Humble rancher Christian Bale gets in over his head when he’s asked to escort Russell Crowe out of town in 3:10 to Yuma
Yuma is a remake of the 1957 original, itself based on the 1953 Elmore Leonard story from Dime Western magazine. Happily, director James Mangold (Walk the Line, Cop Land) has done the classic justice, providing a non-stop thrill ride with thought-provoking undercurrents, all brought to life by a powerful cast.
Christian Bale has come up with another top-shelf performance as downtrodden-but-determined rancher Dan Evans. However, it is Russell Crowe who outshines everyone here, with his multifaceted bad guy Ben Wade. This is quite the accomplishment, as the roster also includes an unwavering Peter Fonda, an animalistic Ben Foster and an uncredited Luke Wilson.
The lives of the leads intersect when limping family man Evans witnesses the outlaw’s capture. Deep in debt and quickly losing the respect of his son, he agrees to the $200 payout to help escort Wade from town to the 3:10, a train bound for the Yuma, Arizona prison. The motley crew for this mission includes Fonda’s bounty hunter Byron McElroy, railroad rep Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts) and Alan Tudyk’s Doc Potter (last seen as Reverend Veal in Arrested Development).
This team is in turn pursued by Wade’s boys and his second in command Charlie Prince (Foster), who stops at nothing and shoots at everything. On top of that, there’s the violent Apaches to deal with, as well as the captive himself, whose charisma and killing abilities make him a threat to the team even while he’s handcuffed.
Like the best films of this genre, Yuma’s themes are grand and its characters complex. Morality and the true colours of men come to the surface whenever danger occurs, with the heroes coming off bad just as often as the villians inspire sympathy. Wade in particular showcases hints of a hidden altruism, even saving his captors on several occasions. He is, in many ways, the devil Evans knows.
3:10 To Yuma is at times brutally violent, but also as intelligent as any film this year. Here’s hoping that the upcoming spate of westerns can live up to the bar it’s raised.
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