The Tom Wilkinson voice-over is nice. But, then again, you could make a half-hour recording of Tom Wilkinson reading this week's obituaries and I'd probably listen to all of it. Past that, there's not much to be enthused about in Disney's first glimpse of Gore Verbinski's $360-billion* adaptation of The Lone Ranger, a character who sprung to life in a 1930s radio show, gained popularity in a 1950s TV show and is most remembered by those my age from this cornball but enjoyable movie.
So just how misguided does the trailer for the 2013 The Lone Ranger feel? Well, for starters, not fully revealing either the titular hero or his sidekick until the 1:07 mark of a 1:50 trailer seems odd, considering there's at least one generation of filmgoers out there who have no idea who these people are. I know it's just a teaser, but I'd have liked to have seen something a little more story-based that gives at least a hint of what's going on with these characters. Then there's the the overall weirdness of the fact that the movie's biggest star is actually playing the sidekick in the movie, not the character whom the movie is named after. Yeah, Johnny Depp probably has an equal share of screen time and, yeah, no one but big-time movie fans knows who the heck Armie Hammer is, but it does make the marketing kind of tricky. And that's before you consider that Depp's face is caked in make-up throughout his trailer. I'm not convinced that regular filmgoers will even realize it's him until his name appears on the screen.
So the whole thing ends up falling a bit flat. Also, where's the classic Lone Ranger theme? I want my Lone Ranger theme, damn it! Better be in the full trailer.
*Just a rough estimate based on the rumors. I suppose the real number could be a little lower.
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