Directed by Gore Verbinski, Starring: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher and Timothy Olyphant, Rango (2010)


What’s It About?

From IMDB: A chameleon that aspires to be a swashbuckling hero finds himself in a Western town plagued by bandits and is forced to literally play the role in order to protect it.



What We Thought: 

Nick: Recently, I scored advanced passes to see Rango and I was skeptical going in. It has been a while since I’ve seen a great animated film from someone outside of Pixar. The slapstick humor of a kid’s movie is there. Musical interludes are present and accounted for in the form of an owl-mariachi band. But in no way shape or form is this movie for kids. Most animated films are targeted to kids with jokes/references for the parents. Almost like a, “Sorry you have to deal wit this, here is a joke you’ll appreciate.” That is not the case at all with Rango. This is an animated western. It’s dark with very adult themes and all the drinking, smoking, and gunfights you could cram into a western; I enjoyed every second of it. 

It’s the story of a chameleon that gets separated from his owners as they cruise down a highway in the middle of a nowhere desert. He makes his way to this little town, again in the middle of nowhere, where the water is running out and they need to find who’s turning off the faucet. Johnny Depp is spectacular. Think of him reprising his role as Hunter S. Thompson, but in animated form. The continuous self-struggle coupled with inner monologues and dream sequences add layer upon layer of depth to Rango. The range of emotions this character explores, especially an animated one, is so dynamic that it is almost hard to believe you are watching an animated film. The rest of the cast, including Isla Fischer, Ned Beatty, and an always-enjoyable Bill Nighy, are very solid. The soundtrack, provided by Hans Zimmer, isn’t his best work, but is pure western and only adds to this film. I can’t recommend seeing this movie enough.   

FTS SCORE:
84%
61-89% = 

Really enjoyable movie. It may not be perfect in all aspects but it was worth the watch.