Rango tells the story of a lizard (Depp) who stumbles into a
Western. The town of Dirt is inhabited by other similarly-sized
creatures, although sometimes it's really difficult to tell what kind of
animal each character is supposed to be, and they are in the midst of a
water shortage crisis. Rango manages to earn himself a sheriff's star
by unwittingly taking out the town's predator and is soon tasked by the
mayor (Beatty) with giving the townspeople hope in the face of rapidly
dwindling resources. They must find out who is stealing their water and
why before it's too late.
The acting is solid, the animation is fun, and the pacing is fluid. The plot is essentially a rehashing of Chinatown with the occasional twist and turn to make it a little bit more exciting and kid-friendly in the hopes that it doesn't feel predictable. Unfortunately, it is predictable. Adding failed plan after failed plan in the last 10 minutes doesn't make it surprising. It just makes it painful for everyone waiting for the film to end.
The best part about this movie is probably the character of Rango, who seems to be able to confabulate on the fly in a very entertaining manner. It makes for a clever script with sharp dialogue, including some excellent jokes, but on the whole I didn't get much out of it. Ultimately, the film tried too hard to satisfy too many different genres that it never really impressed me on any one of them. All in all, this is a strange but fairly mediocre film that entertains but doesn't stick with you. Watch it if it sounds interesting, but don't go out of your way to see it.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/