Film reviews
Men In Black 3
It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.
Bel Ami
The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.
The Dictator
A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.
The Woman In Black
Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.
search the site
newsletter
Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter
Rango (Film)
Rating: PG
Running Time: 107
Country: USA
Director: Gore Verbinski
Cast: Abigail Breslin, Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Alfred Molina
Distributor: Paramount
Release Date: March 10, 2011
Film Worth: $19.00
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthCloser to a comedy for adults than a kids’ flick, this ground-breaking and simply unmissable animation bursts with creativity, humour and clever references.
Rango is ground-breaking animation. Its style is worlds away from anything in the CGI canon. Going against three-dimensional trends and made in glorious 2D, it's the first animated feature from the George Lucas-owned effects company, Industrial Light & Magic.
Helmed by Pirates Of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, the characters don't have the usual warm and fuzzy look; instead, they appear to have been designed by a taxidermist. The landscapes are also tangibly real, and you half wonder whether Rango is entirely computer-generated (it is - visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander describes the style as "photographic").
The hero of this tale is a crooked-necked pet chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) who's accidentally thrust out of his glass terrarium and onto a desert highway, where he begins a literal and spiritual journey to Dirt - a water-starved town transplanted from a spaghetti western. Full of delusions of grandeur and with a thespian bent, the chameleon christens himself Rango, morphs into the sheriff, and finds himself having to save the thirsty town - or die...
Depp is spectacular - and hilarious - as Rango. He's the real chameleon here. The rest of the A-list cast are also flawless, with Ray Winstone (who amusingly sounds like he's taking himself off), Harry Dean Stanton, Bill Nighy, Alfred Molina, Ned Beatty and an excellent Isla Fisher - who nails the part of Beans, a dirt-poor reptilian version of Scarlett O'Hara. Both a tribute to and a satire of the western genre, Rango is loaded with movie references, including a splatter of Terry Gilliam and a splash of Chinatown.
With political and mystical themes, as well as those appealing yet none-too-cute characters, it seems more like a comedy made for adults than a kids' flick. Its genuinely different style and motifs make it unmissable for grown-up CGI fans. Rango is exceptional.
