Despite a cool plot-hook and the fact that this is Tom Hanks’ first Western, the best things about “News of the World” are its cinematography and its score.

And then at the end, the somewhat pedestrian script suddenly kicks into high gear, making “News” another satisfying entry in the distinguished careers of Hanks and director Paul Greengrass.

The film is set in 1870 Texas, with the veteran actor playing Capt. Jefferson Kidd, a former Confederate officer who travels from town to town reading newspaper stories aloud to isolated, semi-literate settlers, ranchers and other Southerners disgruntled with the results of the Civil War.

One sultry afternoon, Kidd comes upon a scene of ambush and murder in which the only survivor is a young white girl; long held captive by Kiowas, she had recently been rescued and was in the process of being returned to family. The reluctant storyteller takes this inarticulate victim under his wing, and over the next 90 minutes of screen-time, shepherds her through various attacks, threats and disasters.

The only liability in “News of the World” is a weak script, with some creaky dialog and overreliance on such standard Western tropes as sand-storms, the Indian-refugee-girl and greedy bad guys lurking round every turn of the trail.

To its credit, the story does include an unusual encounter in which Kidd uses news of a Pennsylvania mine-fire to foment rebellion among pioneers ensnared by a cruel and narcissistic leader. And the first gunfight, between Kidd and three better-armed men who want the girl, is brilliantly executed by the skilled action director who gave us three Bourne movies, “Captain Phillips” and “United 93.” (Gotta love how little Johanna converts Kidd’s birdshot into a much more bankable payload.)

Fortunately, even through its slow and predictable first two acts, “News” holds attention thanks to Dariusz Wolski’s incredible photography.

Having worked with Ridley Scott (“The Martian”), Robert Zemeckis (“The Walk”) and Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland”), the veteran makes marvelous use of natural light and sprawling New Mexico locales; his smoothly active camera is always on the move to track Kidd’s trek and keep us wondering what’s ahead. I cannot recall the last time I saw a film so lovingly photographed.

James Newton Howard’s score is likewise sensational, the more so because it is unobtrusive; with a staggering resume embracing well over 100 features, Howard here covers a wide range of styles: sprightly acoustic guitar, soaring orchestral work and a gorgeous hymn-like melody in one tender graveside scene.

Best of all is the film’s final act, perfectly filling in some frustrating earlier holes in the plot. When Kidd finally settles on his actual destiny, it feels almost breathtaking in its fitness and closure; and the script (co-written by Greengrass) caps it off with the symbolic newspaper account of a man who miraculously returned from the dead.

“News” is ultimately a tale of hope, perseverance and selflessness — just exactly what the world needs right now.