Dermot Keogh looks at Gore Verbinski’s new release Rango.
Rango (Johnny Depp) is an ordinary chameleon who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost in the Wild West in desperate need of a new sheriff. Rango now must literally play the part, as he unravels the mysterious drought that plagues his new home.
Directed By: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ray Winstone, Alfred Molina, Ned Beatty, Bill Nighy, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Breslin.
Review:
THROWN from the back of his owner’s car while minding his own business performing a makeshift play, Lars (Depp) a philosophic Chameleon, has found himself in a bit of a predicament. A life he considered to have no direction might finally be going somewhere. A chance encounter with an Armadillo (Molina) tells him the story of a small lawless town if he follows his shadow one way and a mystical land the other way if he can manage to cross the road. Now, when the lead character of a movie is having a conversation with an Armadillo that has been cut in half by a car, you kind of know that this movie will be different.
Due to being rather parched by the burning daytime sun, Lars heads off in search of this town called Dirt. En route he meets Beans (Fisher) a feisty female lizard with a habit of freezing that is in search of water so that she can hold onto her deceased father’s land. After being dropped off at Dirt, Lars becomes known as Rango after some creative storytelling, some OTT acting and the accidental killing of a hawk convince the town that he is somehow a hero. A promotion to sheriff follows and what ensues is a tale of action, deceit, romance and discovery as Rango and the townsfolk try to overcome the obstacles that stand between them, water and salvation.
With more than subtle nods to Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, Apocalypse Now, a loving wink to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas/Hunter S. Thompson, a musical mash up of Raising Arizona, Pulp Fiction and The Good The Bad and The Ugly and a story line that reminds us of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, Gore Verbinski’s Rango is an animated film for lovers of film. Years of cinema history ooze from the pores of this film and it’s not ashamed to show it. As the Coens have recently proved, there still is life in the Old West, so who better to introduce a whole new audience to its charms than Gore Verbinski.
From the drops of water rolling off Rango’s hat to the wide shot of Rango and his posse riding through the desert in front of a background of the setting desert sun, the animation is just amazing and the attention to detail is second to none. The film contains several jaw dropping action sequences including an escape run using the Flight of the Valkyries music that was so effective in Apocalypse Now being just as effective here.
Being ILM’s first foray into feature length animation they need not worry. They can hold their heads high and know that they stand tall with the heavyweights of Pixar and Dreamworks animation as this movie is a spectacular visual treat. 3D would have ruined this so kudos to the makers for foregoing the addition of a third dimension. The film itself is beautifully shot and that is aided in no small part by the addition of Roger Deakins who was just Oscar nominated for his work on True Grit. Deakins was a visual consultant on this movie and his good work from True Grit is continued in this. The quality and clarity of the animation is a visual feast for the eyes although I must admit to seeing this on a digital presentation which I am sure aided things.
The voice acting across the board is superb. What makes Rango different from the normal animated voice recording sessions is that whatever actors were present in a particular scene were all together in the same studio for the recording of that scene. This gives their performances an edge over usual animated fare in that their reactions to each other’s lines are far more realistic. The film is constantly humorous in its tone and while not being outright hysterical that’s ok because it’s just fine the way it is. While being an animated movie you would presume that this is primarily aimed at kids and in thinking that you would be wrong. Rango in my opinion is an animated movie primarily aimed at adults. To be honest I really don’t think that young kids will enjoy this very much. The references and jokes are way over their heads and I really don’t think how well the animation looks will mean much to them. That said I’m not a kid and I ladored it. Whilst not being the most original film ever it certainly has so much other plus points going for it. Hopefully it will do well in the woldwide box office so a sequel can be commissioned as I for one would love another journey into the world of Rango.
Rating: * * * *
