Movie Review: Rango

To be honest, I wasn't really a fan of the film - at least, from the trailer. I mean, the characters were odd looking and they seemed to be less cuddly than the usual animated flicks we've been getting recently. So, yes, I had no plans of watching it up until I got a couple of good reactions from friends. So there.

Is Rango the best animated film I've seen this year? Not at all, but I must say that it didn't disappoint me one bit. Visually, I thought it was awesome. Colorful, highly detailed and shockingly realistic. The animation was immersing, the landscape was great, the character design was brilliant and I appreciated the composition and the little details they put in every character. At some point, I could not even believe that I was watching an animated movie. It was outstanding, to say the least.

The voice acting was also quite good. Every voice cast, I thought, delivered. Johnny Depp, in particular, did a fine work here. He was charismatic and I thought he gave the character enough heart and soul to carry the film as the character lead. Although, if I'm being honest, I found parts of his vocal acting a tad close to an animated Jack Sparrow. I don't know. He had the same tonality, the same laugh and, yes, even the same mumbling.

The story, on the other hand, I thought was pretty creative - you know, the Western feel, but with animals as characters! Haha. It was actually quite memorable and surprisingly refreshing. It needed a little work on the script though as I felt the humor was a little too dry occasionally and at times a bit forced. Surprise! Surprise! The film wasn't perfect.

I mean, aside from the script, I thought the opening twenty or so minutes were a bit tentative. It felt like the movie didn't find its footing early on. I also thought the film tried too hard in some areas, and too little in others. There were a couple of uneven qualities to the film. Lastly, was it just me or was this movie too long? Yes, I enjoyed the film, but my god, it just never ended! There were at least there times I thought it would end, and there'd be ten more minutes. It was slightly long winded, I think.

But with all that being said, neither of the things I mentioned prevented me from enjoying the film in its entirety. True, it had some gaps to fill, but I was entertained. There's just something very new with Rango. That is all.