The Lone Ranger (Part 2 of 2)

The Lone Ranger (Part 2 of 2)

 One of the most glaring things with the movie is that there is this subplot about nature being out of balance. Animals are behaving in strange way. We see rabbits eating other rabbits and other strange things with nature and creatures. The movie and Tonto keep bringing it up. There is even hints of cursed rocks and silver. And all this mystical stuff is very much real in the world of the movie.

The movie even goes as far as hinting that the main villain has cursed powers. (His henchmen were supposed to have powers too.) However, none of this matters at the end of the story. All of this magical and cursed stuff is dropped without much fanfare.

There is a reason for this. There was an entire subplot ripped out of the movie. The bad guys were supposed to have the powers of werewolves. As stupid as it sounds, the Lone Ranger remake was supposed to have werewolves. Now, it worked in the Pirates movies because the supernatural was all around the world. Here, the writers layered in the subplot about the strange nature stuff in order to connect it to the werewolves.

Here's the thing though. Disney realized the budget was going overboard and demanded they take a chunk out of the budget, say 20 million or so. And, the studio held the producers and director's feet to the flame. “In order to make this movie, you have to cut 20 million out. We won't let you make this movie unless you cut some money out.” And, out came the werewolf plot.

And, they ripped it out, while they left the remains of it throughout the movie. And, these remains are in the form of unfulfilled subplots and tiny moments. There were strong hints that the bad guys were supposed to be more, but it never goes anywhere. So, they cut out a chunk and didn't brother removing the other stuff connected to the werewolf stuff.

Probably the best thing about this mess of this Hans Zimmer's score. And, yes the William Tell theme makes a few appearances. The movie is certainly enhanced by the interesting and frantic score. I just wish the movie just fit in with the fantastic score.

The Tell theme plays heavily in the last act with the action scene where there are multiple trains and battles going on. And, this last action scene is amazing and something we should have gotten in the rest of the movie. The trains going different directions and people fighting their counterparts are good things to watch. Why didn't we get this type of movie for the rest of it?

The Lone Ranger isn't the worst movie in the world, but it is highly uneven with some poor character writing and world building elements. It certainly feels more like Wild Wild West than Hell on Wheels. It also has some elements from Jonah Hex, which isn't a movie to mimic. Plus, Johnny Depp's character takes over the movie and makes the main star seem like a boring side character. Zimmer's score does lift this movie up bit, but it is not enough. This is a poorly written movie with a lot of problems.

Grade: D+