This movie is so damn undervalued. It is too long, granted, but it is so much fun. The last 30 minutes are why we see big-budget summer movies.

One of the best blockbusters of the summer. I was outright shocked by how much I liked it and then shocked even more seeing critics ripping it to pieces.

If Verbinski had done away with the silly wraparound story, it could have been the summer's best blockbuster.

If not entirely triumphant, the wrap-around story is perhaps still an interesting gambit, though. It gives the film an air of melancholy similar to the epilogue in the Coens' True Grit.

Interesting? Maybe. But it didn't work. Like at all. And the movie is really too long and that would have been the perfect thing to cut.

He should have cut Helena Bonham Carter. Her fame is a distraction, emphasizing the arbitrary and wasteful nature of her role.

I would agree with both of those cuts - - 2 hours and 29 minutes is ridiculous for a fun summer movie.

Almost all of the blockbusters are too long these days.

Her character is too integral to the already clumsy plotting of the film to really be cut. And I liked her role quite a bit, especially her place in the setting-up of that final chase. The way that whole scene builds with like 3-4 different things going on all leading to all hell breaking loose is so fun and funny and silly.

I don't know if the wraparound story was unnecessary (I've read some solid defenses of it), but it's so horribly executed, and just comes off as a half-assed Princess Bride ripoff.

The Lone Ranger is a miss, but at least it's an interesting miss, if also a frustrating one. The main culprit that bogs the film down is its unevenness: the first half-hour gets the film off to a good start, the next 90 or so minutes are mostly plodding and overstuffed with exposition, and then the finale is exciting to watch. Also problematic is the character development; despite the length of the film, the protagonist gets little initial development and a relatively weak arc, which makes it difficult to invest in his journey when there's not some sort of action happening onscreen. It also doesn't help that the casting is somewhat off. Armie Hammer looks the part of the title character and has some charisma, but he sometimes lacks the conviction to carry the film. But at least audiences can try to see Hammer as the Ranger; the same cannot be said for Johnny Depp as Tonto. Even though it's clear that Depp is having a good time, there's not one minute in the film where I get the sense that I'm watching a character rather than Depp doing his usual shtick. It's not a bad performance, but it's certainly a distracting one. But whatever the film's shortcomings may be, the action scenes are not among them. As in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, director Gore Verbinski brings excellent senses of motion, choreography, and spatial awareness to the action scenes, and the train chase in the third act is the most creative and inspired set piece in any film this summer. Unfortunately for The Lone Ranger, the vast sums of money Disney stands to lose on it at the box office will guarantee its place in the history books as a train wreck. While it's not entirely successful (and indeed, could have been vastly improved with sharper character development, less Depp shtick, and more streamlined exposition), it does have redeeming qualities that should grant it a kinder reception than it has gotten so far.

C+

I pretty much agree with everything Webslinger said.

I am going to raise my grade for this film to an A-. I know, I know, stop the presses.

Truly, though. So undervalued. I am excited to own the Blu-ray and revisit it.

The Lone Ranger

So I watched this last night. With me just getting back in China, my sleep pattern is not yet back to normal and I missed about 40-60 minutes of the film. Yes, I nodded off. But it didn't take much away from my understanding of the movie. It's a pretty simple story and the action and comedy are apparent throughout so I caught a large chunk of that in the last 40 minutes of the movie (which is great and non-stop).

Personally, I feel this movie should have been played more seriously. I didn't like how Depp was the humour guy and Hammer was [pretty much] the moron. I think Hammer, much like Seth Rogen and The Green Hornet, he was mis-cast as The Lone Ranger. It should have been someone slightly older and more rugged. The action set pieces were fantastic and they came thick and fast (especially at the end), but I didn't like the tone - everything ended perfectly. It was a well-cut plan (by an Indian, no less), and everything that happened turned out fine for them both, even to the extent that when the woman was pushed/fell off the train she landed on the horse. It was all just too convenient, with no real sense of threat or danger at all. Too childish, I suppose. It was like watching Pirates of the Caribbean, but set in the Wild West.

I'm not sure I totally liked the way that old Tonto was in a museum either. I mean, come on, that was a bit weird, and not explained at all. Why was he there? How was he there? Is it like Night at the Museum or something? Why was the Lone Ranger not there either? and it didn't end with anything like an 'unfinished business' plot years later (like I had hoped it would).

C+

PS: Just read what Webslinger wrote and I also agree 100%. Forget my review. Read his. It's accurate.

I stopped reading your review anyway when I realized you slept through roughly an hour of it, yet still assigned it a grade. For shame, Algren, for shame.

Even though I did not read your review, I will address a question you may or may not have posed regarding the elderly-Tonto scenes in San Francisco: I certainly do not feel it is a Night at the Museum type scenario. I believe we are just meant to assume this is where life has led him as an American Indian adrift in a rapidly changing country, playing the savage in a novelty exhibition. This is complemented by the end-credits shot of him slowly shuffling into the desert again.

I woke up many times during my sleep. I think I still saw enough to grade it (otherwise I wouldn't have graded it). It's a 2.5 hour movie, and I missed 0.6 hours of the movie. So I still saw a lot. Just didn't think it was wank-worthy.

Doing some research, I can see that I only missed about 40 minutes now, and it was the worst 40 minutes that were pretty much self explanatory.

The train sequences are great and it's great to see the legendary Monument Valley displayed beautifully on screen, but other than that this film is a bore.

This film features one of the most exciting and fun action sequences of the year with the final 20+ minute train sequence. It's alright other than that, but overlong and fairly forgettable. B-/C+

C

Coulda been so much better.

I actually really enjoyed this movie, though it could nt have been more conventional.