So far, I have no opinion on the movie except for the fact I’m getting the same sort vibe from it as I did from the Will Smith version of Wild Wild West (I just hope there are no giant mechanical spiders).
It might have been a good idea to have Depp play the Ranger and a real First Nations actor play Tonto. Not sure what Armie “Winklevii” Hammer is bringing to the party.
When you put it like that, I can almost see the process:
“Johnny, we’ve just acquired the rights to the Lone Ranger and Tonto.”
“Which one do you want me to play?”
“Uh, your call all the way.”
“Well . . . Tonto’s potentially the wackier, more ‘Jack Sparrow’ role.”
“Fine by us, Johnny.”
“But I don’t want to be overshadowed.”
“We’ll cast you opposite a bland guy who brings nothing else to the party.”
“Awesome.”
Does anyone know if that music is included? Maybe the answer, if anyone knows it, should be spoilered.
- Yes
- Maybe, depending on the “WTO” inclusion
- N/A
50’s kid, used to love TLR on TeeVee. To me, the trailers make it quite obvious that the new movie is indeed Pirates Of The Caribbean with a different skin as suggested upthread.
Since I really liked POTC (the first one, and to my great surprise), I’ll probably see TLR. Looks like it might be fun. But I expect it to be a “respectful parody or reimagining”, a remake in name only.
The reviews have started coming in, and they are not kind. So far it is 19% at Rotten Tomatoes. I had thought that maybe despite my expectations, it would be good. I did not have high hopes for Pirates of the Caribbean, until it was getting good reviews and word of mouth, and it turned out to be fun.
Also, I wouldn’t bet on it being a huge blockbuster. I think a lot of people aren’t familiar with the character beyond the name, and Tonto his sidekick, and a horse named Silver. I wasn’t aware he was actually a Texas Ranger in the original version of the character; though apparently he isn’t in the movie.
And using Google Trends might not be hugely scientific, but it shows in general what people are interested in. White House Down and The Heat came out last week, and The Heat was a much bigger hit and White House Down was a flop. Google Trends comparing the two clearly shows more interest in The Heat. Now comparing The Lone Ranger and Despicable Me 2 which come out the same day, there’s a huge interest in Despicable Me 2, but relatively little for The Lone Ranger.
I’m guessing it will not be a huge hit; at best, it will be slightly profitable including worldwide grosses, but not profitable enough to justify a sequel, especially considering all the trouble that had when filming and the criticism of Johnny Depp being in “red-face.” I haven’t seen The Heat yet, so I might go see that instead, since I’ve heard it’s decent, and I want to support films that are starring women.
-
Yes, as a kid it was still shown on weekend TV. So I saw it but never avidly watched it or anything.
-
Not to any exceptional degree. I was intrigued by the core of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie gathering to maybe do something surprisingly good again. And a friend had seen some early cuts and said good things.
-
I’ve seen it. It is a complete mess. A few good moments but overall very bad. And nothing close to good enough for it being 2.5 hours long.
- Yes.
- Yes.
- N/A.
I’m one of the younger fans of the LR mythos, having enjoyed two different Lone Ranger cartoons when I was a kid. I think this looks good enough even if it changes the backstory a little (and what version of the mythos hasn’t?).
It’s a fine line the makers of this had to walk…keeping true to the ideals of the character while not making it so corny that it wouldn’t appeal to today’s audiences. The problem facing them is that since the heyday of the original radio and TV series, we’ve had it drummed into us that The Old West Really Wasn’t Like That At All. But, y’know, that might be the point for some audiences…they may want to see it as they like to imagine it, not the way it really was.
Besides, it has the lovely Armie Hammer in it, with his blue eyes and his handsome face and his wonderful physique and his lovely deep voice. 
(I wouldn’t dismiss him–he was quite good in The Social Network. In stereo.)
What I don’t get is why certain people on the IMDB boards are gloating, “It’s gonna be a flop!” and gloating over every negative review. And presumably this is from people who never even saw it. I mean, jeez, what did the Lone Ranger ever do to them? Did a masked man scare their mothers when they were pregnant with them? What? (And what is this crippling phobia some people have that someone, somewhere, is going to like a movie they don’t? 
)
I know who he is/saw the Spilsbury movie/have never seen the series/have no intention of seeing the movie. Depp looks creepier than he did in Sweeney LePew Todd and the only thing this movie seems to have going for it is the absence of Helena Bonham Carter.
