The decision was likely decided upon for some time, but when Johnny Depp revealed he’d been toying with plans of retirement, it was difficult not to think of Disney‘s “The Lone Ranger” as a deciding factor. Three weeks on from its tepid $50 million opening, critics have both continued to bury it and risen to its defense, and while the dust slowly clears for everyone involved to move on, producer Jerry Bruckheimer believes in the end that distance will prove the best perspective.
During the TV Critics Association press tour while promoting his new CBS thriller “Hostages,” Bruckheimer briefly brought up his decades of experience in the business, and pointed to a corresponding moment that displayed similar symptoms. “It reminds me of a critic who called ‘Flashdance‘ a ‘toxic dump,'” he said of his 1983 producing effort. “Ten years later [the critic] said, ‘This is really a good movie. I missed it.’ I think [‘Lone Ranger’] going to be looked back on as a brave, wonderful film.”
Among those who have seen it, a lack of boldness doesn’t seem to be an overwhelming criticism of the film; director Gore Verbinski attempts a unique blend of historical elements, jarring violence, and crowd-pleasing tendencies that doesn’t quite gel. But while the waiting game begins for Bruckheimer to be vindicated in his comments, the producer believes Europe had a fairer glance at the film than America.
“You always want to get good reviews, but you know, it’s reversed in Europe,” he said. “It’s 70 percent good reviews and 30 percent mixed there. So, that happens.” What do you think? Is “The Lone Ranger” destined to ride into the sunset as a future classic? [Vulture]
