Quite chaotic and rather delirious, but still fun

Rating: 6/10 (20 June 2015)

When we hear about a Gore Verbinski/Johnny Depp tandem, we all know what movie franchise comes to mind first. Pirates of the Caribbean is a huge defining point for both the director and the actor, since the former will hardly ever beat the overall success of it with any other movie, and for the latter his character of Captain Jack Sparrow was, is and probably will stay the most recognizable image he ever brought to life. It's hard to get away from your fame, and it's probably the case when it becomes your curse - just like the Black Pearl's crew was cursed for being too successful at plundering.
At first glance, it's hard to imagine anything more opposite to Pirates of the Caribbean than Rango. And not only because it's an animation. Rango is a story of a pet chameleon who's deeply in the hell of a self-identification crisis, and Captain Jack Sparrow would be the last person in the world to question himself who he is. Yet there's a strong vibe of the whole PotC trilogy (to me it IS a trilogy) coming from Rango. The Curse of the Black Pearl was all adventures, Dead Man's Chest was all goofy and slapstick, and At World's End was a rather surreal journey to the other side. And Rango has it all.
But in this attempt to transmit the already well-mastered recipe for success from one franchise to another Gore Verbinski chose the second installment of PotC as the base tone. Which is weird, because, apart from being a huge commercial hit, Dead Man's Chest was a rather flat and over-the-top action adventure which, as most second episodes of trilogies do, simply served as a link towards the climactic third act. And while Rango was showing some promise to become a parable of the social inequality, a satire about brainwashing, vice and exploitation, and finally a story of a person on his self-exploring journey, it's still mostly a situation comedy where a striving for local punchlines outweighs a global dramatic effect. Jump funny, say fancy words very fast and make weird noises - and you're good to go. Yee-haw!
I guess it's actually enough for the audience that simply wants to be entertained. After all, Rango is beautifully animated, and it definitely delivers a feast for your senses. But for those who prefer to go deeper, Rango could be a much more fulfilling, albeit not so happy, tribute to Johnny Depp's own thespian journey. Rango is a chameleon, an ever-mimicking creature, who has to play a character he invented himself - because he has no idea who he actually is as a person. Just like Johnny Depp himself, who had enacted so many personas during his actor's career that to most people he's just Jack Sparrow or even "that guy from that movie". It may be a hymn to the whole tribe of actors, but Johnny Depp is probably the most prominent example of a person who's been in so many pairs of shoes throughout his whole life that it's getting difficult to remember which one is actually yours.
The ending, when our hero rides into sunset to solidify himself as an icon to be remembered, is a sort of a silent resignation to this fate. After all, what's the point in trying to define and defend your personal individuality if everyone else will still have his own image of you that's only vaguely related to the reality. Apparently, this choice goes beyond a single film, because in the next work of the aforementioned tandem, The Lone Ranger, Johnny Depp's character is all but a legend alive, with hardly anything truly human in it. Depp may be a most perfect hanger for film personas, but they do start to feel somewhat empty inside. Just like this film itself. But if you're not looking for more than what meets the eye, you'll be thoroughly entertained, because, even though the make-up may be flaking, the smile still stays on. Show must go on, and it will go on. Amen.