3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Rancher Dan Evans heads into Bisbee to clear up issues concerning the sale of his land when he witnesses the closing events of a stagecoach robbery led by famed outlaw Ben Wade. Shortly thereafter, Wade is captured by the law in Bisbee and Evans finds himself one of the escorts who will take Wade to the 3:10 to Yuma train in Contention for the reward of $200. Evans's effort to take Wade to the station is in part an effort to save his land but also part of an inner battle to determine whether he can be more than just a naive rancher in the eyes of his impetuous and gunslinging son William Evans. The transport to Contention is hazardous and filled with ambushes by Indians, pursuits by Wade's vengeful gang and Wade's own conniving and surreptitious demeanor that makes the ride all the more intense. - synopsis from IMDB

 Cast  - full listing

• Russell Crowe  
• Christian Bale  
• Ben Foster  
• Logan Lerman  
• Peter Fonda  

 Genres

drama, action

 Facts & Figures

Directed by James Mangold.

Rated 7.7 on IMDB from 247400 votes.

Runtime: 122 min.

 Review

Do you really need to see a western? Probably not, but you need to see 3:10 to Yuma. It’s great to see more of Christian Bale’s face so we can see how well he can act. Add a great performance by Russell Crowe to the mix, an engaging story and scenery that’s properly done, and you’re in for a thrilling movie.

The ending to the story poses questions. It took me a couple of days and reading some opinions to make up my mind. Fortunately (for me mostly) it swung the right way. I guess the fact I found the actors very believable helped me to accept the perhaps slightly cheesy outcome at first. But the more I think about it, the more layers there seem to be.

But wait! There’s more than the above worth seeing. I had started to doubt the bad guys we have to put up with in recent movies, such as the seriously underachieving Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Of course we had a magnificent Joker (“I will make this pencil disappear. Tadaaaaa!”) in The Dark Knight. But if you need some more, you need to see this one. Charlie Prince played by Ben Foster would be my pick for any best supporting actor award this year. Excellent stuff!

Seen: 21 Sep 2008