The Must See Movie for Every Family

Rating: 8/10 (22 March 2011)

I, My wife and my daughter went to see Rango over the weekend because it was the most well-reviewed movie currently in theaters. The first impression I had of this film was two-fold, funny and weird. A lot of the humor, the story, and the concept is completely off the wall and strange. Eventually I realized that this film is basically a love letter to the classic Spaghetti Western. Once I had realized that, the film became much easier to digest for me. We really loving it.
The characters were very well developed. One of the most brilliant ways they were able to create a character was with Johnny Depp's voice acting of Rango. The script was good, and he simply made it more so. They were able to create a compelling and interesting character out of a character that, in fact, has no foundation whatsoever. Rango is completely empty, void of any kind of interesting background save for the one he creates for himself. Out of that, they created a character that you love and want to root for. The others characters, who all came complete with actual backgrounds and goals, were equally satisfying. The antagonists were as fun to watch as the protagonists, and Rattlesnake Jake was a stroke of pure genius.
The best parts of the film was their handling of the Spirit of the West. Without giving anything away, the Spirit of the West was perfectly and beautifully portrayed. I loved how, using Timothy Olyphant as the voice of the Spirit, they were able to reference the passing of the baton, so to speak, from classic westerns into modern westerns. The face of the Spirit combined with the voice was the perfect homage to the western genre.
My Family love films like this and Wall-E, films that slap us in the face and tell us that there is something seriously wrong with modern society, and do so in a way that makes sense. The need for change in our everyday lives is long past due, and I love when our art reflects this.