The film Text copyright (c) Filmverdict 2006-present. Any film titles and artwork used are copyright of their respective owners.
There has been a lot of talk lately about an impending resurgence of the western, based mainly on the dual release of 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Yuma's less than spectacular box office has probably put paid to that notion, though, with studios unlikely to jump on the western bandwagon. Despite that, westerns are worth celebrating when they do come along, especially when they are the quality of this one. Director James Mangold again handles the reigns well, continuing the impressive form of Walk the Line, and earlier, Cop Land and the underrated Identity. Mangold must be well respected amongst acting circles as he always assembles impressive casts, and Yuma is no exception.
The two headlining stars grab the attention. Christian Bale and Russell Crowe are a potentially explosive combination and represent perhaps some of the best acting talent of the current generation. Crowe's status has diminished since his star-making turn in Gladiator and he is need of a hit, but his fading popularity has overshadowed the fact that he is a fine talent, as displayed in films like L.A. Confidential (coincidentally, like Yuma, based on an Elmore Leonard story) and The Insider. His character in Yuma is certainly more attention-grabbing than Bale's, and he gets to have most of the fun - think Robin Hood without the "giving to the poor" part. There are times when he seems to be playing to his bad boy image rather than immersing himself in the character, however, so Bale's understated and layered showing as the de facto hero of the piece is the one that deserves the most praise. The pair share great chemistry, helping to lessen the damage of a slightly erratic stop-start pace in the film's middle section. Also a standout is Ben Foster who plays a cold-blooded killer with relish, delivering a performance a million miles away from his whiny and vaguely pointless turn as Angel in X-Men: The Last Stand.
It's great to see a western that doesn't try to do anything subversive with the genre. Yuma isn't at all revisionist like Unforgiven or Dances With Wolves, and many of the conventions of the western are embraced rather than ignored. It shouldn't come as a surprise that it feels like a western from their 40s and 50s heyday, though, because it is the second time the story has been filmed, the original released almost exactly fifty years ago. The 2007 version still feels very fresh, however, as Mangold makes excellent use of modern techniques to craft some excellent action scenes. The obligatory final shoot-out, while not equal to the similar sequence in Kevin Costner's Open Range (the last major western, released in 2003), still gets the adrenaline pumping. Unfortunately an unmotivated and somewhat inexplicable twist leaves a slightly sour taste but it's not a big enough misstep to derail the film completely. Although Yuma falls short of greatness it is still a fine entry in the almost-forgotten genre.
The summary
3:10 to Yuma is a classy modern western that is enhanced by the enjoyable verbal and physical sparring of its stellar lead pairing.
Agree? Disagree? Say so in the Guestbook!