3:10 To Yuma Revitalizes the Western Film

I'll be honest-I'm not a big fan of westerns. I never bought into the whole John Wayne mentality, always found it somewhat boring and overly simplistic. There are some westerns I enjoy, however. Unforgiven is not only one of the greatest westerns, but one of the finest films ever made. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is another classic. And Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man features such a unique take on the western genre, combined with a stellar performance from Johnny Depp. But even the spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone never held a lot of appeal for me-could be that I discovered Akira Kurosawa's samurai films before Leone's Man With No Name trilogy.

Still, I'm not opposed to watching a western, even if the genre isn't my favorite. The main draw for 3:10 To Yuma were the names on the marquee-Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Both are great actors who have proven they can play very developed characters and that's what got me into the seat.

3:10 To Yuma is a remake of a 1957 film of the same name, which was an adaptation of a short story written by Elmore Leonard. Dan Evans (Bale) is a poor rancher with a wooden leg who is in danger of losing his land to the railroad. One day, he and his sons stumble upon a robbery-in-progress by infamous outlaw, Ben Wade (Crowe), and his gang. To create a diversion and allow them time to escape, Wade and his gang enter town and his right-hand man, Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), sends the railroad police out to the scene of the crime. Evans encounters Wade in a bar and distracts him long enough for the marshal and his men to enter and apprehend him. The railroad police plan to take Wade to Contention where they'll put him on the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison, but they need men to escort Wade. Two railroad officers, Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts) and Tucker (Kevin Durand) are sent with the group, which also includes an injured bounty hunter, Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda) and Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk). Evans says he'll also accompany Wade for a fee of two hundred dollars. After they depart, Evans' eldest son William (Logan Lerman) catches up with them.

The story is a relatively simple one-escort a prisoner to jail while evading his gang. But what makes it rise above the simplistic story is the development of the characters, particularly Evans and Wade. Unlike traditional westerns with a clear-cut villain, Wade is a very intriguing character who subscribes to his own moral code. At first he seems ruthless and cold-blooded, but as the film progresses, we discover that he's also extremely intelligent, artistic and has a somewhat unique sense of honor. Evans is a seemingly stubborn man only out to earn his money, but again, as the film progresses, he reveals a much more heroic side and his motivations for it. Throughout the film, Wade and Evans develop a unique relationship and a code of honor develops between the two that's very reminiscent of John Woo's classic, The Killer.

That's not to say the Wade/Evans dynamic completely overshadows all else. There's plenty of action found in this movie to send all kinds of action junkies home with a smile on their face. The violence is stylized at some times, but stunningly brutal at others. The film strikes an interesting balance between the spaghetti and revisionist westerns, falling somewhere between the two and featuring a great ending.

Crowe and Bale are fantastic in their roles. As I said before, both men have a history of playing well-developed characters, and they continue with that trend in this film. Bale's performance is a bit understated and Crowe steals the show whenever he's onscreen. The supporting players also throw in their own great performances, especially Tudyk and Fonda.

It doesn't matter if you've been a fan of westerns since the days of John Wayne, or if you couldn't care less about them. If you want to see a good movie, 3:10 To Yuma is one train you won't want to miss.