Writer: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Elmore Leonard (based on his short story)
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, Vinessa Shaw, Alan Tudyk, Kevin Durand, Luc Rains, Gretchen Mol, Luke Wilson
Rating: R
Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: January 8, 2008

Whenever I hear the name Mangold in any capacity, I think of my elementary school principal, Mr. Mangold. He was a terrifying man who, when I was a Kindergartener, towered over me, Slimfast can in hand and a sour expression on his face. I had to go to his office with my best friend once to report that Greg, a hyperactive, out of control classmate, broke all my crayons in half. I can only hope the cast of 3:10 to Yuma dealt with a much happier, friendlier, director in James Mangold, because if these two Mangolds happen to resemble one another, I feel sorry for them.

Luckily, James Mangold has more skills than my principal ever had, especially when it comes to directing a good movie. He did it with the freakishly entertaining Girl Interrupted and the cinematic, award-winning Walk the Line. So, why couldn’t he do the same thing with a Western?

I don’t know what it is about this year, but a slew of Westerns came out all around the same time; from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford to No Country for Old Men. I guess you could say 2007 was the year of the Westerns, again. Well…sort of. The way I see it, the Western really hasn’t made a comeback since the height of its popularity back in the 1960s, but there have been many valiant efforts to revive the genre and these last three films have definitely given it a new wind, albeit briefly.

So, what gave James Mangold the confidence to make a Western, especially one that was a remake of the 1957 movie by the same name? I guess he’s the only one who can truly answer that question. Adapted from the short story 3:10 to Yuma, by Elmore Leonard, both movies feature a decent cast, good direction, and a similarly interesting plot line. They’re based on the same story so they should. I’ m not usually fond of remakes, especially of movies I’ve seen.

Since I’m not a big fan of Westerns, I really have nothing to compare 3:10 to Yuma to and that suits me just fine. I was able to judge the movie on its own merits, without being clouded by judgments on the first adaptation, and quite frankly, I kind of liked Mangold’s take on it. You can take that for what it’s worth.

Release Information:
3:10 to Yuma was originally going to be released on October 5, 2007. However, with the announcement of the releases of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on September 15, 2008 and No Country for Old Men, in early November, Lionsgate decided to push up the release date. 3:10 to Yuma premiered in over 2,500 theaters nationwide on September 7, 2007. To date, it has grossed more than $60 million dollars worldwide and in it’s opening weekend, it went undisputed as #1 at the box office.

Lionsgate has allowed 3:10 to Yuma to be released before the other Westerns thanks to its early debut in theaters. The reasoning behind this was so all of the other Westerns would have to be compared to 3:10 to Yuma. Of course, there are people like me, who try not to compare films. I’d rather judge them on their own merit, not on how they stack up against others in the genre. Well, at least not when I can help it. 3:10 to Yuma comes to retailers on January 8, 2008. You can order a copy on Amazon for $19.49.

The 3:10 to Yuma Plot
Did I mention I’m neither a fan of remakes or Westerns? I’m sure I already have. Nevertheless, I found 3:10 to Yuma to be interesting. My biggest problem with Westerns is that I find them to be over-acted, over-dramatized, and, at times, just plain boring. When my Grandma, who happens to be 95, said she loved John Wayne, I honestly never believed it was because of his ability to entertain in Westerns (Grandma’s not the Western type) any more than I believed her love of Elvis was for his singing.

That being said, 3:10 to Yuma is actually an enjoyable movie. There’s a lot of action, a cohesive plot, and interesting, multi-faceted characters. In whole, the entire production is enough to appeal to someone who may not like Westerns as well as appease the genre’s most loyal fans. The story begins with one of the most interesting characters I’ve seen this year.

Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a poor farmer who also happens to be a disabled veteran of the Civil War. The entire characterization of Dan is of a weak man. His wife, Alice (Gretchen Mol) has presumably kicked him out of their bed, he’s in debt up to his ears, and his own sons, William (Logan Lerman) and Mark (Ben Petry) don’t respect him. In the beginning of the film, Dan awakens to find his barn on fire. It has been set ablaze by two men who work for a man he owes money to, Glen Hollander (Lennie Loftin). Unable to do anything, Evans takes the loss, much to the chagrin of his family.

