The Lone Ranger

Plot

In 1933, at a San Francisco funfair, a boy named Will who idolizes the legendary Lone Ranger encounters Tonto, an elderly Comanche man who starts recounting his experiences with the Old West adventurer, 64 years ago.

In 1869, lawyer John Reid returns home to Colby, Texas, via the uncompleted Transcontinental Railroad, managed by railroad tycoon Latham Cole. Unbeknownst to Reid, the train also carries Tonto and outlaw Butch Cavendish, who is being transported to his hanging after being captured by Dan Reid, John's Texas Ranger brother. Cavendish's gang rescues Butch, shackles John and Tonto together, and derails the train. Despite playing a role in rescuing passengers, Tonto is jailed upon being captured again. Dan deputizes John as a Texas Ranger, giving him a silver star badge that belonged to their late father, and with six others they go after the Cavendish gang. Cavendish's men ambush and kill their pursuers while Cavendish slays Dan and devours his heart as revenge for his imprisonment. Tonto escapes from jail, comes across the dead men and buries them. However, a horse awakens John as a "spirit walker", and Tonto explains John cannot be killed in battle. Tonto also tells him Collins, one of the Rangers, betrayed Dan and is working with Cavendish. Now thought to be dead, John wears a mask to protect his identity from enemies. Tonto gives John a silver bullet made from the fallen Rangers' badges and tells him to use it on Cavendish, whom he believes to be a mythical beast called a wendigo.

At a brothel Collins recently visited, Red Harrington informs them about Dan and Collins' fight over a cursed silver rock. Meanwhile, Cavendish's men, disguised as Comanches, raid frontier settlements. John and Tonto arrive after raiders abduct Dan's widow and son, Rebecca and Danny. Regretting his earlier actions, Collins attempts to help Rebecca and Danny escape, but is shot dead by Cole, who rescues them. Falsely claiming the raiders are Comanches, Cole announces the continued construction of the railroad, the nullification of treaties with the Native Americans, and dispatches US Cavalry Captain Jay Fuller to wipe out the Comanches. A Comanche tribe captures John and Tonto after the pair discovers railroad tracks in Native territory. The leader tells John of Tonto's past: as a boy, Tonto rescued Cavendish and another man from near-death and showed them a mountain full of silver ore in exchange for a pocket watch. The men murdered the tribe to keep the location a secret, leaving Tonto with guilt which led to him believing they were wendigos.

Cast

Johnny Depp as Tonto, the aged narrator of the events of his life as a Comanche warrior who recruited John Reid to bring justice to those responsible for massacring his tribe during his childhood, and terrorizing frontier Texas settlements during the 19th century. The character wears black-and-white face paint and a deceased crow on his head. According to Depp, the inspiration for the costume was a painting titled I Am Crow by Kirby Sattler. Joseph E. Foy portrays Tonto as a child.

Armie Hammer as John Reid / Lone Ranger, a youthful, scrupulous lawyer later deputized a Texas Ranger, who protects his identity as the "Lone Ranger", a masked vigilante who seeks the perpetrators responsible for his brother's death.

William Fichtner as Butch Cavendish, a ruthless and cannibalistic outlaw, whom Tonto believes is a wendigo. Travis Hammer portrays the younger Butch seen in flashbacks.

Tom Wilkinson as Latham Cole, a burly and unscrupulous railroad tycoon.

Steve Corona portrays the younger Cole seen in flashbacks.

Ruth Wilson as Rebecca Reid, Dan's wife (later widow) and John's love interest/sister-in-law.

Helena Bonham Carter as Red Harrington, an ivory-legged brothel madam who assists Reid and Tonto as she also wants revenge on Cavendish, whom she hints is the one who took her leg and ended her ballet career.

James Badge Dale as Dan Reid, John's older brother who is killed by Cavendish.

Bryant Prince as Daniel "Danny" Reid Junior. He is the son of Dan Senior and Rebecca, and the nephew of John.

Barry Pepper as Captain Jay Fuller, an insecure and inexperienced United States Cavalry officer, who ended up being on Cole's payroll out of fear that the war with Comanches would be over nothing.

Production

Development

In April 1997, Chris Meledandri of Fox Family Films announced that a new film based on the Lone Ranger was in development.

In March 2002, Columbia Pictures announced their intention to make a Lone Ranger film with Classic Media, who owned the film rights at the time. Husband and wife producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher joined the project. The tone was to be similar to The Mask of Zorro, and Columbia suggested that Tonto be re-written as a female love interest. The projected budget was set at $70 million. David and Janet Peoples were hired to write the script the following year, which was rewritten by Laeta Kalogridis. Jonathan Mostow was attached to direct by early 2005, but Columbia placed the film in turnaround. The Weinstein Company was interested in purchasing the film rights from Classic Media in 2007 but the deal fell apart when Entertainment Rights eventually optioned the property. They teamed with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and brought The Lone Ranger to Walt Disney Pictures. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, who worked with Bruckheimer and Disney on the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, were being courted to write the script. In late March 2008, Elliott and Rossio were in final negotiations.

