The first bit of good news surrounding this movie is - it's not in 3-D.
That's really a good start, but it gets better. Rango is smart, stylish, wide-ranging, socially aware and pretty damn funny. Its also cartoonish and formulaic in spots, but hey, you can't hit every ball out of the park.
Johnny Depp voices the lizard of the title and I suspect it must have been one of his more taxing assignments cause this reptile talks - a lot. He narrates the story first of all (with the help of some mariachi owls) and when he's not addressing the audience - or himself - he engages nearly everyone in the film in some kind of conversation.
Still, Rango is someone you actually want to hear from, most of the time anyway. Having been rudely tossed from his insular yet boring existence of imagined plays, he must first survive the harrows of the desert (a marauding hawk, dehydration etc) before alighting on the town of Dirt (yes, that's it).
There, with water critically short, a series of unfortunate (or fortunate) events and Rango's big mouth lands him the job of sheriff, which he takes on with some gusto. That is, until the real bad guys - and the real cause of the town's water shortage - becomes ever more evident. In the process he also meets and falls in love with Beans (Isla Fisher) the proverbial orphan now grown who also owns last bit of unconsolidated property in town.
Thereafter, director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean I) and the riders rip off and assimilate just about every Western movie cliche there is but, it must be said, with a considerable degree of skill, and style. Through the course of the story, the main theme of rampant capitalism and corporate greed vs individual and community development is played out, but with smart jabs at the viewer rather than with a hammer. Rango is also called upon to walk the walk and not just talk the talk as sheriff and face the bad guy Jake the Snake (Bill Nighy).
There are other choice bits which I won't deign to reveal here. Suffice to say you likely will not regret giving your ear and eye to Rango, the liveliest, happy-go-luckiest lizard in the West.
That's really a good start, but it gets better. Rango is smart, stylish, wide-ranging, socially aware and pretty damn funny. Its also cartoonish and formulaic in spots, but hey, you can't hit every ball out of the park.
Johnny Depp voices the lizard of the title and I suspect it must have been one of his more taxing assignments cause this reptile talks - a lot. He narrates the story first of all (with the help of some mariachi owls) and when he's not addressing the audience - or himself - he engages nearly everyone in the film in some kind of conversation.
Still, Rango is someone you actually want to hear from, most of the time anyway. Having been rudely tossed from his insular yet boring existence of imagined plays, he must first survive the harrows of the desert (a marauding hawk, dehydration etc) before alighting on the town of Dirt (yes, that's it).
There, with water critically short, a series of unfortunate (or fortunate) events and Rango's big mouth lands him the job of sheriff, which he takes on with some gusto. That is, until the real bad guys - and the real cause of the town's water shortage - becomes ever more evident. In the process he also meets and falls in love with Beans (Isla Fisher) the proverbial orphan now grown who also owns last bit of unconsolidated property in town.
Thereafter, director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean I) and the riders rip off and assimilate just about every Western movie cliche there is but, it must be said, with a considerable degree of skill, and style. Through the course of the story, the main theme of rampant capitalism and corporate greed vs individual and community development is played out, but with smart jabs at the viewer rather than with a hammer. Rango is also called upon to walk the walk and not just talk the talk as sheriff and face the bad guy Jake the Snake (Bill Nighy).
There are other choice bits which I won't deign to reveal here. Suffice to say you likely will not regret giving your ear and eye to Rango, the liveliest, happy-go-luckiest lizard in the West.
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