The Lone Ranger is being kicked around by the critics and, honestly, I can't blame them. It's one big hot mess of a movie. Still, it does have its moments. Johnny Depp's stone-faced, laconic performance as Tonto seems to owe less to Jay Silverheels (who played the warrior/sidekick on TV) than it does to Buster Keaton, the great silent-film comedian. And, in fact, The Lone Ranger's director, Gore Verbinski, also appears to have been influenced by Keaton, especially in his staging of the semi-comic action sequences, some of which do come off OK. But, yes, finally, the film is just over-scaled, overlong and implausible (even by the standards of the genre), and there's little discernible chemistry between Depp and Armie Hammer, who plays the masked man. Take a pass, Kemosabe.
