The Lone Ranger (2013)

[Sundowner]

Tonto, jump on it, jump on it! Sorry I couldn't resist

 

[wannab]

Now if you don't want to see it based on premise, genre, or you think it'll just plain suck -- fine. Not seeing it based on some bogus bloodline casting argument, that is petty.

Personally I'm in the wait and see camp. If reviews are decent and it looks like it has some appeal then I'll see it (eventually). If it is in the "Wild Wild West" range of story and acting, I'm out with extreme prejudice. Don't bore me, or feed me icing with no cake, that is all I ask.




Doug

 

[Probe Droid]

Looks fine to me. Not everyone in Tombstone is walking around dusty and dirty and it doesn't detract from the quality of the film.

 

[dcarty]

Frankly I'm less offended by the idea of Johnny Depp playing Tonto than I am the rather weedy and effete looking dude sporting the black mask.

"Armie".

 

[Krull]

Good lord. It's one photo and the hater train rolls into town full steam. WOW.

It feels like the Prometheus thread in here.

I don't think Depp has any pirates in his family, does he? How about people who sell books? Or lizards? I don't think he was related to John Dillinger, and I doubt very seriously he has any old english detectives in his lineage. How about killer barbers who liked to sing?

+1 really,really pathetic to be honest.

It's a MOVIE for chrissakes just be happy they got somebody entertaining in it so it might be half way decent :behave

Given Depp's quirky nature I'll go see this,sure it's not the Lone Ranger I saw as a kid but it should be fun,or it could suck I'll have to wait for a trailer :lol

 

[terryr]

What offends me is that it looks comedic.

I want an olde tyme cowboy movee, not POTC on horses.

 

[azheat]

I soooo want this to be a good movie, I hate to admit it, but I actually like "The Legend of the Lone Ranger" with Klinton Spillsbury. My dad got me to like the The Lone Ranger as he has been a fan his whole life. I actually want to make a costume based on this image:

I almost attempted this last Halloween.

 

[wannab]

What offends me is that it looks comedic.

I want an olde tyme cowboy movee, not POTC on horses.

I'm betting on a Sherlock Holmes type vibe/treatment (shudder). I agree with you wanting that old time vibe for this, but it wouldn't fly with today's demo.




Doug

 

[Kerr Avon]

I soooo want this to be a good movie, I hate to admit it, but I actually like "The Legend of the Lone Ranger" with Klinton Spillsbury.

Yes, I liked that one!

 

[Lutso]

I can't wait not to see this.

I'll wait until the trailer comes out before making final judgement. But honestly...how could this be a good idea? It's just a continuation of the same old trend Hollywood has been following the past couple of years (take a corny TV show from the mid-century and turn it into an "epic" dramatic Blockbuster), and I haven't been impressed by a single example yet.

But like I said, I'll give it a chance and wait for the trailers.


I'd rather not even get started on the Native American thing, I don't have the energy for another one of those debates. The movies are hard on those folks...

 

[CelticRuins]

To me, Storm should have been Iman. I didn't like Halle Berry's version of Storm AT ALL!

Seriously, this woman doesn't age!

Not to hijack the Lone Ranger thread...but HUUGEEE YES TO THIS!

 

[Solo4114]

To me, Storm should have been Iman. I didn't like Halle Berry's version of Storm AT ALL!

Seriously, this woman doesn't age!

Iman does indeed look fantastic now, but (A) I'm betting she's had work done (which doesn't change that she's still a knockout, of course), and (B) that picture DEFINITELY has been photoshopped. Which is a pity because she IS stunning without the filters.

If a movie is going to flop because a particular actor isn't in it, then I think you have a much bigger problem with the movie itself rather than the casting. If the only reason to put people in a seat is by who is in the movie, then you clearly have a problem with the concept and script of the movie.

This is a big part of my gripe. It's not that I think Depp will do a poor job. Quite the contrary, actually. I'm sure he'll do well. I usually find him entertaining in films even if the film itself isn't entertaining (see also, Pirates 2-4). To me, it's more just the crass, calculating BS that studios do to gin up excitement about the films. And I also hate that it WORKS. People WILL see this film merely because Johnny Depp is in it, and WOULDN'T see the film if some no-name was in it, even if that no-name was good. And that's a real shame because it robs us, I think, of far more variety and talent than we're otherwise exposed to. So, great that they've got an unknown with Armie Hammer. Here's hoping he's not just a pretty face who also happens to be heir to a sizeable fortune... (Baking soda, anyone? No joke. Look it up.)

I guess I just keep repeating myself. Out of the stars that draw an audience, I think Depp is probably the most suited for the role and they needed something to make this movie marketable to the masses.

For my part, I'm not debating that. It's reality. But it is an unfortunate reality, much like how they had to rename A Princess of Mars to "JOHN CONNER...er...CARTER" because boys won't see a movie with "princess" and girls won't see a movie with "mars" in the title. Lame.

The only downside to the decision of casting him is the handful of people complaining 'but he's not a real Native American'. If that's enough to turn someone away from the movie if they had been a fan in the past, then I guess they weren't much of a fan and that's one less person from the smaller demographic that they're relying on audience from, but overall I don't think the negative thoughts of those people will be enough to hinder what mediocre success ( I REALLY doubt westerns, can you tell? ) the movie may have.

I see another downside of this. Namely that a typically underrepresented slice of the populace continues to be underrepresented when there is a role that you'd think would call for them to be cast.

