Thursday, March 24, 2011

Rango definitely defied my expectations-- but in a not so good way.

I initially thought that this film would be one that has an appeal to a wider audience. But I was wrong. The western-themed computer generated film is a mature film dressed up as family entertainment. Gone are the clean-cut landscapes, fuzzy creatures, and likable story and in their place are surreal dreams, edgy characters, and a mature story. 

With the eponymous lead voiced by the uber-talented Johnny Depp, the film is quirky and sometimes deep. I found it has parallels to a Brothers Grimm tale called "The Valiant Little Tailor," where a little misrepresentation kicks off an adventure. But it seems director Gore Verbinski wanted to end the similarities to a fairy tale there. There are themes of self image and even economics.

If there's one huge upside to the film, it's the animation. It's just superb. The film is set in the Mojave desert and I saw the great detail put in in the animation of the sand dunes and water. The animal characters were also done great. 

Folks should be warned that Rango is too serious for kids below twelve years old. It would have been better if the over-all feel was toned down a bit.


Rating: 2/5

25 comments:

  1. I've gotten rather disenchanted by Depp movies anymore. Seems like they just focus on the fact that he's starring in them, and to hell with the details after that. Kinda sick of it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice review. I didn't really care for the movie either.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I still kinda want to see it...
    Also followed :3

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good stuff man.

    I actually really liked this movie

    ReplyDelete
  5. i just saw this i enjoyed it +follower

    ReplyDelete
  6. i dont know why they so hard waat

    ReplyDelete
  7. Huh, planning to go watch it with girlfriend.
    It's one of those movies you'd watch even if you know it might suck.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am excited to see this movie.
    I dont expect much from it though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh loool i love that movie hahaha the part in the bar is awesome hahaha thank you dude, following!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Interesting, thanks for the review and info!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice review :)
    Didn't know much about it anyway so I definitely won't be watching it now.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This looked pretty good. I'm glad to hear that it's not garbage. Probably go see this with my girlfriend.

    ReplyDelete
  13. nice review... this movie didn't look very appealing from the get-go.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'll give it a look! It appears to be quite interesting, and De(r)pp has a wide and appealing portfolio.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Haven't yet watched this movie. But i do love Johny Depp!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hehe, 2/5, then it's not very good. I wanna watch it, though.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Have been johnny depp fan since pirates of the carribean

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hmm this actually makes me kinda interested in seeing it. From the commercials it definitely did look pretty family oriented but if it as mature as you say i might be more entertained

    ReplyDelete
  19. It seems like that's the way lots of animated movies are today, something for both the kids and the adults.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Aww man I wanted to see this too. Guess Ill just download.

    Anyway, good blog, I'll be commenting a lot

    ReplyDelete
  21. Rango is pretty good, imo.

    ReplyDelete
  22. awesome movie! the animation is stunning. i dont know how much further they can push animation before its reality.

    ReplyDelete