by Daniel Johnson

Created on: September 25, 2007

3:10 TO YUMA (Dir. James Mangold, 2007) I don't want to spend much of this review addressing the state of the modern Western like so many critics I'll just say that it's a genre that will never die (see Deadwood and the upcoming THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES). Those prematurely eulogizing it are discounting the allure of that period of history - tales with a backdrop of a lawless land that stretches to infinity will always be told. The tale told in James Mangold's (WALK THE LINE) 3:10 TO YUMA is told very well especially for a remake. I haven't seen the original so I can't compare but reasonably I am very skeptical about remakes so I was pleasantly surprised at how strong a movie this was. Christian Bale plays a down on his luck rancher who takes on the daunting task of transporting a villainous fast drawing outlaw (Russell Crowe) across country. The film's title is their destination a scheduled train with a prison car that will supposedly take Crowe to be tried and hung. Obstacles aplenty surround Bale and his posse (including Peter Fonda) Crowe's murderous gang close behind set on freeing him, dangerous Indian territory, and the conniving overly confident Crowe himself. As Ben Wade who you'll know from the trail of the dead Crowe puts in a career best performance. He perfects the kind of evil man who laughs through bloody teeth when being punched in face, quotes ominous Bible passages, and never flickers for an instant in any hostile predicament. As an actor though he's surely met his match with Christian Bale. Adding another sharp intense performance to an incredibly impressive roster, Bale makes this project fly and should be rewarded come Oscar time. Far more than a genre exercise or a modernized re-imagining 3:10 TO YUMA is one of the best films of the year. So forget about all the "death of the Western" diatribes and just savor the scenery.

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