There aren't too many well-known NA actors. Wes Studi and Adam Beach come to mind readily. Graham Greene is another. Eric Schweig. "That guy from Dead Man" (a.k.a. Gary Farmer), and Michael Horse (a.k.a. "That guy from Twin Peaks") are less well known. By the way, Wes Studi? Full-blood Cherokee. AND a terrific actor to boot. Why not cast him? I'll tell you why. Because the producers want "JOHNNY DEPP" on the poster.

The real pity here is that there are both known -- and likely unknown -- VERY talented NA actors out there who are being passed over. I had a similar issue with, for example, Prince of Persia. Why? Because Pej Vahdat (a.k.a., that guy from Bones) is ACTUALLY Persian, AND could absolutely have pulled off the role.

To me, that's the real shame of it. It's not that the people in the roles are necessarily bad (although Jake Gyllenhall was pretty lame in that film), it's that other actors who are ACTUALLY of the right background could have done it just as well if not better. But people are stupid and timid and won't go see a film merely because they don't recognize the names.



And hey, whoever thought that we'd be saying that the 1950s Lone Ranger was somehow MORE "politically correct" because at least Jay Silverheels was actually a Native American. :facepalm

 

[Art Andrews]

I know where you are coming from and you have a point, but I would point to someone like Adam Beach who is a real Indian and who is still a relative unknown, especially compared to someone like Johnny Depp, yet gave an amazing, emotional, and heartfelt performance in Cowboys & Aliens... probably moreso than any of the big name actors in that movie. I could see someone like him being a perfect Tonto and adding a LOT to this movie. For me, Johnny Depp is going to be Johnny Depp no matter what, and if he wears that ridiculous getup the whole movie, all I am going to think of is his Pirates outfit that was strikingly similar. I don't want to see an actor... I want to see a character.

I think it's kind of cool they used a relative unknown for the main character and one of the biggest names in Hollywood to portray the sidekick. Even if they didn't hire a full fledged Native American, they considered the role of the character very important to have someone like Depp fill it ( Plus the money yada yada yada ) and to have an audience invest in that character.

Would people be happier if they did cast a Native American who nobody knew and nobody cared to go see? Who because of their relative anonymity, made the character of Tonto have less of an impact with general audiences? You'd have the crowd like the ones complaining here who would be happier ( of which whom maybe the older Lone Ranger fans would still pay to see it, but I doubt those new to it would ), but for the general audiences the fact is there is less appeal.

 

[RelicMaker]

I'm not too crazy about Depp's look for the movie....:rolleyes

He's dressed up as the painting called "I am Crow" seen here, which is a medicine man. Tonto, as I recall, is not a medicine man, but a warrior.
I guess since Depp lacks the facial structure of a Native American, they have to try and hide it behind a bunch of makeup...

First look at The Lone Ranger and Tonto:

 

[dbalschi]

I guess since Depp lacks the facial structure of a Native American, they have to try and hide it behind a bunch of makeup...

:facepalmYeah because it's real obvious from 1 picture that he's going to have the makeup on through the entire movie.

 

[Kerr Avon]

:facepalmYeah because it's real obvious from 1 picture that he's going to have the makeup on through the entire movie.

Is there any evidence to the contrary?

 

[dbalschi]

Is there any evidence to the contrary?

There's no evidence either way. We'll know when more pictures and a trailer come out.

 

[CelticRuins]

I know where you are coming from and you have a point, but I would point to someone like Adam Beach who is a real Indian and who is still a relative unknown, especially compared to someone like Johnny Depp, yet gave an amazing, emotional, and heartfelt performance in Cowboys & Aliens... probably moreso than any of the big name actors in that movie. I could see someone like him being a perfect Tonto and adding a LOT to this movie. For me, Johnny Depp is going to be Johnny Depp no matter what, and if he wears that ridiculous getup the whole movie, all I am going to think of is his Pirates outfit that was strikingly similar. I don't want to see an actor... I want to see a character.

Yes! He was pretty fantastic in Cowboys and Aliens. I'm not condemning Johnny Depp; I've liked him as an actor since Edward Scissorhands...but for a more 'realistic-looking' approach, I'd pick him.

But I digress. Depp might just give an outstanding performance that will carry him FAR away from his obsession to PotC and Tim Burton...but it is being directed by Gore Verbinski, and Helena Bonham Carter is in it -_-.

 

[Kittlemeier]

There aren't too many well-known NA actors.

Michael Horse (a.k.a. "That guy from Twin Peaks") are less well known.

He was also Tonto in the '81 version with Spillsbury. Of which I'm apparently one of three fans that I know of, counting the other two in this thread.

 

[Kittlemeier]

Long time LR fan and could take or leave Depp in most things. Having said that, I don't mind the casting. Adam Beach has never impressed me and Eric Schweig is too old and fat now(yes I know he's younger than Depp but he certainly doesn't look it), although I would have loved him in it a few years ago. I think Depp will do fine.

Hate the Lone Ranger costume though, so far at least. I know there have been variations over the years but, as far as I know, it's always been just pants and a shirt, whether half button or bib. Wouldn't mind the classic red and black or even the newer version blue shirt/black pants from the Dynamite comics run. I've never seen him in a suit. Just doesn't work. Hopefully there are more costumes.

I actually liked where they went with the '81 costume. It was more Native American inspired in (probably) deer suede with rough edges, but in the style of classic LR and a more pale grey blue rather than powder blue. Looked like Tonto could have put it together and dyed the leather like the panels in the Dynamite comic version.