As people struggle to figure out who to blame for the spectacular failure of Disney's "The Lone Ranger" at box offices this summer the movie's stars are pointing fingers at critics who "slit the jugular" of the film, according to Yahoo.
In an interview with Yahoo! Movies the two stars of the film Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp are joined by producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski in blaming critics for slamming the troubled film prior to its release. The team suggests that critics judged the film on the hoopla surrounding its production as opposed to the finished product.
"I think the reviews were written seven-to-eight months before we released the film," Johnny Depp said. "I think the reviews were written when they heard Gore and Jerry and me were going to do 'The Lone Ranger.' They had expectations that it must be a blockbuster. I didn't have any expectations of that. I never do."
Hammer, who played the titular role in the film, agreed wholeheartedly with Depp, even if his publicist tried to get him not to during the interview, according to Yahoo.
"This is the deal with American critics: they've been gunning for our movie since it was shut down the first time, that's when most of the critics wrote their initial reviews," Hammer said, "If you go back and read the negative reviews, most of them aren't about the content of the movie, but more what's behind it."
"It's got to the point with American critics where if you're not as smart as Plato, you're stupid," Hammer continued. "That seems like a sad way to live your life."
The film cost an unbelievable $250 million to make and has only grossed $177 million to date. The film was promoted heavily by Disney adding an additional couple of hundred million to the total cost, which is why Disney announced that they were expecting the western to end up costing them between $160 million and $190 million in losses, according to the BBC.
© 2025 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