Disney then announced in September 2008 that Johnny Depp would be portraying Tonto while the Elliot-Rossio script was rewritten by Justin Haythe. Depp has stated he believes he has Native American ancestry, possibly from a great-grandmother. He has said that he considered the role a personal attempt "to try to right the wrongs of the past", in reference to portrayals of Native American culture in the media. The Elliot and Rossio script reportedly had a supernatural plot element involving coyotes. In May 2009, Mike Newell, who was then directing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for Bruckheimer and Disney, entered negotiations to direct Lone Ranger. Bruckheimer explained the following June that he wanted to wait before hiring a director, until Newell completed Prince of Persia, and until Depp finished filming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. "The priority is most definitely Pirates 4", Bruckheimer commented. "They are going to cast the title role once they get a director and Disney greenlights. We don't have a director yet." In September 2010, Gore Verbinski was announced to be in negotiations to direct, and his hiring was made official that October. Verbinski had suggested giving the role of Tonto to Depp while filming the second Pirates of the Caribbean film. Filming was slated to begin after Depp finished work on Dark Shadows. Actor Armie Hammer was selected to play the Lone Ranger, a role that Bruckheimer described as being written for "a young Jimmy Stewart character".

Filming

Principal photography began on March 8, 2012, and, soon after, the first photograph of Depp as Tonto and Hammer as the Lone Ranger was released. Filming locations extended throughout six states: Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California. Some filming occurred specifically near Creede, Colorado, in June 2012; Moab, Utah, in July 2012; and Cimarron Canyon State Park, New Mexico in August. Second unit (stunt and blue screen) work commenced in late September 2012 in the parking lot of Santa Anita Racetrack, Arcadia, California.

The film was shot in the anamorphic format, with cinematographer Bojan Bazelli using Panavision C- and G-Series lenses. Daytime exteriors—about 70 percent of the film—were shot on Kodak Vision3 50D 5203 35mm film with Panavision Panaflex Platinum and Arriflex 435 cameras; interiors and nighttime exteriors were shot digitally with Arri Alexa Studio cameras.

The shoot met with several problems including inclement weather, wildfires, a chickenpox outbreak and the death of crew member Michael Andrew Bridger on September 21, 2012. Bridger, a water safety expert, died while working inside a large water tank. Several cast members had to receive formal training on horseback riding, gunslinging and lassoing.

Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects for The Lone Ranger, including a CGI-rendering of the Golden Gate Bridge as it looked while under construction during 1936 – although the film's opening is set in 1933.

Beginning in November 2013, the Autry National Center exhibited the costumes Hammer and Depp wore in the film through a loan from the Walt Disney Archives.

Music

In April 2012, it was announced that Jack White was hired to compose the score for the film. White later declined to work on the film's music, citing scheduling conflicts, and he was replaced with Hans Zimmer in December 2012. In March 2013, Michael Einziger tweeted that he was working with Zimmer on the score. The film's soundtrack was issued by Walt Disney Records in two releases: Zimmer's film score and the "inspired by" concept album on July 2, 2013.

Release

As a result of the production setbacks, The Lone Ranger faced numerous release date changes. In June 2011, The Lone Ranger's release date was scheduled for December 21, 2012. Production was expected to begin in the fall of 2011, but this was delayed due to budget concerns from Disney, and the release date was subsequently pushed to May 31, 2013. By mid-2012, DreamWorks Pictures' Robopocalypse was facing its own production delays and could not meet its July 3, 2013, release date; therefore Disney had The Lone Ranger assume its place for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

The first trailer debuted at San Diego Comic-Con before being released theatrically on October 3, 2012. Television promotions for the film aired during Super Bowl XLVII. Disney used the film's production connection to the Pirates of the Caribbean series as the main tagline in the film's marketing, as well as featuring the characters and other elements from the film in promotional materials for Disney Infinity, as well as in the game itself. For Disney Infinity, Armie Hammer and William Fichtner reprised their roles as John Reid / Lone Ranger and Butch Cavendish, respectively, with Jared Butler voicing Tonto.

The Lone Ranger was selected as the closing film for the Taormina Film Festival. Its world premiere was held on June 22 at the Hyperion Theater in the Hollywood Land district of Disney California Adventure, with proceeds being donated to the American Indian College Fund.

