3:10 to Yuma

3:10 To Yuma

 

"I hate posses."
Charlie Prince in 3:10 TO YUMA

Generally speaking, "I hate remakes" since the vast majority are nowhere near as good as the original. This begs the question: Is it possible that the recently released 3:10 TO YUMA can hold a candle to the 1957 classic starring Glenn Ford as Ben Wade and Van Heflin as Dan Evans? The odds are against it, but Director James Mangold has crafted a very solid re-telling of the Elmore Leonard short story smartly adapted for today's audience by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt and Derek Hass. This new version wisely preserves much of the intense, intelligent dialogue between the two main characters in the final act which made the earlier film among the best Westerns ever. In addition, Mangold and company have expanded the action and the drama by adding approximately twenty minutes of backstory regarding Dan and his family. The net effect is that Dan's character and motivations are made crystal clear and his ultimate fate is even more poignant. Be advised that the screenplay does suffer from several annoying plot holes big enough to drive a Butterfield Stage through, but all-in-all this is a smart and stylish production which more than holds its own when compared with the original.


Of course, it doesn't hurt being blessed with a terrific cast headed by Russell Crowe as Ben and the always remarkable Christian Bale as Dan. Together these two forge a unique and memorable relationship that alternates between hatred and admiration. It is a credit to their consummate acting ability that we buy into these characters lock, stock and gun barrel. The rest of the cast is solid, with Peter Fonda especially noteworthy in a relatively small but pivotal role. I purposefully didn't mention his character's name so that you might try to spot him on your own. I dare say that many will not -- here's hoping we will see more of Mr. Fonda in the future.


Saving the best for last is Ben Foster whose portrayal of the evil-to-the-core Charlie Prince literally steals the show. Back in the days when the Western was a far more popular genre there were a score of actors who helped establish highly successful careers playing memorable villains in the Old West. Terrific actors like Richard Boone and James Coburn and Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin and Lee Marvin and Eli Wallach and Jack Palance. As Mick LaSalle, a reviewer for "The San Francisco Chronicle" once said, "There's evil, and then there's Jack Palance evil."

That's what Ben Foster brings to 3:10 TO YUMA -- Jack Palance evil.

Alas, they don't make Westerns like they used to; at least not very often. 3:10 TO YUMA does the genre justice, and the upcoming PALO PINTO GOLD will hopefully do the same. There'll be more about this new Western featuring Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Kinky Friedman, Joaquin Jackson, Trent Willmon and Joanna Goode announced soon. I should know, I'm one of the Producers...  

Robert A. Nowotny

3:10 TO YUMA (2007)

BOTTOM LINE: Strong, atmospheric western with great performances, but stretches credibility in a few places and especially towards the end of the film.

THE GOOD: Following in the footsteps of westerns such as "Unforgiven", 3:10 To Yuma throws us in to the lives of some morally questionable and/or down-on-their-luck characters who end up finding something decent within themselves so they can stand up and be proud. Russell Crowe plays successful, ruthless, but charming robber Ben Wade, who has robbed 22 individual coaches belonging to the Pacific Railroad. On his latest robbery, he has a chance encounter with wannabe rancher Dan Evans played by Christian Bale. From the outset, they enter a love/hate relationship where they are constantly at odds but somehow come to respect each other, and this is what ultimately makes the film worth watching. Wade is nasty, but he's not mean. Even when Dan takes money to escort Wade under guard to his prison-bound train, the "3:10 To Yuma", you never get the sense that Wade holds any grudges against Dan. As the film progresses, Dan comes to rely on Wade to help him find his own sense of self-respect and the respect of his son. The film has a moody, atmospheric tone as it guides you along Dan's quest (with his posse) to take Wade to his destiny. But on their trail is Wade's own posse, led by a mean, deadly accurate and cold-hearted bastard called Charlie Prince (played with relish by Ben Foster). That character alone made the film worth watching! As with all westerns, you know there's a showdown at the end but the way it all goes down is a pleasant surprise and highlights the revisionist take that the filmmakers have employed here. The West isn't really glamourised much, and is shown for the down-trodden, harsh world that it probably really was. All of this put together makes for some fine drama, tense sequences and strong characterisations with Christian Bale surprisingly coming out on top over Russell Crowe, who put in a fine performance himself.

THE BAD: Some of the character motivations, particularly towards the climax lean strongly towards the incredible side. Russell Crowe from the outset plays a bad guy who despite having a sense of charm does not have a strong sense of decency. Towards the end, through some 'interesting' dialogue, we are guided to the notion that he does have a heart inside but without the sense of build-up, or any sign before hand that it was going to happen, the whole thing comes across forced. As a result, the ending where Crowe kills his own posse for killing Dan is not as strong as what it could have been. On the flip side, Crowe is trying so hard to escape throughout the film that by the end when he is given that chance, he instead decides to help Dan gain his self-respect and the respect of his son by allowing Dan to get him on the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. Sure he may be the bad guy with the heart but I don't think his 'heart' was that big to allow that (despite the fact that he still manages to escape), especially as so much of the film concentrates on Crowe behaving in the opposite manner.

RATING: 7.5/10

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Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net