Customer Reviews

3:10 to Yuma [Theatrical Release]

5 star:		(208)
4 star:		(107)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(43)
1 star:		(40)

 

 

Although many say the Western is dead, in books as well as movies, it continues to rear its head and make itself known every so often. There's something inherently noble and visceral about the artform and the subject matter, the calm delineation between good and evil, that stubbornly continues to attract an audience.

In 2007, the Western showed back up at the box office in a trio of films that came out roughly at the same time. 3:10 TO YUMA was the first out of the gate, but it was followed in quick order by THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.

The movie had been made fifty years ago, and much of the plot in that version made it into the remake. Both movies were based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, who has had several of his Western and crime novels made into films.

Christian Bale stars as Dan Evans, a one-legged, down-on-his-luck rancher struggling to keep a home together for his wife and two kids. Russell Crowe plays Ben Wade, an intelligent and heartless outlaw who's leading one of the blood-thirstiest gangs to ever take up the owlhoot trail.

Both stars take turns stealing scenes. Bale has the hard-edged look of coarse rawhide. Crowe possesses some of the deadest eyes ever shown in movies.

One of the best portrayals in the movie was a surprise to me, though. It took me a minute to recognize Peter Fonda as professional bounty hunter turned Pinkerton agent Byron McElroy. Fonda reminded me a lot of his father Henry, but part of that is because Fonda has aged. He also delivers a quality of acting and honesty in the character that is just amazing, and he was content to carry the supporting character role and didn't try to upstage anyone.

Logan Lerman was another surprise. He stared as William Evans, Dan's 14-year-old son. I'd thought Lerman was much older, but as it turned out he was 14 when the movie was made. He was likeable and intense.

When it came to truly cold-blooded villains, though, Ben Foster as Charlie Prince totally blew me away. The hair on the back of my neck went up as soon as he stepped on stage, and within a minute I hated him.

The story is simple. Dan is struggling to make ends meet and bumps into Wade during an armored wagon job. Later, after taking Byron McElroy into town for medical attention, Dan confronts Hollander, the man who's trying to run him off his land. When Hollander won't give him an extension on his loan, Dan finds Wade and helps take him captive. Then he agrees to help transport him to Yuma for $200.

The movie quickly spins out into the action of the violent road trip. In addition to being one of the fastest gunmen around, Wade is also a skilled psychological warrior, constantly taunting his captors and seeking out their weaknesses.

The action involves traveling through hostile Indian lands, meeting up with a team of killers working the railroad coming through the area, and a final showdown in Yuma that is one of the most exciting I've ever seen in a Western.

For two hours, I sat marveling at the characters, then tensely awaiting the outcome of the latest danger they were all facing. Even then, the twists and turns of the characters, the back stories they were all hiding till the very last moment, were awesome. No one was quite who I thought they were.

Westerns succeed best by having good men with a history of bad violence and bad men who haven't completely gone over to the dark side. 3:10 TO YUMA is one of those.

One caveat I will offer to people who have seen the original movie starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, this version does NOT follow the same paths or end up the same way. Expect to be surprised and shocked at how things turn out. And you'll be tense nearly the whole way through.

The Western genre is pretty rare nowadays--the Hollywood of today usually prefers other kinds of films (we feel you Clint Eastwood). Fortunately for the die-hard fans of the classic Spaghetti Western, the waiting is over. 3:10 to Yuma is one of the best Western film in years and probably one of the best films of 2007 overall. Not only we get excellent performances by Crowe and Bale, but the film captures the Western film traditions from the past--everything from a compelling story with a sense of justice and great gun action. Read on and I tell you, even if you're not a fan of Western, why you have to watch this extraordinary film.

Brief Intro Story:
The Old West is hard place to live, not only you have to deal with criminals and desert weather, but also with creditors who can be just as dangerous.

Things are not going well financially for the crippled family guy Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who has to support his wife Alice and two sons--he didn't pay the bills and his creditors burned his barn. As he is going back to town with his kids to complain about what happened, they see the famous outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) with his vicious gang who just busted a wagon full of cash (killing almost everybody). The gang members see Evans and his kids, but Wade (the boss of the gang) decides to only take their horses and leaves them standing there, but the gang makes a mistake--they left one wounded man. The gang goes to town and while Wade is alone and having fun with a local girl, he gets captured by the authorities while he is talking to Evans--who made it to town anyways. But they need extra help to transport him to catch a train that will take him to prison, and that's where Evans volunteers to help--for $200 dollars. He doesn't know that transporting this infamous bandit will turn his life around.

