In The Lone Ranger, native American spirit warrior Tonto and man of the law John Reid are opposites brought together by fate and must join forces to battle greed and corruption.
Hoo boy. I’m really not sure what to think of this one. First, let me just say that the Western genre is one of my absolute favourites. I love me some good cowboy shoot-em-up, and this trailer for The Lone Ranger certainly delivers the goods. But…but…Johnny Depp as a Native American? This is a bit of a sticky point. I don’t think he’ll do Native Americans any disrespect with his portrayal of Tonto, necessarily – no more disrespect than the character of Tonto already does, anyway – but…I mean, it’s kinda racist, isn’t it? Johnny Depp is an awesome actor, and I feel like he could play just about any role. But this is just a different kind of Blackface, isn’t it? I’m conflicted, in case you can’t tell. If you overlook the race issue, though, The Lone Ranger does look like loads of fun. Kind of like Pirates of the Wild West or something. What do you think?
The Lone Ranger comes out July 3, 2013.