'Rango'

'Rango' (PG) (2 stars)

Writer: John Logan
Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring the Voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Abigail Breslin,
Timothy Olyphant, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone, Stephen Root,
Harry Dean Stanton

"Rango" is very colorful, never slows down, has ambition but somehow I just didn't get it. There weren't any characters that I loved like "Toy Story" and the movie ,when it was over, defeated me. There is so much noise, explosions and ugly looking creatures that after a while I submitted. The movie moves fast and I guess little kids will be distracted by the noise and color but are they going to go buy Rango dolls right away? I say that they won't know what hit them. There is also a lot of in jokes about old Westerns and I think it will go over their heads. Older kids might like the cool animation (the movie does look cool) and that it tries to be smart. Adults might dig the Western motif and in jokes but like me they might get a headache. I wish I could have loved this movie and maybe I will be in the minority but I thought the movie had no heart.

Rango, voiced well by Johnny Depp, is a chameleon who flies out of a car during a crash and winds up in an old town in the West. That set up in the beginning is eye popping and very creative but that was the last time I was in awe. The town is populated by characters you would see in an old John Wayne Western but this time they are rats and lizards. There is the crooked sheriff, town folk and a little girl rat. I did like the rat in "Ratatouille" (a much better movie) but the rats and lizards in this movie I didn't like. I guess there are certain rats that are cute and certain rats that are ugly and these rats are ugly. I guess rats are just like real people, hmmm. The visuals are pretty cool I guess but they are nowhere near the level of a "How To Train Your Dragon" or a "Legends of the Guardian", two better animated movies from 2010. The movie just rambles on and becomes a big blur. The last half hour is just non stop action that I couldn't follow. This movie is in the style of "Shrek" with it's humor but not as nearly funny.

I am not saying that this movie has to be cute but there is no charm here, no heart or depth. The film makers are throwing in these references to old Westerns and trying to make it smart but it didn't entertain me. I like the first 15 minutes and I loved the voice work of Depp and Ned Beatty but the only character that made an impression was Rango. That is good that the main character is memorable but the movie he is in is not. I didn't really laugh at all at anything except the first 15 minutes and I was more exhausted than entertained. I was disappointed in the Western satire and I was really shocked that I didn't find it funny or charming. "Rango" goes through the motions and creates too much clutter and noise. This is a trend now in animated movies that are not Pixar and it is kind of sad. Everything here falls flat and while not a bad movie, it is just extremely disappointing.