Rango is a movie I’ve been meaning to see for the last couple of weeks, but weather and work prevented me from doing that until today. First of all, Rango is not a young kid’s movies despite coming from Nickelodeon. Yes, the child who watches SpongeBob Squarepants or Dora will laugh at the funny singing owls, but most of this movie will be over the heads of these same kids. Please note that this movie should not be confused with the 1967 Tim Conway TV series of the same name even through is a somewhat similar setup for the hero.
This movie is a great tribute piece to the Sergio Leone “spaghetti westerns,” and Roman Polanski’s Chinatown. It’s about a lizard who discovers that he can not run away from his destiny even if he doesn’t know what it is. The dialog is smart and rapid fire. There is death, violence and some adult themes. The hero questions his convictions and his courage, but in the end does the right thing for the right reason. The movie feels long and, frankly, moves too slowly for the first 15 minutes as it does its world building . The art is well drawn and the music is by Hans Zimmer. That should tell you all you really need to know about this film. I enjoyed it a lot and as Rango said, “Believe in that there sign.”