The Lone Ranger (Gore Verbinski) - 2013

I think that Jay Silverheels (1912-1980) would have liked Johnny Depp's new interpretation of the Tonto character but I doubt that Clayton Moore (1914-1999) would have ever approved of the masked man as the bumbling city lawyer with an oversized hat as played by Armie Hammer.  Mr. Moore (no relation) carefully guarded the image of the Lone Ranger during his lifetime.  I am sure that he would have been appalled at the suggestion that his character could ever be an outlaw or would be involved in the interruption of the Transcontinental Railroad through Comanche territory.  This movie mixes violent and sometimes macabre action scenes with a healthy dose of comic relief scenes.  I could have done without most of the former.  The amazing but improbable locomotive chase scenes are well-crafted.  Director Verbinski indulges in revisionist U.S. history to paint certain American industrialists as the real villains of the Old West.  Depp's performance is one of his best but he is often upstaged by a beautiful white horse named Arctic Bright View playing the iconic role of Silver.  Johnny Depp fans will enjoy this movie in spite of the brutal violence.  However, devotees of the western legends may want to stay home.  [JAM 7/7/2013]