3:10 to Yuma (2007)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

James Mangold

Writers (WGA):

Halsted Welles (screenplay) and
Michael Brandt (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Western

Tagline:

Time waits for one man

Plot:

A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.

Plot Keywords:

Rancher | Outlaw | Train | Stagecoach | Stagecoach Robbery

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 15 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13	8:00 PM	TMC
Wed. Nov. 18	10:00 PM	TMC

Cast

Russell Crowe	...	Ben Wade
Christian Bale	...	Dan Evans
Logan Lerman	...	William Evans
Dallas Roberts	...	Grayson Butterfield
Ben Foster	...	Charlie Prince
Peter Fonda	...	Byron McElroy
Vinessa Shaw	...	Emma Nelson
Alan Tudyk	...	Doc Potter
Luce Rains	...	Marshal Weathers
Gretchen Mol	...	Alice Evans
Lennie Loftin	...	Glen Hollander
Rio Alexander	...	Campos
Johnny Whitworth	...	Darden
Shawn Howell	...	Jackson (as Shawn D. Howell)
Pat Ricotti	...	Jorgensen

Also Known As:

Three Ten to Yuma (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #43654) | Singapore:PG | Taiwan:R-12 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Norway:15 | Germany:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Argentina:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:13V | Peru:14 | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

Bonanza Creek Ranch - 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

When 'Russell Crowe (I)' was no longer committed to Baz Luhrmann's next film, he actively pursued this film as his next project. James Mangold immediately signed Crowe when Tom Cruise, who was in talks to play Ben Wade, bowed out.

Goofs:

Continuity: The first night camping out, Ben is sitting in the cold night air with just his shirt and vest on. The next morning he is again wearing his jacket. This is rather difficult to explain since he was supposedly handcuffed throughout the night.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alice Evans: [upon hearing Dan cock his rifle] Dan... Maybe it's the wind.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008) (TV)

Thoroughly Enjoyable Remake of a Classic Western

Long ago, I saw the original 3:10 to Yuma featuring Van Heflin and Glen Ford, but I don't remember it well enough to compare it with James Mangold's new remake. Instead, my review will focus exclusively on the new film.

Mangold's film is a tense, traditional western based on an Elmore Leonard story. Leonard is a solid writer, and gave the material upon which the film is based enough background and characterization to permit willful suspension of disbelief. Mangold's film does the same. Our protagonist and antagonist are, respectively, Dan Evans (Bale) and Ben Wade (Crowe). Evans is a would-be rancher and family-man whose family is suffering from a drought and a merciless landlord. Evans and his boys cross paths with notorious outlaw Ben Wade and his gang on their way into town to confront their landlord, and Wade whimsically lets them go. But the connection between these two men and Dan's eldest son is far from over. Eventually Dan will accept an offer made by a railroad agent to help escort Wade to a train headed to Yuma prison, while Wade's crew of murderers dogs their every step.

Two performances stood out for me - Bale and Ben Foster (Charlie Prince). Crowe was good, but it's not clear that he engaged with his role with his usual intensity. There are several very talented actors in supporting roles, and they each pull off the transition to the western genre quite nicely (Alan Tudyk, Logan Lerman, Gretchen Mol, Peter Fonda and others). The film showcases the acting talent very well without losing sight of its straightforward but interesting story.

More often than not, good westerns are at least as much character studies as they are 'shoot-em-ups'. After all, it pretty close to impossible to enjoy a film in which anybody might drop dead at any given time without caring about the people you are watching die, or those doing the killing. Mangold achieves this by drawing on the simple strengths of the original material and allowing relationships to dominate both the story's development and the cinematography. For a western, there is a tremendous amount of dialog in this film, coupled with the usual meaningful stares. Wade is so wily and unpredictable that you really never know what to expect out of him, and his crew is headed up by his loyal and equally nihilistic protégé Charlie Prince. Dan Evans is his polar opposite, and Dan's son is an unusually accurate and complex Hollywood portrayal of a teenager. These and other relationships are the strengths and the medium of the film. When the camera isn't being used to build tension before a battle or showing us a gun-fight, it is establishing relationships and character. And many of the characters and relationships we see are surprising, ambiguous and more than a little ironic.

Highly recommended for western fans.