The next day, Dan is out herding cattle with his two sons. They find that an outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his gang have decided to use their cattle to block the road. Their plan is to rob an armored stagecoach and as they do, Ben discovers the family watching him. Since the boys and their father aren’t a threat to the gang, Ben let’s them live. He also takes some of their horses. He will leave them tied to a tree that is on the road to Bisbee, Arizona. After leaving to go celebrate the successful ambush, Ben and his gang drink it up at the town saloon.

In the meantime, a lone survivor, a bounty hunter by the name of Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda) has emerged from the stagecoach robbery. When railroad guards show up, Dan tells them they can find Ben in Bisbee. McElroy is injured so in Bisbee, Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk) treats his injuries. As the guards go off to find Ben, Dan confronts Hollander, who tells him he plans to sell his land to the railroad. Dan had originally thought Hollander would be granting him water rights on the land, but feeling betrayed the two men fight in the local saloon. It is here where Dan finds Ben having a merry time. As the two men talk, the railroad guards are able to sneak up on him and arrest him.

Dan is hired with three other men (two of whom are McElroy and Doc Potter) to guard Ben for $200. Their job is going to be to make sure he gets to the town of Contention. There, he can catch the 3:10 PM train to Yuma, where he will be locked up in the local prison. Now that Ben is gone, his gang is led by Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), who can only be described as insane. To distract Prince and his gang, a convoy is being sent in their direction, while the real wagon carrying the men to Contention makes its escape from the Evans home.

From there, the action begins, as if it hadn’t already. There is a confrontation with a Native American tribe, a confrontation or two with Prince and the gang, time is spent in a Chinese laborer concentration camp, there are multiple deaths, and the lead characters both get wounded, once or twice. All in all, the plot is propelled forward by the constant movement of the story and the action portrayed on screen.

The acting cannot get any better. Despite having some problems in his real time life, Russell Crowe really does know how to set things on fire, on screen. He has an on screen chemistry with Bale that appears, despite the characters they are playing, almost like a brotherly camaraderie. While Russell gives one great performance, it is Bale that sticks out as making the show. Sure, Russell is the bad boy, but Bale displays a masculine vulnerability not often seen in Westerns.

The script was tight for the most part though there were some small issues with characterization choices. I don’t know too many bad guys in the old west who could write, let alone be artistic. Ben Wade’s penchant for drawing is not only laughable, it’s one of the few things that is out of place. Add that to the fact that the disabled Evans seems to have no problem with his mobility at times and there were a few tweaks that should have been done that weren’t. Needless to say, these things are small enough that forgiving Mangold for not fixing them is easy enough to do when watching 3:10 to Yuma.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
3:10 to Yuma is beautiful. The DVD is available in widescreen, full frames, and Blu Ray. This review deals with the widescreen release. The anamorphic widescreen picture is delivered at an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. There isn’t any color bleeding. Everything is accentuated nicely. Flesh colors look natural. The images are sharp. There really isn’t any fuzz, softness, or compression errors worth complaining about.

When it comes to sound, the Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound track is mixed to perfection. With action movies, especially Westerns, a lot of care has to be taken to ensure the sounds are balanced. This mix did a good job of this and everything comes through clearly. Closed Captioning is available for the hearing impaired and subtitles are presented in both English and Spanish.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
The first feature on the 3:10 to Yuma DVD is an audio commentary with James Mangold. This offers some interesting insight into his thought process when directing the movie and his vision for the film. There is a making of featurette that further explores these topics and the making of 3:10 to Yuma. The featurette is called “Destination Yuma”. There is also another featurette called “An Epic Explored” as well as a documentary, “Outlaws, Gangs, and Posses”. Finally, there are some deleted scenes. Overall, there’s a nice mix of material here, so if you’re a fan of extras, you should be satisfied.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
3:10 to Yuma isn’t the typical Western and yet it is. There are gun battles, old west saloon scenes, sweeping views of the land, and the ultimate showdown where good takes on evil. However, who is good and who is evil becomes blurred as two men, one good and one bad, find a connection with one another. That kind of connection can make a man do crazy things. If you like unexpected endings, action, adventure, and stories that make you question whether you’re rooting for the good guy or the bad guy then 3:10 to Yuma is the movie you need to see. For everyone else, rent this one first.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: 3:10 to Yuma, Lionsgate, Western, DVD Review, Academy Award Nominated, Movie, Christian Bale, Russell Crowe

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