The Lone Ranger

[The Borgified Corpse]

Personally, I wonder how Disney execs are going to react if JJ Abrams stays true to form and delays the release date of Star Wars like he did his two Star Treks. Somehow, under these circumstances I don't think Disney is going to be as understanding as Paramount was.

Given Disney's one film a year strategy, I think the schedule is a bit more rigid. Also, as far as I know, Paramount's decision to move the release of Star Trek from December of 2008 to May of 2009 wasn't Abrams' decision, although it probably benefited the film.

I was more making a reference to STID, which had it's original release date of June 2012 postponed because Orci and gang needed more time on the script. Plus there was some talk around the time Abrams was announced as Episode 7's director that he was considering postponing the 2015 date. Details.

But, due to Disney's desperation for a franchise and their plan to do an SW movie a year, I really can't see Disney indulging Abrams the way Paramount did.

If Abrams can't deliver, they can just go with the director I've been suggesting from the get-go, Brad Bird. (Seriously, judging from Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Bird is the only action director in Hollywood right now with anywhere near George Lucas' gift for pacing & visual imagination.)

And while it's true that script issues where the big reason for the delays on Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek XI was pushed back from 2008 to 2009 because 2009's intended summer movie crop was decimated by the 2008 WGA strike. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince was delayed for the same reason.

As an aside, Helena Bohman Carter will always and only be Madam Lestrange in my mind. LOL

I think that will always be the first role I think of when I think of her, if only because it seems to distill her Burton-esque visual image so well. But she's done a lot of other great work in recent years, particularly in Tim Burton movies. She totally steals the show as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. (But then, I've yet to see a production of Sweeney Todd where Mrs. Lovett didn't steal the show.) I loved her as the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland. ("Use the curtains if you have to but clothe this enormous girl!") And her every tiny facial tic was pure comedy gold as the alcoholic psychiatrist in Dark Shadows. So I think she's had a pretty awesome career.

All I read in your entire post was "Salma Hayek" & "Wild Wild West." I'm just going to savor that image again. It's probably still better than anything The Lone Ranger has to offer.

149-minute film​

VS​

106-minute film​

​

From a purely visual standpoint, Hayek is more stimulating. However, if they both tried to seduce me, I think Helena Bonham Carter would jump to the front of the line. She has an inherent sultry-ness that's very appealing.

 

[Mr Light]

I know nothing about The Lone Ranger and I enjoyed the movie. The action scenes were great and Depp was very funny as Tonto.

My one glaring complaint; there was absolutely no reason whatsoever for the framing story. Cut that out and the movie would have been 15 minutes shorter. I also agree with reviews that said cutting out Helena Bonham Carter would have changed nothing to the movie and made it another 15 minutes shorter.

I guess I'm in the minority but I really liked Wild Wild West. Smith and Kline were hilarious together and there was some crazy over the top action.

 

[ATimson]

My one glaring complaint; there was absolutely no reason whatsoever for the framing story. Cut that out and the movie would have been 15 minutes shorter.

It might have not been necessary, but I liked it. Plus, people who don't like the changes can blame the teller for not telling the truth.

I also agree with reviews that said cutting out Helena Bonham Carter would have changed nothing to the movie and made it another 15 minutes shorter.

Spoiler: The Lone Ranger

Who would be responsible for the explosive distraction at the train station, then?

 

[bryce]

I want to see this....kinda...but there are too many other movies out there now that I want to see more. And movies are kindaexpensive these days...so I'll either see this on DVD or a the cheap $3 theater. But eventually I will see it.

Weird, seems the for every *BRILLIANT* movie that Depp does, and BRILLIANT character that he plays...there's at leats one flop and one really weird character that has people thinking "What the h...!?"

For every PotC and Sweeney Todd there's a Willy Wonka and an Alice in Wonderland...

 

[Dream]

Johnny Depp, Bruckheimer Blame Critics for ‘Lone Ranger’ Flop

 

[Dick Whitman]

They sound foolish! I have yet to see it but this thing had a lot stacked against it regardless of reviews. Its a character, property that has been dead for almost half a century!!! This thing had as much chance of success as The Shadow and The Phantom did.

Depp never saw it as a Blockbuster! What a load of Crap!!!! Even if he did not Disney certainly did! They act like budget should not matter to the public. But everyone, knows these big summer movies cost a lot. Disney would never have agreed to make this at this cost unless they expected to gain a profit.

I used to be a really big fan of Johnny Depp but he is embarrassing himself in his performances but also how he presents himself off camera.

