The Lone Ranger

I have been a lifelong Lone Ranger fan.  Clayton Moore did the NATO tours, as did many western stars and why I did meet many of them.  Moore was not exactly the most friendly however,  Jay Silverheels was, and a real person whom I really liked.  I always felt as a child that there was some friction between the two of them but, hey, what does a kid know?

In Germany, we had rebroadcasts of the older radio series from the radio station at Kaiserslautern (K-Town to us NATO Brats!), which was quite well done and greatly enjoyed by at least one member of my family!

So this latest offering, I already hear is being touted as a blockbuster movie failure - after only one week!  Seems a little premature!  But, then I never worked in the industry and have often felt that it critics and its analysts were both equally insane.  You also will have to remember that I love the area of the country this was filmed in and had to laugh at one point in the film when I was working harder remembering where this sequenced was filmed, rather than following the movie!

Armie Hammer, is about as convincing as awet tuna salad on a soggy bun - sorry, no real talent there.
Johnny Depp, turned in a very good performance as an indian lost to both his own culture and equally lost in the white man's world.
William Fichtner, whom plays the heavy, honestly deserves a nomination for his bad guy characterization!  Nice sociopathic humor in there!  It was a toss up between the Indian cultural tension and Fichtner's performance which captivated me the most.

Scenes came in from all over Colorado: Creede, Georgetown, Silver Plume, Wagon Wheel Gap, Wheeler Monument, as well as, Arizona and Utah, plus some CGI magic.

And I love the romance of old iron!  I have been in most of those engines personally!

The story is typical western material which is so politically incorrect: white man's greed, Indian naivety, manifest destiny.

The bad: the Indian tribe selected is the Comanche, which are poorly portrayed, since they are one of the better documented tribes due to their problems with white man's encroachment.  However, had they of used the Arapahoe, it would have been mighty close to what did happen and the Arapahoe were the scourge of the Rocky Mountain are this was film in.  So right story, wrong tribe.

The story takes place in 1869, yet many elements of the story were more likely to have been encountered in the 1890's!

Over two hours long!  The story could have been firmed up with a few less rabbit trails that although novel, really did not add to the story. 

Armie Hammer.

The good: a solid western story weaving together politics, greed, racism and man's inhumanity of the 19th century.

William Frichtner.

View-ability:
Very violent.
Really only one female character and her clothes stay on.  There is a visit to a brothel, however bawdy, it was supposed to be, everyone had their clothing on.
Intense movie in which manifest destiny is shown to really be nothing more than greed and plays for power where the only real loser is the Indian and their way of life.

There were a few pre-teens there and they were laughing at the appropriate times, though I would have been a little concerned for the level of violence and a pre-teen.  Teen friendly, with reservations for the same reason.

I think this is an owner movie and does have a message for the next generation concerning greed, inhumanity and hiding behind religion to support our own desires.