Review:
Director James Mangold (Walk the Line) has created an instant Western classic in almost every aspect. Here we find two cowboys, who are on different sides of the law, but at the same time, there is a sense of fellowship, loyalty and understanding between them--Not only their acting is impressive, there is so much chemistry on screen. In one hand, we have the outlaw Ben Wade who is a casual guy, a bit of a playboy, but he can be vicious if you push his buttons. despite all the immorality and his cockiness; he is a likeable character nevertheless. Then we have Evans who is a serious man of integrity, a loving father that will do everything he can to support his family righteously. There is a point in the film where his loyalty is put to the test, as well as the will to continue with the mission--this is the point of no return when it's not even about the money anymore. The two characters blend towards the end, they finally understand each other and create one of the best endings in recent memory.

Technically speaking, 3:10 to Yuma is a marvel to behold. We get the classic look and feel of the Old West with excellent cinematography, intense gun battle sequences and good costume design. Perhaps for many, the first act might be a bit slow, but after Wade gets captured, the film picks up with great drama and suspense. With all these great sequences, we also get excellent sound effects--which reminds me a bit of Kevin Costner's Open Range. Some of these sounds effects creates even melancholia--listen carefully, specially during the final battle.

The Verdict:
We didn't know taking the train could be so difficult back in the Old West. 3:10 to Yuma will not disappoint fans of the genre. It follows the classic Western formula with great performances by Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Do I see a nomination for any of these vanguard actors? I'd say yes.

If there is a truly unique American contribution to film making then that contribution has to be the Western. Though not as popular a theme these days as it was in past decades, it only takes a powerhouse film such as 3:10 TO YUMA to remind us just how pungent storytelling of this type can be. Yes, the story itself (based on a short story by Elmore Leonard) is rather simple: desperate farmer needs money to save his failing farm and family and signs on to escort a powerful outlaw to the train that will take him to prison. But in this screen adaptation by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas the story is fleshed out by sharing with the audience the essence of the pioneer spirit and the sequelae of the Civil War on the minds of the dispossessed who turned to crime against the ruling order - the railroads and the banks represented the conquering North - and the film becomes one of profound understanding about man's plight in the pioneer West.

The landscape and atmosphere of Arizona is captured with dusty accuracy by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael and sets the stage for director James Mangold ('Girl, Interrupted', 'Walk the Line', 'Identity', 'Kate and Leopold', 'Cop Land') to work with his talented cast to give a realistic view of life in the hard times of the old West. Russell Crowe is the notorious outlaw Ben Wade whose gang includes such actors as Ben Foster and Rio Alexander and once he is captured during a robbery, the local sheriff promises to pay $200. to destitute, crippled farmer Dan Evans to escort the prisoner to Contention, AZ for catching a ride to the 3:10 to Yuma and prison. The connection between the two disparate men - Wade and Evans - is the message of the story and is beautifully enhanced by allowing the audience to understand both sides of 'the law'. The co-stars of the film include Gretchen Mol as Evans' wife and young Logan Lerman as Evans' impressionable son William, Dallas Roberts as the head of the bank investment at risk, Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk, Vinessa Shaw and a large cast of the people who interplay in the drama.

Both Crowe and Bale give superlative performances, acting so cohesively that it would be difficult to single out either for the Oscar: this is ensemble acting at its finest. For once the added features enhance our appreciation of the tales from the Old West and how they became legends and the comments by the director, producers and cast actually make sense! The film will doubtless become a classic: it deserves the honor. Grady Harp, January 08

I love the Western myth too much to like this film, which does injustice to the savvy of Western characters in general, and to the Code that drives every classic Western. In these things, it becomes a pseudo-Western; if it *does* revive the Western genre, I hope its successors don't commit its same atrocities.

The film is an exercise in Implausible Plotting. Cowboys and lawmen of the Old West escort a Notorious Outlaw across the wilderness and leave his hands cuffed in front of him, even after he kills two of the escort party in ways he never could have done had they just bothered to tie him up. Said cowboys and lawmen send a decoy "outlaw" in a stagecoach to throw the bad guys off the trail of the escort, and they just happen to lock the unfortunate decoy in the stage *for real* without giving him a key, so he can burn to death when the gang catches up and discovers his identity. Said cowboys and lawmen, armed and holding the higher ground, look out a hotel window to engage in conversation with the Notorious Outlaw's psychotically murderous gang, and then allow them to ride away unaccosted after several death threats, so the carnage can come later. What sane person would behave as these characters do? They act stupidly so dramatic tension can last longer.

