REVIEW: Rango

MOVIE
Rango

CAST
Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher

RATING
PG

RELEASE
March 4, 2011

DIRECTOR
Gore Verbinski

STUDIO(S)
Paramount Pictures,
Nickelodeon Movies

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 47 minutes



GRADE
A (99)





STARS
***1/2

REVIEW:

Johnny Depp stars in another Tim... wait a minute, Johnny Depp is finally in another movie without Tim Burton at the helm. Not that Tim Burton movies are bad, it's just tiring to see Johnny Depp in every single one of his movies. And also, that's not Johnny Depp, that a chameleon. Well you're wrong again, as Johnny Depp did the voice and did a motion capture performance-esque thing with Rango, his fourth collaboration with Pirates Of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski. Rango is mainly about a lizard who has to find himself and realize who he really is. It does have Tim Burton vibes in it, like the animation, some of the dream sequences in the movie, and the plot line, which is kind of taken from Alice in Wonderland's plot. But the difference between this and a Tim Burton movie is that this is Johnny Depp's best movie. A triumph in animation, humorous, yet sometimes slow, Rango delivers the goods for everyone, which makes it this year's How To Train Your Dragon, but in flat yet necessary 2D.

A chameleon with no name is living in his own world, putting on his own shows with plastic toys and figurines. But when he his accidentally let loose in the middle of the desert, he soon discovers the tiny little town of Dirt, filled with many disgusting and vicious looking creatures. They're water supply is low, and their town is flooding with evil pests. When the chameleon enters the town and eventually kills a hawk infesting the entire desert, he goes under the name "Rango," and becomes the town's sheriff. Rango now has to save this little town from Rattlesnake Joe, a snake/cowboy who's only threat was the hawk Rango previously killed, plus find what is lowering the water supplies of the town before they are all threatened to extinction.

I had slightly low expectations after seeing the first two trailers of this movie. Of course the movie looked like nothing we had ever seen before, but the movie looked very thin on the script and the characters didn't look likable. But then all of the praise started coming, so I had no choice but to see it. And seeing it was the best decision I have made this year so far. The movie is witty, fun, violent, and sometimes slow. It had a lot of physical humor from the main characters. Think of animated versions of comedians like Andy Kaufman and Jim Carrey, except they're animated animals aside from animated people. Also some of the gags in this movie did make me laugh out loud, along with most of the other adults in the theater. Notice that I didn't mention kids at all. Well that's because that this isn't exactly a kids movie.

Yeah you would expect that an animated movie from Nickelodeon would be a kids movie. Well let me be one of the many people to say that this was on the edge from getting a PG-13. Heck, this could've been PG-13. Remember in Alice in Wonderland where that dog-like monster got his eye poked out of his head? Well in Rango, we have a character who has an arrow going through his eye and out his head. Also, there is one character at the beginning of the movie that is pretty much roadkill, with a flat stomach clearly seen where a truck ran over him. And the worst part about that is that the character is still alive! It's not just these supposedly gruesome characters that could've gotten the movie a PG-13, the movie also has a lot of heavy western language for being a kids movie, as well as jokes that younger kids wouldn't understand, but having the adults laughing out loud. So to the parents out there who want to take their younger kids to a movie, go see Gnomeo and Juliet instead. They will be able to enjoy the movie then.

This movie is actually the very first animated movie from ILM, (Industrial Light & Magic) who always specialized in special effect. In Rango however, there aren't any special effects, just pure beauty. The images in this movie are so beautiful to look at, plus they look very realistic. Sometimes, you may forget that you're seeing an animated movie, despite the looks of the characters. Even without the 3D effect, which actually would've made the movie look cooler, the movie looks absolutely beautiful. Even if you dislike the movie because of it not being too funny or if the script was too bleak, you can agree that this is one of the most visually stunning animated movies ever. Actually, I think that it is THE most visually stunning animated movie ever. You can skip the snacks at the consession stand because the animation in this movie is pure eye candy. Like Pixar eye candy.

I don't believe that this movie will appeal to everyone. However, I think that the adults who see this movie will enjoy this movie more than the kids they're forced to go with. The movie is ugly, sometimes repulsive, and just plain weird. However, that's what makes this movie so damn good! I would recommend any family with their kids over eight to go and see this movie. The kid(s) will enjoy it because they'll be able to understand more of the jokes in this movie. You know, the inappropriate jokes that the adults would only get. Kids will enjoy this movie, and so will adults. I guess you can call this a family movie, but not for kids under 7 who will just laugh at the physical humor happening on screen. Thar was the only bad thing about the movie, the fact that the little kids wouldn't stop talking or crying. Other than that, Rango is one of the weirdest times you will have at the movies. It's like Inception weird, except not as confusing. So do you want to see an awesome movie? Well good movies have a name, and that name is Rango.




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