I don't know about you but those gross-out, dumb-ass comedies that have taken over the genre of late don't do it for me so I can't tell you how great it is to see something like "Rango". I came across the trailer last week and it looked pretty smart, I got to see it yesterday and it blew me away.
This is an computer-animated feature written by John Logan (Gladiator, The Last Samurai, The Aviator) and directed by Gore Verbinski, who helmed the Pirates of the Caribbean pics - a franchise that went from swashbucklingly refreshing to incomprehenisble twaddle in three movies. But go back to his first film - Mouse Hunt - here was originality and comedy aplenty - not to mention excellent performances from Lee Evans and Nathan Lane. Rango owes more to that level of comic invention than the P of C films - even if they do share the same leading man.
In Rango Johnny Depp plays 'the lizard with no name', who walks into a western town called Dirt, populated by an assortment of desert animals all playing archetypes from the Western frontier. Dirt could be called Dust on account of the lack of water. Rango is made sheriff and tries to solve the mystery of the missing agua.
But here's the thing: in the telling of the story Rango draws on sources from Chinatown to Star Wars, Sergio Leone to Hunter S Thompson, Chuck Jones to Tarantino. This is a animated film for sophicated movie goers - but even if you don't get all the references there is so much here to enjoy. It's a PG and whilst the animal characters and slapstick will appeal to youngsters it's not really aimed at them. This is a movie for movie lovers with a succession of great moments. Twisting, turning, reversing, it's great to look at, sharp, snappy and satirical with laugh out loud moments you'll cherish all the way home.
If, like me, you like your comedy smart and inventive check out Rango.
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