Rango (Review)

When one examines the plot of Rango, it may seem like a very Pixar-esque project. However, the viewing experience could not be more different. Rango is a strange, unfocused, yet fascinating animated film that demands respect for a variety of reasons. The visuals are wall-to-wall stunning, the characters are interesting, and it offers a refreshingly bizarre take on conventional formula. Occasionally the film meanders a little too much for its own good, but once it establishes some forward momentum the result can be incredibly rewarding.

Johnny Depp plays a lizard with dreams of becoming an actor, because of course he does. When he ends up abandoned on a desert road, he wanders alone across the waterless wasteland until he comes across a mini-boomtown called Dirt. After a few acts of faux-heroism, he adopts the name Rango and becomes the town’s new sheriff. It turns out that the job has its challenges, as Dirt is in the midst of a water shortage that threatens to bring the town to its knees.

The plot doesn’t get more complicated than that, despite attempts by the film to make it all as strange and witty as possible. Rango was first filmed with the actual actors performing the scenes with each other on an actual set, and as a result the characters seem to be actually reacting and conversing with each other rather than reading lines off a sheet of paper. Rango is able to separate itself not just through visuals, but also through its fully-realized environment.

Oh, but what visuals Rango has.  It’s amazing to think how far man has come ever since we first drew upon the walls of the Lascaux Caverns. Heck, even 20 years ago all animated films were painstakingly hand-drawn. Today, we have Rango, among the most visually stunning animated films I’ve seen. This is a world that is flawless from the largest shots down to its most intimate close-ups. In all likelihood, this is thanks in no small part to legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, who worked as a visual consultant.

This film’s visual brilliance is also the result of it being shown exclusively in 2-D. Rango makes a convincing argument that 3-D is too often being used to hide impressive visuals rather than flaunt them. Here, the film does not focus on a magical object being shot at you. Instead, it challenges you to observe every last inch of the world it has created, the result is breathtaking. Once again, it seems that Avatar is the only film ever to be enhanced by 3-D, despite any other problems it may have. As the days go by, I seem to gain more and more respect for James Cameron’s film.

With all of this going for it, you’d think Rango would simply settle down and tell its story with as few distractions as possible. Unfortunately, it too often tries to be clever when it doesn’t need to be. Rango is so saturated with pop culture references that it can start to look like a Shrek sequel rather than its own film, but there are too many redeeming qualities here for it to go completely off the rails. Rango never comes off as dumb; just occasionally too smart for its own good.

Interestingly enough, Rango was directed by Gore Verbinski, who in the past has worked with Depp on the Pirates of the Caribbean films. The transition from live-action directing to animation can be a strange one, to be sure, but Verbinski’s presence can undoubtedly be felt here. Even the best animated films can sometimes feel like several disparate elements thrown together into a single package. Rango is an animated film, but it feels like something much, much bigger. The world of cinema would be a better place if it had more films like this. If only it didn’t insist on trying to be so clever, then we might have had an instant classic. For now, this will more than do.

Rating:  (out of 4)