Friday, July 5, 2013

Books, Movies. Movies, Books: "Hi Ho, Silver. AWAYYYYYYY!"

Do you know where the Lone Ranger takes his garbage?

To da dump, to da dump, to da dump, dump, dump...

BWAHAHAHAHA!

I love this gig - writing about movies and the books they're based on. Of course, The Lone Ranger is playing in theaters this week, so yours truly was at the movies on the preview night, Tuesday, for a front row seat. (Actually, I sit in the back. No one sits back there, so you can make silly hand gestures and facial expressions and no one is the wiser.)

Oddly, this story's history is a kind of convoluted one. The Lone Ranger (2013) is a movie starring Johnny Depp, (and some other people, but if Johnny Depp is starring, who cares about the other people?), based on a TV series from the 1950s, based on a radio show that first aired in the 1930s, about which comic books were created - in the late 1960s.

I think what I like best about books that are adapted to movies, is that they are tweaked. Someone, at some point in the process, had to make a directorial decision about what was important to keep, what could be thrown away, and what could be expanded.

The Lone Ranger is no exception, and there were expansions galore - how Silver got his name, Tonto's backstory, the Lone Ranger's backstory, his loves, his profession before he became a Ranger, much less say, the lone, only Ranger.

But surprisingly, this latest movie version was pretty complex, partially due to the reveal of backstory, but also because of the way in which the different story elements were revealed - in a non-sequential manner. Probably why I enjoyed it as much as I did. I love a convoluted plot and if the plot can't be all that convoluted, then just mix up the order to give it more substance.

I give it a thumb up! A good romp. A nice meaty plot. (And Johnny Depp.)


4 comments:

  1. Since this movie has been getting slammed in the reviews, it's nice to see one that someone actually liked it! I watched the show's reruns as a kid (especially during one particularly rabid phase of wanting to be a cowgirl, which I blame on the Mickey Mouse Club's Rodeo Roundup), so I've been a little wary about watching this version. But then, the Johnny Depp element does move the bar significantly to the "yes" side!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I enjoyed it! It was fun. I think my expectations weren't very high, but I was pleasantly pleased. :) Meaty plot, convoluted sequencing. My kinda thing. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You always make me want to watch these things, Sofie. I had zero interest in this remake until you described it. Maybe I should hire you as my publicist.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'll give it another look then. Man, it got terrible reviews... but if you say it's good....

    ReplyDelete