Yes, the scenery is lovely. Yes, the acting is pretty much flawless, but who would have expected less from Crowe and Bale? The character actions and the conclusion are the problem here. After seeing this film, my 18-year-old brother remarked, "Well, if that was reality, I'd definitely wanna be on the side of the bad guys ... all the good guys were either stupid or wimpy." That is not the Western myth; that is the antithesis of the Western myth.

You'd think the theme of heroism would be exhausted by now, but you'd be wrong. 3:10 to Yuma does an excellent job of adding to our understanding who heroes are, where to look for them, and why they are important.

It juxtaposes two men- one is unaccomplished, frustrated, and desperate-in short, a failure with a family. The other is unattached, romantic, intelligent, fast, and powerfully charismatic.

It really does take every minute of the movie, and especially the structure of the ending, to tell us WHY the first of the two men is the true hero, and why the second is empty and valueless. You'll see that the West was won by men of no accomplishment and high character, not men of talent and charisma. You'll see that a father's love has more power than a gunslinger's right hand. Perhaps most important, you'll see that a hero is such because he gives, not because he takes.

Enjoy the movie, and learn to see the heroes in the world around you.

My take on this movie is that some very good performances were devalued by the special effects people sitting in front of computer screens. A tense psychological cat and mouse game begins with the capture of Russell Crowe who plays notorious outlaw Ben Wade. A simple rancher Dan Evans, played by Christian Bale, volunteers to escort Wade to the train to Yuma prison in order to earn badly needed money for his rain-parched ranch.

This is a remake of the 1957 release of the same name starring Glenn Ford as Ben Wade and Van Heflin as Dan Evans. Russell Crowe does his usual outstanding job. Crowe is as excellent as a charming cowboy psychopath as he is as master and commander of a ship, a fearless gladiator, or a police thug turned noble. Ben Foster is perfectly cast as Billy Prince, Wade's wild-eyed loyal to the death sidekick. If you saw a fellow with his demeanor on a city street today you would be inclined to cross to the other side.

It is unfortunate that the makers of the film decided to go with special effects action to the detriment of the psychological in this movie. Action and psychology are not mutually exclusive but they are out of balance in this movie. The earlier version is incredible enough as Van Heflin shoots his way to the train with Ford in tow. Putting Christian Bale's character on a peg leg goes beyond one's willingness to suspend disbelief. The firepower depicted in this version is enough to invade Iraq again.

This version runs one-half hour longer than the 1957 edition in order to accommodate all of the extra violence. There is a scene that was added to this version and not present in the earlier Glenn Ford version. Crowe kills three Indians. Though the script tries to justify the scene by having them take a short cut through dangerous "Indian territory" it is obviously not justifiable since Indians are never seen or discussed again.

"The Unforgiven", the best of the modern cowboy genre, did not need as many (if any) computer-driven effects to tell a good tale of the old West. With such an excellent cast neither did "3:10 to Yuma". Nice try, but computer gimmicks should always be subordinated to good performances.

The Western film: a truly American invention and in this new millennium a rare commodity. "Unforgiven" comes to mind and that was 10 years or so ago. There are others, of course but they are few and far between. There are Westerns that glamorize the Old West: "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and those that don't: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
"3:10 to Yuma" is somewhere in between the two mentioned above and it is about the eternal struggle between good and evil, between the have and the have nots, between those that would uphold the family and those that would demolish it and those who would preserve the peace and those that would let chaos rule.
James Mangold ("I Walked the Line") has chosen to remake, revise, re-invent the 1957 Glenn Ford starring "3:10 to Yuma" with a sterling cast of Russell Crowe (as outlaw, train robber, Ben Wade), Christian Bale (erstwhile Batman as Dan Evans: everyman, ranch owner-going broke) whose life is turned upside down when he accidentally comes in contact with Wade while Wade is in the process of robbing a Pinkerton protected stage of all of it's loot.
Crowe dominates the screen as Wade. His Wade is mercurial, slimy, sexy, brutal...seemingly willing to do anything for the thrill of stealing and killing. Crowe plays Wade quietly even sympathetically but always in control even when he physically isn't. Crowe dominates, both physically and cosmically, every scene that he is in: he sucks the oxygen out of a room upon entering and, in the one sex scene of the film, his "prey" has no choice, nor does she struggle by the way, but to comply with his wishes. In fact, she wants it as much as he does.
Bale's Evans is downtrodden, desperate as well as desperately poor. He is days away from losing his farm and more importantly losing the respect of his family: the more important of the two in the world of "3:10." For in this world you are nothing without family and property and less than nothing if you lose it.
On many levels Wade and Evans connect: they look at each other and their expressive eyes tell us something akin to "there but for the grace of God go I." But way down deep inside each man, inside their cores, they are brothers who have merely taken different roads.
There is lots of violence, murder and even a little sex in "3:10" and perhaps it is even a bit long by 20 minutes but ultimately Mangold pulls all the various pieces together into a cohesive whole. But the real magic of this film comes from the premiere acting jobs of Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and a terrific Ben Foster ("6 Feet Under") as Charles Prince: a grotesque killing machine, more "Mad Max" than Jesse James who, against all odds plots to save Wade from destruction.

