3:10 to Yuma Review
by =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Prestonag=E9?= (prestonage AT gmail DOT com)December 21st, 2009
The western genre has been in a steady decline in recent years. It hasn't spawned near as many good films as it used to. But 3:10 to Yuma should be a revival of the genre and please the many Cowboy fans disappointed with other current westerns.
The Wild West's most notorious outlaw, Ben Wade, is finally captured and taken by the local Calgary and Dan Evan's, an impoverished rancher and civil war veteran, to Contention and board the 3:10 to Yuma. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale's trek across the desert is a very commendable mix of western and thriller, which is a rare find. Both men's performances are fervid and filled with life. They are near Oscar-worthy and are backed by an array of well cast, well portraying actors led by Ben Foster who boasts a menacing and authentic execution. The only one I had a problem with was Logan Lerman as William Evan, the son. He was not western material and looks, sounds, and acts like a freakin' cream puffed pussy. James Mangold guides these men through a remake better than the original with swift direction. Admitted, the first hour and a half gets a little tiring and moves slowly, but that all builds to a very emotional and awe- inspiring finale.
3:10 to Yuma is a smart movie that is full of witless and unnecessary dialogue that does move the plot forward, but undoubtedly could have been written better. Characters are well developed and the writing lets you learn more at an ideal speed, as they advance towards their destination.
Gunslinging hasn't been this good in a long time. 3:10 to Yuma brings out the shotguns and freshly renews the showdowns. The action is easily better than any other of its genre in the past few years and is a nice change in strategy to the modernly placed action films. It's not perfect, but 3:10 to Yuma will give you a well spent 2 hours and leave you satisfied as the credits begin to role.
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