The Lone Ranger has received awful US reviews, which is not surprising given that everything about the film screamed a disaster before it was released last month in the US: Jerry Bruckheimer, a modern western,
articles like this and Johnny Depp portraying a Native American character for some reason. These fears were confirmed when it was panned by critics. The Lone Ranger is being touted as "an unoriginal tribute to the source material" and holds a 28% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on its US release. Depp has stated that he "doesn't watch his own films" and that would explain a lot. Let me save you some time, don't watch this one! This film is fated to join the grimy underbelly of Depp's recent back catalogue such as Dark Shadows (2012), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), The Tourist (2010), and so on. This movie looks sets to be received in very much the same vein as Wild Wild West when it is released in the UK this Friday...and I do not say that lightly. And yet, underneath all this ill-feeling towards the film, it's pretty sad. The reason it's sad is simple - its main star Johnny Depp is clearly capable of so much more, and with that in mind, I have compiled 5 films that I believe to be a better use of your time than this latest western-themed flop. Johnny Depp is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today. He first broke onto the scene when he starred in the 21 Jump Street TV series and played small parts in movies like Platoon and Nightmare on Elm Street. On that note, Depp has the
best death scene in the Elm Street series. Mr. Depp has more unforgettable characters than you can name, all which underscore his outstanding range. It seems that he can really play anyone or anything: from the comedic to the overtly serious. So what has gone wrong with his recent movies? That issue may be outside the scope of this piece but it is worth thinking about. I would like him to return to form and leave Captain Jack behind him. With the decline in this man's corpus of work as of late, I want to take you back to some off his best work and to advise a few of my favourite films that I believe you should watch instead of The Lone Ranger.
Honourable Mentions: Public Enemies (2009), Corpse Bride (2005) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).