The Lone Ranger Rides again

No, it’s not the Lone Ranger we Baby Boomers grew up with, but nonetheless, the movie is a rollicking good adventure if you’re looking for a summer escape plaguing so much of the country this summer.

I agree when I saw the trailers with Johnny Depp as Tonto (and not dressed as Jay Silverheels played him), I was skeptical. But some minimal research, (okay, I asked one of my friends who’s knowledgeable in Indian culture) revealed that Depp’s makeup was fairly realistic. Armie Hammer turns in a good performance as the Lone Ranger, although, he exudes was less confidence as the Lone Ranger than what Baby Boomers will remember.

In a departure from the TV show, John Reid, the ranger, is actually a lawyer, who becomes the masked lawman at the urging of Tonto to avenge the death of his Texas Ranger brother at the hands of the notorious Butch Cavendish. Together, the pair discover a plot that would have great implications if successful and work to foil the evildoers behind it.

This is all related by a now elderly Tonto to a young boy in a museum dedicated to Western history, so there are flashbacks throughout the show to this Tonto. I know this was the film’s way of trying to engage a younger audience that has no relation to the Lone Ranger, but I found it off-putting. That’s just me. Others may like this facet of the show.

The Lone Ranger gets a thumbs up.

So while I’m doing movie reviews, thumbs down to World War Z. Just moments into the show, the tension ratchets up to an adrenaline-pulsing level and never lets up from there. Please, give the audience a chance to breathe once in a while. Oh, yeah, zombies that move at super speed without explanation as to how they acquired this power. Really? That’s just one example of the inconsistencies with the reality we expect from a zombie picture that turn this one into something you’d expect to see on the SyFy channel. If you’re into Brad Pitt and want to see it, wait till it comes out on DVD and rent it through Netflix.

And that’s Life at Turtle Speed.