Rango (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Rango' (directed by Gore Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) is not from the beloved Pixar animation stock, nor from the popular Dreamworks studio. No, what we have here is a Paramount/Nickelodeon studio's animated film that is actually ... pretty darn good; and near the level of those other studios' best. Rango, a lizard, is our protagonist. And his adventures are narrated by a Greek chorus, of sorts (their Spanish owls). They play music & wonder out loud how long it'll be 'til Rango dies {haha). Onto the plot. Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp) lives a sheltered life as a pet until a road accident strands him on a highway in the desert. Searching for water, he ventures into dusty, desolate "Dirt" - an Old West frontier township of talking animals & critters (possums, toads, badgers, armadillos, owls, snakes, and even a turtle - the town's mayor, voiced by Ned Beatty).
Rango - wanting to fit in - establishes his reputation as a 'hero' in the town by telling a tall tale to the saloon crowd (that he killed the 7 Jenkins brothers with one bullet). Furthermore, he kills the town's #1 enemy by with pure luck & happenstance. Due to this, he is offered a position as the new sheriff; a position that is never held very long by previous placeholders (they die). From here on out, the film's story searches for dramatic purpose, and lands on a water issue. Plainly put, it is up to Rango to figure out what has happened to the town's water supply, which has conspicuously dried up; leaving their land & mouths thirsty. Can Rango become the hero he had only pretended to be? Can he save this ramshackle town from corruption & ruin?
'Rango' starts & end SO well that I don't even mind that the middle third of the film is as mediocre as it is. Why mediocre? Because the story just becomes perfunctory & frenetic to the point of exhaustion. In fact, 'Rango' starts out so strong, so cool, & so unusual that I thought we were headed for a landmark animation masterpiece. The visuals, the story, the quirks, the comedy ... I was eating it up. And as mentioned, the film ends strong. I just wish that middle 3rd was as strange & batsh*t crazy as the opener. One other note, though there is enough dizzying action, noise, & cute creatures abounding, this will be a tough film for kids to love. There's simply too many inside jokes & mature words/phrases being used that will go over their heads. OK, lets talk about all the film's individual strengths ...
I enjoyed how sophisticated the humor was. I also like the western motifs that the film celebrates. i.e., Rango stumbling into an old outpost town - the tumbleweed going across the screen - the looks that the salooners give the new guy in town - a showdown at high noon - specific western dialogue choices - music choices - various western cliches - a mythical Clint Eastwood-type character shows up, etc.. I loved it all. The voice acting is great, as well (Isla Fisher, Alfred Molina, Abigail Breslin, Ray Winstone, & Bill Nighy as Rattlesnake Jake). But most accolades goes to Johnny Depp who uses his chameleon-like (pun intended) voice to perfect effect; nailing every inflection from fear to boastfulness to charming and back again.
All in all, thanks to Gore Verbinski's direction, Johnny Depp, John Logan's (The Aviator) zany script, GORGEOUS animation, creative creature design, & Hans Zimmer's musical offerings ... 'Rango' goes down as a qualified success in my books. As mentioned, the 'thick of the plot' could have been more interesting. The script becomes a bit rambling; whereas it was initially crackling with innovation & clever humor. And a big action sequence involving a herd of flying bats became aggravatingly longwinded & hyperactive. That said, I appreciate the fact that the sequence paid homage to the Death Star trench battle from Star Wars (soaring in-between canyons). Overall, big thumbs up for the wonderfully strange 'Rango'.
Rango - wanting to fit in - establishes his reputation as a 'hero' in the town by telling a tall tale to the saloon crowd (that he killed the 7 Jenkins brothers with one bullet). Furthermore, he kills the town's #1 enemy by with pure luck & happenstance. Due to this, he is offered a position as the new sheriff; a position that is never held very long by previous placeholders (they die). From here on out, the film's story searches for dramatic purpose, and lands on a water issue. Plainly put, it is up to Rango to figure out what has happened to the town's water supply, which has conspicuously dried up; leaving their land & mouths thirsty. Can Rango become the hero he had only pretended to be? Can he save this ramshackle town from corruption & ruin?
'Rango' starts & end SO well that I don't even mind that the middle third of the film is as mediocre as it is. Why mediocre? Because the story just becomes perfunctory & frenetic to the point of exhaustion. In fact, 'Rango' starts out so strong, so cool, & so unusual that I thought we were headed for a landmark animation masterpiece. The visuals, the story, the quirks, the comedy ... I was eating it up. And as mentioned, the film ends strong. I just wish that middle 3rd was as strange & batsh*t crazy as the opener. One other note, though there is enough dizzying action, noise, & cute creatures abounding, this will be a tough film for kids to love. There's simply too many inside jokes & mature words/phrases being used that will go over their heads. OK, lets talk about all the film's individual strengths ...
I enjoyed how sophisticated the humor was. I also like the western motifs that the film celebrates. i.e., Rango stumbling into an old outpost town - the tumbleweed going across the screen - the looks that the salooners give the new guy in town - a showdown at high noon - specific western dialogue choices - music choices - various western cliches - a mythical Clint Eastwood-type character shows up, etc.. I loved it all. The voice acting is great, as well (Isla Fisher, Alfred Molina, Abigail Breslin, Ray Winstone, & Bill Nighy as Rattlesnake Jake). But most accolades goes to Johnny Depp who uses his chameleon-like (pun intended) voice to perfect effect; nailing every inflection from fear to boastfulness to charming and back again.
All in all, thanks to Gore Verbinski's direction, Johnny Depp, John Logan's (The Aviator) zany script, GORGEOUS animation, creative creature design, & Hans Zimmer's musical offerings ... 'Rango' goes down as a qualified success in my books. As mentioned, the 'thick of the plot' could have been more interesting. The script becomes a bit rambling; whereas it was initially crackling with innovation & clever humor. And a big action sequence involving a herd of flying bats became aggravatingly longwinded & hyperactive. That said, I appreciate the fact that the sequence paid homage to the Death Star trench battle from Star Wars (soaring in-between canyons). Overall, big thumbs up for the wonderfully strange 'Rango'.