As a boy, I grew up listening to the old Lone Ranger radio series on tape because my dad grew up listening to the real deal on the radio. The Lone Ranger was my dad's favourite hero, so I ended up loving the character by default. How does this latest incarnation, as told by Johnny Depp , Armie Hammer and Gore Verbinski hold up? Stick with me. Native American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.  This movie isn't as bad as everyone made it out to be, but it is an overblown wannabe epic when it should have been a simple western tale of justice and revenge. The Lone Ranger isn't the kind of story you turn into a big budget Hollywood blockbuster . It's a straight-ahead tale of a masked man, his trusted sidekick Tonto and the evil Butch Cavendish. All of those elements are here, and the movie does have a solid first hour and a decent last act, but the rest is a bloated mess of shifting t...

Either I'm drunk, high or getting old . . . or there's at least two upcoming summer movies worth getting excited about. The first is the Superman retelling Man of Steel. The second is Disney's adaptation of the classic cowboy hero The Lone Ranger. And the preview below makes this version of my dad's favourite character look pretty damn slick. While the teaser focused on trains and shooting, this preview reveals more of the friendship between The Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) and his trusted sidekick Tonto (Johnny Depp). I like how producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski have stayed true to the Ranger's origins, but brought a few new elements to the table. I'm cool with that, and I'm sure dad would be too. As for the plot, Native American spirit warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice. Enough chatter, there's some galloping to get to. Thanks to JoBlo.com for ...

Who'd of thunk that a cowboy hero who was popular more than 70 years ago could be the basis for a summer blockbuster. But that's just what Disney, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski have done with The Lone Ranger. And they cast superstar Johnny Depp . . . not as The Lone Ranger, but his trusted sidekick Tonto. Ballsy, is all I can say. Although I'm not sold on the look of Tonto or The Lone Ranger -- and am disappointed that there isn't one note of The William Tell Overture in the preview below -- this doesn't look half bad. It's great to see the character get dusted off and given a chance to catch on with a new generation. If anyone can pull it off, it's the folks who made the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We'll know more when The Lone Ranger opens July 3.