 

[Noname Given]

Johnny Depp, Bruckheimer Blame Critics for ‘Lone Ranger’ Flop

Johnny Depp RE: Lone Ranger:

"I think the reviews were written when they heard Gore (Verbinski) and Jerry (Bruckheimer) and me were going to do ‘The Lone Ranger’,” Depp said. “They had expectations that it must be a blockbuster. I didn’t have any expectations of that. I never do.”

^^^
Yep, Disney spent $215 million NOT expecting a hit. Gotta love clueless actor logic.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I can totally see Depp tripping through his roles not thinking about blockbusters. "Do I get to wear white makeup? Where do I sign?"

 

[Mister Fandango]

"I think the reviews were written when they heard Gore (Verbinski) and Jerry (Bruckheimer) and me were going to do ‘The Lone Ranger’,” Depp said. “They had expectations that it must be a blockbuster. I didn’t have any expectations of that. I never do.”

^^^
Yep, Disney spent $215 million NOT expecting a hit. Gotta love clueless actor logic.

He's not the one coming across as clueless.

He was clearly referring to the reviewers and their expectations, as well as his own. Just because Disney is throwing money at a project and paying him a ridiculous amount of money doesn't mean he expects it to be a blockbuster, nor should the reviewers go into a movie with preconceived notions before they've seen it. That's what the armchair film majors on the Internet do, not what a professional reviewer/critic should be doing.

 

[davejames]

They might be right that critics were gunning for the movie from the start, but there have been plenty of instances where critics turned around and actually praised a big Hollywood blockbuster if it ended up being, you know, good.

Titanic got an 88% RT score, and the first Pirates a 79%, and people ridiculed the hell out of those movies beforehand. And the third sequel of the Mission Impossible franchise got a 93%. And Avengers a 92%. And those movies are all about as blockbustery as you can get.

 

[Misfit Toy]

When the high point of your movie is a horse wearing a hat, I don't think the critics are the ones to blame.

 

[JD]

I don't buy that. There are plenty of movies that have been shredded by the critics, but then went on to make a crapload of money.

 

[Dream]

I don't buy that. There are plenty of movies that have been shredded by the critics, but then went on to make a crapload of money.

Michael Bay's Transformers movies proved that!

 

[Captain Craig]

I don't buy that. There are plenty of movies that have been shredded by the critics, but then went on to make a crapload of money.

And of course the opposite can be true at times as well.
Critical darlings with good to great RT/Metacritic scores struggle or are out right flops.

I saw Lone Ranger it was too long and too neutered for a Western about a vengeful duo in the late 19th century American West.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Why were the lads getting boners over her artificial leg?

 

[Dream]

Disney expects to lose up to 190 million on "The Lone Ranger"

 

[Gov Kodos]

It's in how the story world is introduced and integrated into the rest of the tale. When asked to identify his planet, Luke doesn't say, "Tatooine." He explains, "if there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet it's farthest from." Not mind-blowing dialogue, but it situates Tatooine in the viewer's mind in a way that the dialogue from John Carter does not Zodanga is just a strange sounding name). Also, Star Wars used a lot of very familiar terms and concepts: Empire, Rebellion, Wizard, Smuggler, Stormtrooper and so on. Many of its constructs use familiar sounding terms Death Star, Star Destroyer, Millennium Falcon, Light Saber, Sand People. That makes Wookies, Jedi, Jawas, Banthas and so on easier to internalize. Its most esoteric line was, probably, "It made the Kessel Run in less than twelve Parsecs." Took me years to figure that one out.

Zodanga is the name of Helium's rival city in the book. All the characters are names from the books. They made a fine adaptation of the series. It was far more enjoyable than Nolan's Batman films. As to the Lone Ranger, I've no great love of Westerns to begin with, and Tonto's visual design looks silly.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Don't blame the reviews...blame the trailers.

All of this reminds me of a joke that Johnny Carson did about the last attempt at a big budget Lone Ranger film (quoted from memory): "My favorite part was when Tonto put his ear to the ground and said, 'Wait, kemosabe...I hear 8, maybe 9 people coming to see this film.'"

 

[Gov Kodos]

Don't blame the reviews...blame the trailers.

All of this reminds me of a joke that Johnny Carson did about the last attempt at a big budget Lone Ranger film (quoted from memory): "My favorite part was when Tonto put his ear to the ground and said, 'Wait, kemosabe...I hear 8, maybe 9 people coming to see this film.'"

I remember them trying to unmask Clayton Moore. Just for that I didn't want to see that LR movie.

 

[MacLeod]

Disney expects to lose up to 190 million on "The Lone Ranger"

I saw that news report on the Beeb's news pages as well. All I can say is Ouch thats a hefty loss. Though with BR/DVD sales and TV rights they might just break even.