Russell Crowe and Christian Bale are well-matched in director James Mangold's inspired remake of the 1957 western classic. Mangold has a terrific flair for the genre - revitalizing the traditional narrative with added emotional depth and cinematic skill. The result is the finest western since Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven." Peter Fonda and Ben Foster are standouts in an excellent supporting cast. Hopefully, the critical and commercial success of "3:10 to Yuma" will encourage Hollywood to produce more sagebrush sagas.

This is a movie that bears repeated viewings due to a great subtext and accomplished acting. Not only does the film offer fast-paced entertainment, it offers a deeper story that asks questions about the meaning of morality and the requirements of faith. Decidedly the best movie I've seen this year. Highly recommended.

Although the western film recently experienced a brief resurgence with Unforgiven, the number of quality ones has been few like Open Range. With the remake of the 1956 cult western, 3:10 to Yuma, (itself adapted from a short story by Elmore Leonard), the genre is primed for another comeback with this tense, well acted film.

Set in the old west not long after the Civil War, a cattle rancher, Dan Evans (Christian Bale), and his family struggle to make a life for themselves as a local businessman threatens to foreclose on his property and make way for a railroad. His cattle are poached by outlaws led by Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his lieutenant, Charlie Prince (Ben Foster in a surly, effective performance). The criminals rob a money wagon (in a scene right out of Heat done western style) and stop at a local town. Wade is captured by local lawmen and is escorted to catch the Yuma prison train, which is hours away from arriving. Evans offers to join the group in return for some valuable reward money that will ultimately help his family's plight. Thus begins a tortuous journey that has potential repercussions for Evans' family and Wade's bid for freedom even as his gang is in pursuit. Will Evans and his motley crew get Wade to the railroad station in time and who will survive?

Director James Mangold, fresh from his successful biopic, Walk the Line, again elicits strong performances from his two leads, Crowe and Bale. Crowe is everything we expect him to be, and his role is Oscar worthy. His outlaw is a cultured, Bible-quoting man who effuses an animal magnetism that is appealing to men and women. What is so satisfying here is that Bale is equally up to the task and really shines in a difficult, challenging role. The supporting cast is uniformly sharp with special nod to a grizzled, unrecognizable Peter Fonda as a tough bounty hunter. Logan Lerman is effective as Evans' older son who is ashamed of and gradually realizes a growing respect for his father. Luke Wilson has an amusing bit role as a corrupt railroad hand.

The film has a plot similar to the 1950's westerns High Noon and Last Train from Gun Hill, and encompasses elements of the classic western formula, namely the cattleman versus the railroad; only in this case, it is used as a jumping off point to a deeper, more psychological conflict. This is really a movie about what motivates people to do what they do. Most of the dialogue involves Wade's hurling insults and quips at a stoic Evans. We can see that Wade has a respect and growing admiration for Evans' seemingly hopeless quest, and the emerging facts have a strong bearing on what is to come. We learn about Wade's childhood and about what truly guides Evans' reasons for taking such a risky mission. His role in the Union Army during the Civil War comes to the fore. And how did he get his leg maimed? These shades of background and characterization enrich an already tense and interesting plot. The memorable ending, which pushes credibility just a tad, truly tests each man's resolve and sense of justice.

Production values are strong with beautiful cinematography by Phedon Papamichael (Walk the Line, The Pursuit of Happyness). The film moves at a deliberate, methodical pace (editor Michael McCusker) and is never boring. It gets to the conflict fairly quickly and reaches its finale, an agonizing chase across town that is quite exciting and riveting right to the startling end.

Make no mistake, this is a film that western enthusiasts will love while those who appreciate a strong, tense character study will find much to savor. Although we expect gold performances from Crowe and the ever maturing Bale (hard to believe this was the boy in Spielberg's Empire of the Sun), it is Mangold's prowess in that delicate balance of critically acclaimed, popular filmmaking, that may become a major force in Hollywood for years to come.