The film was remastered and released in IMAX theaters on August 7, 2013, in several international territories including the United Kingdom and Japan.

Home media

The Lone Ranger was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray and DVD on December 17, 2013. It was released in Australia on October 30, 2013.

Reception

Box office

The Lone Ranger grossed $89,302,115 in the United States and $171,200,000 in other countries for a worldwide total of $260,502,115.

Preliminary reports had the film tracking for a $60–$70 million debut in North America. The film earned $2 million from late showings on Tuesday, July 2, 2013, and $9.67 million on its opening day, July 4. During its opening weekend, the film debuted in second place with $29.3 million over three days and $48.9 million over the five-day frame.

After under-performing during its opening weekend, the film was characterized as a box office bomb with observers comparing it unfavorably to John Carter, another big-budget Disney film that failed commercially the year before. The New York Times estimated that the film cost $375 million to produce and market, and would need to earn an estimated $650 million worldwide to break even, after accounting for revenue splits with theater owners. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the losses from the film could surpass $150 million, with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures vice-president Dave Hollis calling these results "very disappointing".

Compared to Despicable Me 2, a film that opened the same weekend to $142.1 million on a $76 million budget, The Wall Street Journal noted that The Lone Ranger made just under a third of that ($48.9 million) and had more than three times the budget ($215 million). Nearly 68% of ticket buyers were over 25 years old and nearly 25% over 50 years old, a much higher percentage than is typical for the studio. Disney viewed the film's international performance ($24.3 million from 24 markets), including that of Russia and Australia, as "softer than we would have liked".

The New York Times and USA Today reported that The Lone Ranger joined a string of high-concept Western films that failed at the box office, such as Wild Wild West (1999), which cost $170 million and grossed $222.1 million; Jonah Hex (2010), which cost $47 million and grossed less than $11 million; and Cowboys & Aliens (2011), which cost $160 million and grossed $174 million. Chief analyst for Boxoffice Phil Contrino described the film's box office performance as "the kind of bomb that people discuss for years to come" due to its use of otherwise successful director, producer and stars. Alan Horn, current Walt Disney Studios chairman, admitted the financial risk the studio faced with the film. Disney CFO Jay Rasulo expected to attribute a loss of $160–190 million in the company's Studio Entertainment division during the fourth fiscal quarter.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Lone Ranger holds an approval rating of 31% based on 250 reviews, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The site's consensus reads, "Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp make for an appealing pair of leads, but they're not enough to make up for The Lone Ranger's bland script, bloated length, and blaring action overkill." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 37 out of 100, based on reviews from 45 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "a jumbled botch that is so confused in its purpose and so charmless in its effect that it must be seen to be believed". Charlie McCollum of the San Jose Mercury News was more forgiving, describing it as an "entertaining mess". Tim Walker of The Independent gave a mixed review, praising Gore Verbinski for "employ[ing] the Old West to good effect, with gorgeous widescreen vistas that owe everything to Sergio Leone and John Ford". However, he added, "it takes a full hour for Reid to don his mask, and then there's another 80 unremarkable minutes to go".

Among some of the positive reviews, James Verniere of the Boston Herald wrote, "The film, part spoof, part pastiche, is chockablock with violent incident, spectacular settings, Buster Keaton-esque action and colorful characters out of spaghetti Westerns of yore." Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com called it "an ambitious and inventive film that's always trying to tweak formula and play with audience expectations. If anything, it's overstuffed with imagination and ideas." Jon Niccum of the Kansas City Star stated, "The movie takes a more old-fashioned approach to thrills. It appears to showcase as many stuntmen as it does digital compositors."

Among British critics, the reception was more positive. Angie Errigo of the British film magazine Empire gave it four of five stars, finding "[r]eal storytelling, well thought-out and beautifully, at times insanely, executed, with excitement, laughs and fun to make you feel seven years old again." Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film three stars out of five, writing, "Verbinski shows more ambition here than he did in Pirates of the Caribbean". He added, "[I]n a sane world this would never have been made, although I'm really rather glad someone did".

Verbinski, Bruckheimer, Hammer and Depp openly criticized the American critical reception of the film, arguing that the negative coverage surrounding the project was influenced by reports of production troubles, with Bruckheimer accusing critics of "reviewing the budget", instead of the film itself. Hammer added, "If you go back and read the negative reviews, most of them aren't about the content of the movie, but more what's behind it. They tried to do the same thing to World War Z; it didn't work, the movie was successful. Instead they decided to slit the jugular of our movie."

Canceled sequel

Before the film's release, Jerry Bruckheimer said that he would like The Lone Ranger to have a sequel, positioning the film as a franchise starter. However, due the film’s poor performance both critically and financially, the sequel was ultimately canceled.