Now that I have finally seen The Lone Ranger, I can fairly speak my own opinions about JC=TLR.
The marketing for John Carter was awful. It was as if they expected me already to know his name. For me, if someone wants me to see their movie at the theaters, they need to give me a reason directly. The name of someone I've never heard of won't do it.
The movie John Carter was interesting, but very confusing. I wasn't sure what was happening. Even after watching it again.
The marketing for The Lone Ranger was questionable. As others have said, it's too deep in Depp. I understand trying to use the big name to draw in extra attendance, but making it apparent that he was in the movie as a major supporting actor would have been sufficient for that. Instead, the goofiness seen in Jack Sparrow was splattered on screen. That was a poor decision.
The movie itself was good, but it was unnecessarily long.
Contrary to a previous post, it isn't a wholesome move. Far from it. It is one of the least wholesome Disney movies I've seen, if not the absolute least. It involves a visit to and a discussion of an establishment called Reds. I would say what exactly kind of place that was, but it might get edited out by a moderator. Most of you can probably figure out what that place is on your own by reading between the lines.
Then there are the thematic elements of genocide and barbaric racial hatred, and an instance of a tortuous murder. Plus, a lot of innocents are shot to death. Personally, I don't consider those elements wholesome. Wholesome Disney Westerns would be more like the Apple Dumpling Gang movies.
As for the refusal to use a gun? He does use the gun, people. The first time, he kills two people in one shot. Plus, the hesitance of using the gun at all from the onset is a part of character development and the storyline. It also speaks to his nobility. He actually wants to kill the antagonist himself, quite strongly in fact, but he restrains himself. He prefers justice instead of revenge.
There are criticisms I have about the movie, but since the discussion is JC=TLR, I'll limit what I will to say in response to other posts already in this thread.
1) Disney lands another "bomb" of a movie.
2) Everyone KNOWS the Lone Ranger story.
3) Why did Disney think they could re-write it?
4) Even with Johnny Dep?
5) Critics think the movie will lose $100+ million.
6) Just because it's Disney, doesn't mean
. . . "if they make it the public will come"
7) Still needs to be a good flick.
NOTE: Even U.S.A. losers can make up the loss in worldwide
release. But, the worldwide market doesn't jump on Westerns
like they do for science fiction.
1) That's what poor marketing can do to a movie.
2) That reminds me of A Christmas Story where the mom says that everyone knows that the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse is named Victor. I don't KNOW the story of The Lone Ranger. I'm aware of it for sure, but I didn't watch the old TV series when I was a kid. I know just enough who he, Tonto, and Silver are. And of course, the theme music is from the William Tell Overture.
3) It's Disney's specialty. I mean really, how many stories have they come up with entirely on their own? They mostly take stories someone else has already told and put their own spin on it. For a while they were even doing poor rewrites of their own movies.
4) The trailers were certainly too focused on Depp. And his portrayal of Tonto in them discouraged me from seeing the movie until the movie hit the discount theaters. His actual performance was mixed. Overall, I thought he did a nice job of Tonto (of course, I don't have the original Tonto to gauge him by). With that said, there were certainly several instances where he came off as the dufus I saw in the trailers.
5) Well, maybe DVD/Blu-Ray sales will compensate.
6) Yup. That's why I waited to see John Carter until it was on TV.
7) The Lone Ranger was a good movie. Not a great one, but a good one.
NOTE: Horse operas have pretty much gone the way of soap operas.
My one complaint is the segments with the young boy and old Tonto - they could have been cut. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm all the happier to have expirienced it on the big screen. Everyone in my theater laughed and applauded at the end, so I was shocked it bombed. I thought the film was rather violent for a Disney movie, so I don;'t get anyone saying it was too family friendly. A man cuts out a mans heart, there are prostitutes, and multiple murderings and shootings. I let my 8 year old watch POTC pt. 1, but will hold off on TLR a few more years. 
