Back to the film that I enjoyed a lot the first time around, the film that just about everyone else on earth decided was crap. It appears fairly certain now that Disney will lose a fortune on this film, which cost a whopping $250m to make, and that studio, faced with the juggernaut that Marvel/Paramount has become thanks to Iron Man, Thor and The Avengers franchise catching fire, must wonder what they have to do to make something that people go and watch.
The last Disney attempt at a major blockbuster was John Carter, and that film, starring Taylor Kitsch/Tim Riggins, performed as poorly, but that movie didn't boast the genius of blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer nor the writers, director and star responsible for the very successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise - certainly, later on in that series, succesfful in respect of box office takings rather than critifcal reception - which begs the question: if Jerry Bruckheimer films aren't drawing people to the movies, then what on earth will? There's a lot of talk of Hollywood being in decline, and it might not be far off the mark.
My second look at The Lone Ranger - which I reviewed rather favourably here a few weeks back - was with my parents. Thanks to some free tickets, I managed to twist their arm to come. They hadn't been keen until friends recommended it, so off we went. My parents enjoyed the original Pirates film, and I was curious as to what they would make of this, given that Tonto in this Gore Verbinski epic is pretty much just a different - read: native American - take on Captain Jack Sparrow - and that's definitely not a bad thing!
I don't know what people expected from this film. I'm at a loss to work it out, because I enjoyed the origins tale of John Reid, a righteous county prosecutor turned masked hero, two times over and my parents, who, it's fair to say, don't generally share my taste in movies - they think my taste is crap and I think their taste is crap, too - laughed harder than I've seen them laugh at a movie in a long time. They really enjoyed it, more than I thought they would. But, as my mum likes to say, "usually, if the critics don't like it, then we do!" And vice versa, you would assume.
What the critics write about a film certainly has a giant bearing on whether or not people go and watch it. In this case, they thoroughly savaged what was always just a popcorn movie - sometimes, my favourite sort - and it's led to Disney losing a small fortune. Okay, maybe a large fortune. But you get my drift. The problem is, the film is generally enjoyable. I saw John Carter. That tanked for a reason. It was a horrible movie, with no redeeming features, and you felt sorry for Taylor Kitsch, as he'd clearly been saddled with some rubbish. The Lone Ranger wasn't that, yet it is constantly compared with JC. It was funny, exciting, action-packed...the sort of movie that you would think would resonate with summer audiences. Apparently not.
Some of the complaints I've heard: the Wild West was portrayed as bleak - it was, in reality, a rather bleak place - Johnny Depp's take on a Native American being an insulting one - guys, please, it's a Hollywood blockbuster, not a National Geographic doco - the film was too long - I personally didn't feel it dragged the first or second time - the flashbacks to San Francisco 1933 and an elderly Tonto were worthless - I thought it drove the narrative well - and the plot was a little convoluted. Sure, I'll grant you that. It could have been cut down and compacted. We're not there for exposition, anyway, but for explosions and laughs. I read one review that complained about frenetic action. Back to your art house movies, buddy... As for the scribe who wondered if Johnny Depp's career had tanked, just wait and watch him drag in a new fortune with the fifth Pirates film!
I'm a firm believer in declaring a film good if you leave the cinema having laughed, smiled, cheered on the hero, felt like booing the bad guy. That's what happened tonight, and The Lone Ranger passed the test of my parents, as tough a test as there is. They've savaged many a movie I've taken them to, or watched with them on DVD. Not this one, though. They had a good time, a good laugh and came out having seen something pretty fun. It's a shame that, thanks to a general mauling in the press, we probably won't see a sequel.
No comments:
Post a Comment