I read that it will need to take in at least $250 million to break even, and while I’m sure it will take in a lot I doubt it will be anywhere near that much.
They NEVER should have used that look on Depp, and they should have had a blitz of steampunk merchandising and William Tell Overture spots to herald it. Or, better yet, just not made it.
Um, hate to break it to you, ol’ buddy…
[QUOTE=Sampiro]
the only thing this movie seems to have going for it is the absence of Helena Bonham Carter.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Sam Lowry]
I wasn’t aware he was actually a Texas Ranger in the original version of the character; though apparently he isn’t in the movie.
[/QUOTE]
Have you not seen the trailers?! 
I wouldn’t pay to see this but the reviews are making me interested just to see how weird the movie really is.
It seems REALLY weird.
Go see Donnie Brasco, a terrific film and Depp is devoid of any quirk or affectation–just delivers a fantastic performance.
Some of the gloating is just Schadenfreude. But I think some of it is being tired of the stupid big budget, non-original, non-interesting movies. Almost all of the Hollywood movies being released are remakes or sequels. Only one movie is starring two women. I think people want more different kinds of movies, but Hollywood only wants to do “sure things.” So it does make it funny when something that was supposed to be a sure thing ends up being a flop.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding you, but according to reviews I’ve read, he isn’t technically a Texas Ranger. I’ll put in the info in spoiler space just in case.
Armie Hammer’s brother is a Texas Ranger. Hammer is actually a city-boy lawyer. He gets deputized right before a posse including Hammer and the brother rides into an ambush in a canyon. Everyone is killed, except for Hammer. So he may have the Texas Ranger badge, but I wouldn’t exactly call him a real Ranger.
In the radio show, Tonto came across John Reid as the sole survivor of the ambush and nursed him back to health. He recognized him as a boyhood friend from some amulet or something he had once given him.
The backstory is pretty well explained here:
I remember from the TV show that the Ranger was also a master of disguise, which made his mask kind of redundant, if you ask me. (Would Butch Cavendish have actually recognized him if they bumped into each other on the street? :dubious: )
-
Watched it as a kid. I liked Tonto more, since he was the real hero of most of the show, setting the groundwork for the Ranger’s heroics. (Note that the Ranger often went disguised as an old prospector to check things out, too). Tonto’s portrayal was pretty fair, even by today’s standards – the Ranger treated him as an equal, listened to his advice, and was just as willing to help him in distress as he was to help the ranger. Tonto was smart and dignified throughout the show and he and the Ranger fought against anti-Indian prejudices.
-
Possibly. I like Johnny Depp, and have no more problem with him playing an Indian that Matt Smith playing a Gallifreyan. You choose the best actor for the role and in this case you have an actor who will draw in people. Casting a Native American who couldn’t draw or handle the role makes no sense whatsoever. (Are there any Native American actors who have the drawing power to star as the lead in a blockbuster?)
-
Obviously, I haven’t seen it yet, but I do like the concept that Tonto is the brains of the two.
The last two Pirates movies Gore Verbinski did left such a bad taste in my mouth (non-stop action pieces with the soundtrack up to 11 where no-one was ever really in any peril because nobody knew who was on who’s side) and managed to bore me to death that I don’t think I could give the guy another chance.
And it seems like he made the same kind of movie again. A lot of noise with no drama.
There’s been a few good summer blockbuster movie ideas out there but putting them in the hands of a Gore Verbinski or Michael Bay will keep me away.
(But what the hell do I know, they all make a zillion bucks anyway.)
My God, are they co-dependant or what? :eek:
If you were asked “Are there any white male actors who have the drawing power to star as the lead in a blockbuster?” how many names would you have readily been able to rattle off before listing “Armie Hammer”?
Would he have been among the first ten names you’d list? The top twenty? Would he even have made the list if you rattled off the names of a hundred age appropriate current actors?
The title character is being played by an actor that- if known- is known only by the character name from one movie he did three years ago. He may be talented (I thought he was good in The Social Network but have seen him in nothing else) and he may have devoted fans who actually are familiar with his other work- but he ain’t no above-the-banner “name”.
Clearly they decided they only needed one big name for box office draw. Conceding that it actually is important to have a big name star for a summer blockbuster, they could have- gee, I don’t know- cast a big name star as the title character which would have reduced pressure to have any “star power” for the sidekick. In which case they could have cast any Native American actor with talent.