SINGAPORE — It must be noted that this reviewer has never been a massive fan of Westerns. Unless it is quirkily subversive, stars an animated chameleon named Rango, or is directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Suffice it to say, my expectations of the silver screen version The Lone Ranger weren’t high. Then again, this update of an enduring icon of American culture, which first came to life as an immensely popular radio show and subsequent television series, has been patiently nurtured by a certain Pirates Of The Caribbean brain trust trio: Actor Johnny Depp, director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

If they could transform a ride at Disneyland into a billion-dollar film franchise, perhaps they could change my ambivalence to Westerns. But I have to say that after 150 minutes, I’m in no rush to watch every venerable cowboy film made.

No, The Lone Ranger is not as disastrous as I thought it would be. Sure, it does stand awfully long, but there is still some fun and frolic there. Told through very new eyes, this is a revisionist origins story of sorts as John Reid (Armie Hammer) and Tonto (Depp) first meet as strangers on a train and eventually find themselves thrust together by viciously violent criminals, Comanche warriors, greedy businessmen and familial tragedy.

The always weird and wonderful Depp has brought his pirate Jack Sparrow to the Wild Wild West. Tongue firmly in cheek, Depp’s infectiously hilarious and strangely respectful Tonto steals the film, no longer a sidekick. That probably won’t sit well with John Reid fans, who will pooh-pooh Hammer’s second fiddle role and Depp’s constant camera mugging. But it is Hammer’s goofy performance as the newly masked hero that works as the best foil to the inimitable Depp, highlighting a budding on-screen chemistry. Together, they try hard to sell us on the slightly satirical new approaches to their iconic characters.

Perhaps it would have served the movie much better if Verbinski could decide exactly what type of movie he wanted The Lone Ranger to be. Truth be told, it could’ve worked as an action-comedy western and post-modern parody — if he didn’t feel the need to burden the overcomplicated script with superfluous Western cliches, unnecessary subplots, overarching railroad schemes and too many underused secondary characters. (Did we really need the one-legged hooker played by Helena Bonham Carter?)

Is The Lone Ranger going to rate as one of Depp and Verbinski’s best? Not by a mile. But I did have a surprisingly fun time, with the off-kilter humour, spectacular train action sequences and one comically brilliant, scene-stealing horse called Silver. There seems to be a friendly nudge and smile every time the overall messiness of the movie overwhelms, and the attempts at levity and self-parody actually work for today’s young audience.

But for the nostalgic, fiercely protective set of folk who remember listening to the old legend and his sidekick on the radio or watching the telly after school — perhaps not.

Still, I’m guessing even they can force a little smile when the familiar William Tell Overture theme tune kicks in at the end. Right, Kemosabe? (PG13, 150min)