The Lone Ranger

Just been to see the film of the above title and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I will agree that it is most definitely worthy of it's 12a rating due to some of the details of the story.  For me the most upsetting scene in the film was the Native Americans charge against the cavalry position that is armed with a couple of the early versions of a machine gun.  The words 'no chance and no hope' come to mind.  For me it brought home the hopelessness of the American peoples efforts to defend their homeland against the invasion of white man.

I also thought Armie Hammer played the part of John Reid aka The Lone Ranger very well, as the character moves from a newly qualified lawyer who trusts absolutely in the justice of white man's law to a man who has realised that white man's law too often defends those who have money and no conscience.  I wonder how many people who watch that movie know that 'justice' is based on the idea that the law guarantees that the poor man has a come back against the rich man when the rich man kicks him.  Think on that and then go away and read modern social history, particularly the bit about the poor farmers and natives in Brazil who are being walked all over by the rich landowners and logging companies.  Makes me start wishing that there was a couple of real life Lone Rangers out there willing to walk on the wrong side of the rich man's law to make sure the poor man has a come back.

Johnny Depp as Tonto was, in my opinion, a very good choice.  Other than the part where he uses a ladder to step between two speeding trains, I did not think that the character was a rehash of Captain Jack Sparrow.  The way I would describe it is that Captain Jack is over the top, laugh out loud comically crazy, where as Tonto is very serious with his craziness.  In fact after a while I found myself thinking 'is it that Tonto is crazy or is it that he is sane and it is the rest of the world who is mad?'  "It is difficult."

Helen Bonner Carter was great as the Madam of the local brothel who has her own grudge against the outlaw who kills John Reid's brother.  That character is a very good contrast between the over the top scarlet woman appearance and a very down to earth speech when she opens her mouth.  She is in many ways the character that shows the old maxim of 'don't judge a book by it's cover' because she may run a house of sin but when the end game comes she knows her right from wrong and which side of the rich man/poor man divide she wants to be on.

All in all a film well worth the watching.