A barn burns, a stagecoach is robbed, and several lawmen (Pinkertons) are killed...drawing two very different men together. After his barn is burned to the ground, Dan Evans (Bale) needs money to save his family and his dying farm. Meanwhile outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) and his cronies have successfully robbed the stagecoach and killed all but one of the Pinkertons standing in their way. After celebrating, Wade is captured and a team is formed to take him to justice: transport him to the train station (a 3 day trip) to board a train bound for the prison in Yuma. A random group of men form the posse to transport Wade. Dan volunteers for the reward money, Byron (Fonda) is the head Pinkerton who has been tracking Wade for a long time, Doc Potter (Tudyk) to take care of Byron's wounds, Butterfield (Roberts) the head of the local railroad, Tucker (Kevin Durand) the muscle with a big mouth, and Dan's hot-headed son William (Lerman) who is ashamed of his father.
As the posse heads towards the station, they are pursued by Wade's cronies, led by his menacing second-in-command Charlie (Foster), leaving destruction and death in their wake. Wade is smart, smarter than the majority of his captors, and uses that knowledge to push their buttons and using their emotions to his advantage. It becomes a battle of bullets and of wills (Dan or Wade). Who will survive the trip to the station?
The story is rather simple, but it isn't a simple film. It is not predictable...although it is reminiscent of "High Noon." In a time when western style films are not made, more accurately, they are not made well; "3:10 to Yuma" recalls the heyday of westerns, while still reflecting modern sensibilities. Wade wears the customary black clothing (and owns a black hat, although he is hatless for the majority of the film), but overall the lines between good and evil are blurred. It is clear that Christian Bale is the hero and Russell Crowe is the main villain, but both men lose their scenes (and the film as a whole) to the antics of Ben Foster as Charlie. He commands the screen with his performance: people believe his words, and he wears a verging-on-psychotic expression, keeping you on edge. The two female characters serve minor purposes and then are absent for the remainder of the film (they only appear in the early scenes). There are entertaining / unexpected appearances by actors in minor roles (Peter Fonda is one).
As I mentioned before, this is not a complex story: you already know the basic plotline, catching the 3:10 train to Yuma. It is how the characters develop, and how they reach their destination that make the film work. This is a modern take / homage to old western films...and as such it makes up for all the crappy western films made in the last few years (and the anti-western western films that Clint Eastwood used to make...).
Rent it: I haven't seen the 1950's version of the film (I knew Christian Bale was in this film, and honestly that was enough for me...plus Alan Tudyk is amazing!), so I can't really compare the two, but apparently there are differences in the plotlines of the two films...(I digress).
Dude, it's quotable: the lines don't necessarily translate well, but in the heat of the moment the lines really pack a punch (and are funny / ironic)
3:10 to Yuma (2007) 122 minutes
Rating: R for violence and some language.
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Russell Crowe as Ben Wade
Christian Bale as Dan Evans
Logan Lerman as William Evans
Dallas Roberts as Grayson Butterfield
Ben Foster as Charlie Prince
Peter Fonda as Byron McElroy
Alan Tudyk as Doc Potter
As the posse heads towards the station, they are pursued by Wade's cronies, led by his menacing second-in-command Charlie (Foster), leaving destruction and death in their wake. Wade is smart, smarter than the majority of his captors, and uses that knowledge to push their buttons and using their emotions to his advantage. It becomes a battle of bullets and of wills (Dan or Wade). Who will survive the trip to the station?
The story is rather simple, but it isn't a simple film. It is not predictable...although it is reminiscent of "High Noon." In a time when western style films are not made, more accurately, they are not made well; "3:10 to Yuma" recalls the heyday of westerns, while still reflecting modern sensibilities. Wade wears the customary black clothing (and owns a black hat, although he is hatless for the majority of the film), but overall the lines between good and evil are blurred. It is clear that Christian Bale is the hero and Russell Crowe is the main villain, but both men lose their scenes (and the film as a whole) to the antics of Ben Foster as Charlie. He commands the screen with his performance: people believe his words, and he wears a verging-on-psychotic expression, keeping you on edge. The two female characters serve minor purposes and then are absent for the remainder of the film (they only appear in the early scenes). There are entertaining / unexpected appearances by actors in minor roles (Peter Fonda is one).
As I mentioned before, this is not a complex story: you already know the basic plotline, catching the 3:10 train to Yuma. It is how the characters develop, and how they reach their destination that make the film work. This is a modern take / homage to old western films...and as such it makes up for all the crappy western films made in the last few years (and the anti-western western films that Clint Eastwood used to make...).
Rent it: I haven't seen the 1950's version of the film (I knew Christian Bale was in this film, and honestly that was enough for me...plus Alan Tudyk is amazing!), so I can't really compare the two, but apparently there are differences in the plotlines of the two films...(I digress).
Dude, it's quotable: the lines don't necessarily translate well, but in the heat of the moment the lines really pack a punch (and are funny / ironic)
3:10 to Yuma (2007) 122 minutes
Rating: R for violence and some language.
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Russell Crowe as Ben Wade
Christian Bale as Dan Evans
Logan Lerman as William Evans
Dallas Roberts as Grayson Butterfield
Ben Foster as Charlie Prince
Peter Fonda as Byron McElroy
Alan Tudyk as Doc Potter
I couldnt believe the amount of twists towarss the end, totally unexpected and yet engaging at the same time. A rather different western and yes its definately worth watching. A lot more depth than other wersterns which are basically just shoot em ups
ReplyDelete