'The Lone Ranger' will be hitting theaters in a little over two weeks. Right now it doesn't feel like one of the summer's biggest tentpole films; perhaps it was waiting for some of the big superhero films to hit screens before going for the full-court ad press. But unlike its comic book competition, this film wants you to know many of its big set pieces were done practically.

That's the focus of this featurette, which highlights that they shot on real trains and that Johnny Depp did much of his own horseback riding, which led to him falling off and getting stepped on. Ouch. This emphasis on practical effects is a little undercut by some of the footage presented, but it's a good point to make after a couple weeks of movies filled with CGI-centric destruction.

'The Lone Ranger' has long been referred to as one of this summer's biggest question marks, but that's likely the baggage of a prolonged development process which involved budget cuts and a rethink of the plot (it once featured werewolves). We'll see if it all worked out when 'The Lone Ranger' is released on July 3. Here's the film's synopsis:

From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “The Lone Ranger,” a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice–taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

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