

The story was set in 1869 yet the were 1873 Winchester rifles and plenty of 1873 Colt revolvers; and electric model railways didn't appear until the twentieth century. All of which would suggest that all of this was in the boy's imagination.

I really enjoyed it, since it never once let up. Yet, as has been noted around this forum, doing something that diverges from the norm or from the expected doesn't always bode well for favourable audience reactions. * cough * Sucker Punch * cough *.

10/10 Ranger stars.
 

kongisking

Active member
Montana Smith said:
Doing something that diverges from the norm or from the expected doesn't always bode well for favourable audience reactions.

Well, you yourself are a prime example of that, to be fair... ;)
 
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