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This is a solid good film, but not a "Forgiven". The story's subplots wandered around in discontinuity, confusing me at times and detracting from the progression of the main story to the point of nearly annoying me. It was a fine idea to try to bring more character development and sense of "how-the-west-really-was" into this film than were part of the original film, but the way it was done cost this film the sustained suspense evoked in the original film. There were several places in this one I thought cost them the suspense factor that the original had. One was the run & shoot chase scene through the unfinished buildings that replaced the original "walk down mainstreet to the station" scene. One of the bad things that happens to audiences in a movie where a prolonged running shootout occurs is that after just so many bad guy "missed shots" occur, you are left with a surreal feeling that this is all made up Hollywood stuff that has no purpose except to showcase CG/special effects stunts. The audience knows how it is going to end so what is the plot point? I can't help thinking the director didn't really start out wanting to run that segment of the film in that way. But having run out of money to finish the town set, he had no proper mainstreet to do the walk-down. I think the movie's suspense factor suffered significantly from this compromise chase sequence, and to a lesser extent from extended background scenes and character development digressions. Having aired my main complaint, let me go on with the minor one. I have to say that as good as the acting was, the scripted interplay between the characters of Ben Wade and Dan Evans was less edgy than I thought it should have, and know it could have been. Certainly, it was less edgy than in the original movie. Russell Crow is no Glenn Ford, whose portrayal in the original 3:10 I mark up there on the malevolently creepy scale right along with Robert Mitchum's portrayal of 'Preacher' Harry Powell in "Night of the Hunter". I remember being truly afraid of having nightmares of both portrayals when I first saw those two movies. On the other hand, the original movie did leave me wondering why in the world Glenn Ford would get back on the train after the final shootout. There is no doubt "why" in this film. And there is very little doubt that, giving himself over to the jailer is but a symbolic jesture for Ben Wade, to show the respect he acquired for Dan Evans. But when he whistles for his horse from the jail car cell as the train pulls out, you understand he has every intention of not being in that jail car any longer than it takes to get out of sight of the town. And you know he can do it if he wants to. You can also project in your imagination the terrible possibility that when he is free again, Ben Wade would be fixated enough on Dan Evan's widow to seek her out and in an attempt to protect her from the railroaders and/or possess her, complete the destruction of that family, too. Despite the tweeking of the dialog, character development and scenery and the acting chops of Russell Crow, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk and Logan Lerman really making this film a winner, all this "fleshing out" deminished the emotional impact of the movie for me. In the original, you can't quite grasp why Wade does what he does in the final scenes, so you left the theater with this unsettled feeling that haunted you for a while. Not so this film; I left content.Read full review
Uneven yet entertaining, 3:10 To Yuma follows old-west gunslingers as they attempt to transport a notorious criminal to a train station - with the ongoing presence of the criminals gang complicating matters. It's clear almost immediately that 3:10 To Yuma, as compelling as it sporadically is, would've benefited from a much shorter running time, as the film proves unable to hold my interest for the entirety of the two hours. This is despite the inclusion of several great sequences, including all the expected accoutrements of the western genre (ie shoot-outs, stagecoach chases, etc). The overly talky vibe is initially offset by the strength of the various performances, with great turns from Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, and particularly Ben Foster effectively injecting the proceedings with more depth than I might've anticipated. It's worth noting that the degree to which Crowe's villainous character has been portrayed as a thug with a heart of gold does become fairly preposterous, as his Ben Wade ultimately seems to be a little too helpful in sealing his own destruction. Still, 3:10 To Yuma is a solid film that dosen't reinvent the western yet is engaging enough to satisfy fans of the genre.Read full review
The scenery's grand and wide-open, the motivations primal, and the bad guys wear black hats (well, mostly anyway) in this first of the season's big Westerns. And there's a climactic shootout, you'll be glad to know, that justifies all the sitting around the characters do while they wait for that titular train. Russell Crowe's the bad guy, a ruthless killer who sketches birds and pretty girls when he and his gang aren't slaughtering innocents and robbing stagecoaches equipped with crankable machine guns. Christian Bale is the troubled but principled rancher who, for a variety of painstakingly established reasons, will escort Crowe to the prison cell on the first car of the Yuma-bound 3:10 train, come hell or high noon. Nothing terribly original happens in this remake of a 1957 semi-classic that starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, but everything happens smoothly and with grace. Director James Mangold (Walk the Line) makes the emotions count and keeps the action fluid. And he's had the wit to allow Ben Foster (who was an arty wimp on Six Feet Under and sprouted an angel's wings in the latest X-Men extravaganza) to steal every scene he walks into — as the most implacably murderous of Crowe's henchmen.Read full review
This is a prime example of why I say Westerns are under rated. This movie is the best Western to come out since "Open Range." It's wonderfully written and adapted from the original, the acting is great, the characters are very real, as is the story. The story is in a nutshell, a farmer's land is about to be taken by "the Railroad" and to prevent this he takes a job helping to guard a robber/murderer. From there it's the farmer and a handful of men trying to avoid getting killed by the robber's gang, and get him on the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison, where he'll be hanged for his crimes. Very dramatic turns, and a true, realistic old west atmosphere accompanied by great acting, which includes actors you know (you might not know names, but you will know faces), playing out a great story make "3:10 to Yuma" one of my favorite Westerns of all time. Other titles I would recommend to people who like this movie are... Open Range Brokeback Mountain Tombstone Shanghai Noon Maverick American Outlaws If this review was helpful, insightful or informative, please rate it accordingly to help other eBay members see it. Check out my other reviews. I regularly review Video Games, Manga, Anime, Horror & Pro Wrestling DVDs, so be sure to check!! Want me to review something? Let me know!!! Thanks everyone!!!!Read full review
Rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) agrees to transport the captured outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to the nearest town with a rail station, where they will wait for a train to court in Yuma. Holed up in the hotel near the station, Wade wreaks psychological havoc on Evans, while Wades henchmen plan their next move. Unknown to Evans is the fact that Wade gains a overwhelming respect for the rancher during the time they spend together. A great surprise ending-even if you have watched the 1957 edition of this movie-is on hand. It has a great deal of action to it-where the 1957 edition was docile and some- what questioning as to whether Rancher Evans was dead or alive-here there is no question. Director James Mangold adds another good movie to his credits which is long already (Walk the Line, Identity, Kate & Leopold, Copland, etc).Read full review
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