Although a large section of the general public didn’t care for The Lone Ranger , the box office flop clearly made an impression on director Quentin Tarantino.
As he does every year, the award-winning filmmaker recently released a list of his favorite films of the 2013. While some of the entries weren’t surprising — everyone on the planet seems to love Gravity — the inclusion of Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer’s western took more than a few people by surprise.
According to The Quentin Tarantino Archives , this list could change at the drop of a hat since the year hasn’t wrapped up just yet. This means that The Lone Ranger could lose its spot over the next few months.
While this writer didn’t have a huge problem with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski’s $200 million adaptation of the classic television series, several professional critics were quick to trash the film over the summer. The movie’s box office performance suffered as a result.
As of this writing, The Lone Ranger still hasn’t cracked $100 million in the United States. The picture’s foreign figures are a little stronger; the movie earned $155 million overseas during its theatrical run. It could be a while before the adaptation breaks even.
The movie was definitely a dark and violent experience, one that included a bit of commentary on how the Old West was truly won. Johnny Depp firmly believes that critics had in out for the movie long before it debuted on the big screen over the summer.
“I think the reviews were written seven to eight months before we released the film. I think the reviews were written when they heard Gore [Verbinski] and Jerry [Bruckheimer] 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,” Depp explained to Variety .
Here’s the list of the Pulp Fiction director’s favorite films of 2013.
Afternoon Delight Before Midnight Blue Jasmine The Conjuring Drinking Buddies Frances Ha Gravity Kick-Ass 2 The Lone Ranger This is the End
Are you surprised that The Lone Ranger is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite films of the year? Did you catch the adaptation in theaters over the summer?
[Image via Buena Vista / Walt Disney Pictures]