Catch the "3:10 To Yuma": a Movie Review

Christian Bale may be my favorite modern film star. There is just something about him that seems to signify quality in a movie. I guess I have been a fan since he starred in the much-maligned "Empire of the Sun" as a young boy. Even in movies where the material seems questionable and there are serious flaws, his performance often stands out as something to behold. You have`to admire a performer that can play Batman with all of its silliness and then play a very understated role like the one he plays in the western "3:10 to Yuma."

This`is a remake, as you may already have known. The original starred Glenn Ford as the stagecoach robber and bad-man Ben Wade. It was made in the 1950s and, as far`as westerns go, it's a pretty good movie. I watched it recently. I could understand the comparisons I had read between that movie and "High Noon." Both movies are about people destined to come up against great odds and face them almost totally alone. Both movies involve being somewhere at a certain time and clocks play a very important role throughout.

In this version Ben Wade is played by the always-dynamic Russell Crowe. Crowe's personal life and temper gets so much press, that it is easy to forget was a remarkable actor he is. The man is intense. This is probably why he tends to throw phones at people when he gets mad. He takes everything he does, from the movie roles to making phone calls,very seriously.

Bale plays a rancher named Dan. He was wounded in the Civil War and lost much of one of his legs. He has an artificial leg and he gets around on it very well. However, this ranch is failing. The man who owns the property has dammed up the river that used to run through the land. He owes money because he has had to choose between making payments and paying for medicine for his youngest son. His older son thinks of him as a failure and spends his time reading the dime novels that make glorious fiction out of the villainous deeds of Ben Wade.

Wade is without mercy. His gang is without mercy. He carries a black gun that has a gold crucifix molded onto the butt that is known as "The Hand of God." His right hand man may actually be in love with him, and follows him with a fanatical devotion that only some cult leaders may have seen before.

Near the beginning of the movie Wade and his gang attach an armored stage coach that has been plated, fitted with a man with a shotgun and a gatling gun in the back for good measure. Despite this, the gang manages to take it down, massacre nearly all of those on board, and then divide up the money. The gang heads into town and this is where Wade stays a little too long and ends up in custodyn

The towns people know they have to get Wade out of town as soon as possible because they know Wade's gang will burn the town down to get to him. So, they hatch a plan to get him to a town called Contention where they can put him on the 3:10 train to Yuma penitentiary.

Dan ends up going along for the promise of two hundred dollars. He needs that money to pay down his debts and try and keep his land. With the railroad coming through, he has already been told that the land is worth more with him off of it, but he has dreams of handing that land down to his sons.

An entire posse sets out to bring Wade to the train. The movie follows them. Peter Fonda plays a bounty hunter and proves that if you need a grizzled old bounty hunter for your western, you should probably contact Fonda. Slowly the posse is whittled down. Before too long you know it will be just Dan and the man he is trying to bring to justice and if you can't figure that out before you see the movie then maybe you need to see a different movie.

The performances are just outstanding here all the way around. Bale gives a very understated but memorable performance. He is a man clinging to his ranch and trying to gain some pride in the eyes of his oldest son who thinks he is a coward. Before too long it becomes painfully obvious that the money is not the real reason he is determined to bring Wade to justice. Sometimes there are bigger things than money.

Crowe is outstanding as well. Wade is indeed evil. He does`little that is forgivable throughout the film. Then the end comes and there is a sudden spark of humanity in him. It is a performance as good`as any he has given so far and one very worthy of note.

People are often calling for the death of the western. I don't think it has ever really died. There are outstanding westerns`still being made these days. "The Proposition" is one.. "Open Range" was another. This is still another.

When I watched the original not too long ago I was struck by how slowly paced it was. There seemed to be endless minutes spent with just two men talking. The modern version is actually longer, has more scenes and probably spends more minutes with men just talking. Still, there was a kind of kinetic energy throughout the movie that made it seem like it was hurtling forward.

I have been a fan of westerns almost all of my life. I have seen some very good ones and seen a few bad ones. I am very glad to say that "3:10 to Yuma" is one of the very good ones.