3:10 to Yuma

As the saying goes, they don't make things like they used to. American cars, game shows, appliances.

That's sort of been the case with Hollywood Westerns. Not much in the last 40 years can compare with the classics like Shane, The Searchers, and Butch Cassidy. That said, at least, there hasn't been an 'old fashioned' Hollywood western as good as 3:10 To Yuma since Unforgiven back in '92.

That's not entirely fair to say however, as this year's version of 3:10 to Yuma is in fact a remake of the 1957 classic of the same name. This movie, from what I gather, stays pretty faithful to the original, right up to the rather odd ending.

The movie stars Christian Bale as Dan Evans, a strapped-for-cash down-on-his-luck rancher who manages to cross paths with badass outlaw Ben Wade, played absolutely brilliantly by Russell Crowe. In exchange for the reward money offered for his capture, Bale's character must help escort Ben Wade to the 3:10 train to the Yuma prison. (And now you know where the title comes from.)

Christian Bale has become quite adept at playing the weak, distraught, pitiful man (See: The Machinist, Rescue Dawn), and he plays it well here in a solid performance. The movie, in what would have been a fairly average shoot-em-up gunfight western, is taken to a much higher level by the mesmerizing performance of Crowe.

I used to hate Russell Crowe - at least his off-screen personality. I still sort of do, but with every role he takes on, his on-screen acting genius is further revealed. Think about it, has he turned in a bad performance in recent memory? I mean, not only is he good, he's versatile. A detective, an outlaw, a boxer, a naval commander, a genius, and a gladiator.

And, as with his other movies, he takes over 3:10 to Yuma. This movie is about him. For all the action in this movie (and there is a lot), the most memorable scenes are those between Crowe and Bale, playing off each others stone cold cynicism. Crowe plays the bad guy so well that by the end of the movie, we find ourselves rather confused about our feelings toward him. And the rather unexpected ending just adds to that confusion.

For all the strong acting and great cinematography (this is a great looking movie), the plot sort of fell apart for me at the end. Not to spoil anything, but the final climactic scene is a prolonged shootout a-la James Bond films where characters dodge thousands of bullets and should have died 10 times over. The worst part is that the whole scene is really rather pointless anyway, unless you buy into the "emotional" necessity of it (spoiler: a father "proving himself" to his son.) And in the very final scene, a main character does something so unexpected that it almost seems to go against the logic of the entire film, unless I just misread something along the way. The ending may not sit well with some, and in a few days time or after another viewing it might make sense, but for me it was flawed.

3:10 to Yuma is still very entertaining and even thought provoking, which is rare for a western. Russell Crowe's creation of a Wild West Outlaw alone is worth the viewing.

"3:10 to Yuma" at Rotten Tomoatoes - 88%
"3:10 to Yuma" at IMDB