My Train of Thought

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REVIEW OF LONE RANGER 2013

This seems to be another year for bringing the heroes of yesteryear back – whether they originated from comic books, radio shows, or even television.  The latest reincarnation is that famous masked rider of the plains, the Lone Ranger.  If your sole preference of this champion features Clayton Moore in the title role, you may have a difficult time adjusting to this modern interpretation.  The 2013 Lone Ranger is nothing like any of his predecessors.  

 

Admittedly, I am one of the baby boomers who grew up with the TV series that began in 1949.  In later years, I was able to listen to some of the radio broadcasts as well.  For some of my generation, their criticism of this most recent film has been extremely harsh, much the same way they tore Man of Steel apart.  For my part, I tried to put all this aside, including my own partiality for Clayton Moore’s portrayal.  To me, this was and is the only way to view the film and not be totally disappointed.  

This movie is told from Tonto’s perspective, as the viewers will discover early on.  Some say that the use of flashback made the entire storyline very confusing; personally, I felt it was an excellent vehicle to use, since this seems to be Tonto’s story.  I also had a theory on why Johnny Depp decided to come on board for this project.   Depp does have Native American blood running through his veins.  Perhaps he saw this as a means to correct the Indian stereotypes and white men portraying Indians in westerns and television shows of the past.  Some have criticized Depp being given the role of Tonto, stating that they should have used a true Native American instead of another white man.  It cannot be denied that Johnny Depp lent his box office draw to the big screen in addition to the team responsible for the highly successful Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

The movie has a bit of the prequel to it, for we see the Reid family before the Rangers ride off after Butch Cavendish.  John Reid returned from an eastern law school to Colby as a  prosecuting attorney.  His brother, Dan, captain of the Texas Ranger group, wasted no time in deputizing John in the hunt for Cavendish, who had been pillaging the area.  As the posse headed out of town, John stated to his older brother that he neither liked guns, nor did he know how to use one.  The posse was ambushed in a canyon, and all were presumed dead as with other Lone Ranger folklore.  The betrayal of the posse was slightly different for, instead of being led into the canyon by an Indian scout, Reid and the others were led to the slaughter by one of their own who secretly worked for Cavendish.  

The appearance of Tonto was definitely not what I would have imagined.  He most certainly bore no resemblance to Jay Silverheels, or even Michael Horse’s rendition with long, flowing hair.  This Tonto had what we would call “war paint” on his face and a black crow as a bonnet in place of a headband or even feathers braided in the hair.  When he came upon the bodies of the rangers, he searched them for some treasure, but left something of his to complete the trade.  Breaking from all other stories, Tonto was joined by Silver, known as the “spirit horse”, an omen of good luck.  The Indian sought the horse’s blessing to find a brave ranger spirit in his quest to avenge the killing of his tribe.  Silver, however, did not stop at the grave of Dan, but at John’s.  Depp’s comedic timing, as in Pirates of the Caribbean, stood out in this movie, as Tonto kept bringing the horse back to Dan Reid’s grave, only to have him walk back to John Reid.  If you are looking for the great relationship between the masked man and his horse, Silver, you won’t find it in this film.  While the white horse responded to a whistle, he wasn’t even named until the end of the film when Hammer’s character said, “I think I’ll call him ‘Silver’,” and Depp’s character indicated that would be a good name for the horse.

If the writers intended that John Reid be a reluctant hero, then Armie Hammer was very good in the role.  Hammer, as the last of the rangers seemed somewhat befuddled – grieving for his dead brother and comrades, while trying to decide what his destiny should be.  Tonto tried to give him a dose of reality orientation by telling him it was better that he stay dead.  Since Tonto was telling the story, of course he took credit for the idea of another identity and the mask, unlike the TV series where John Reid, very symbolically fashioned the trademark mask from his dead brother’s vest. 

As I watched the ending credits (a habitual practice for me), this old Tonto was not riding Scout beside Lone Ranger and Silver.  He walked as an old man, with an uneven, slow gait, seemingly fading off in the distance, surrounded by the incredible scenery of Monument Valley, in both Arizona and Utah.  Hans Zimmer wrote the score for the film and his rendition of the famous William Tell Overture is heard as the finale (found on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LiaXIAwemk).  There are bars within the theme that are vaguely reminiscent of Zimmer’s incredible soundtrack from The Last Samurai.

Is this modern, updated version of Lone Ranger an insult to the hero many kids grew up with?  That’s the question that many baby boomers have been asking.  The 1950s had good guys wearing the white hats and the villain usually had dark or black outfits.  The line between good and bad was clearly drawn.  In later years, the black/white and good/bad seemed shrouded within shades of gray.  Heroes often possessed their own doubt about right/wrong, and sometimes struggled to uphold their principles.

For me, the Johnny Depp Tonto version is quite similar to Dustin Hoffman’s character of Jack Crabb in Little Big Man, narrating how he managed to survive living alternatively with Indians and white men.  Little Big Man also uses an older Jack using flashback to tell the story.  The 2013 Lone Ranger is amusing at times, perhaps a bit irreverent, but an enjoyable film overall – much like watching a spaghetti western.  One of my criticisms would be that the train scenes could have been edited to decrease the run time.  I’ve wondered if this film was Disney’s way of testing the waters, to see if a sequel would ensue, as with Pirates of the Caribbean.  Based on the box office results, Disney may have backed the wrong horse, so to speak, as they dared to mess with an accepted icon.  They gambled, but did they fail or succeed?  You, the viewers will have to decide that for yourself.