Plot When notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) is captured, a posse is thrown together - including penniless rancher Dan Evans (Bale) - to escort
him to the town of Contention, where the 3:10 train to Yuma prison will arrive.
Review
It’s an unwritten law in Hollywood that, once a star gets to a certain level of paycheque, it’s nigh-on impossible for them to play a balls-out, ruthless bad guy. Sure, their character can commit evil, but only if they’re also made layered, sensitive and preferably conflicted.
See, for example, Collateral, in which Tom Cruise’s hitman was somewhat redeemed by a love of jazz and the existential urge to find his place in the universe. Likewise, in this James Mangold Western, Russell Crowe’s black-hatted, black-hearted outlaw Ben Wade is the sort of rotter who can murder a defenceless man in his sleep, but also an artist, sketching during spare moments. He loves and understands women. And even when he’s evildoing, he has a twinkle in his eye that tells you that - hey! - he’s not all bad.
The mention of Collateral wasn’t accidental: that movie was written by Stuart Beattie, who wrote 3:10 To Yuma’s final draft. Indeed, 3:10 comes on like a Wild West version of Collateral, with the villain, so seemingly secure in his own skin, pushing a wimpy underachiever - Christian Bale’s desperate, disabled rancher, Dan Evans - into finally making a stand, while revealing severe deficiencies in his own approach to life.
A remake of the 1957 Delmer Daves Western, it retains the High Noon-in-reverse B-movie trappings, but ups the two-hander to A-list status and adds a new middle section that tracks the progress of the small posse shepherding Wade to the titular prison train.
It’s an extended sequence that takes in an Apache attack and several brutal murders, and allows Mangold to shade the supporting roles (Ben Foster’s psychotic gunslinger and Peter Fonda’s gnarled McElroy are standouts). Yet the movie always comes back to the interplay between Bale and Crowe, in scenes laced with a mutual respect that, you sense, stems more from the actors themselves than the characters.
At first, Evans is bland compared to the broad, colourful palette of Wade. But Bale, greasy and put-upon, manages to make the hobbling Evans, tortured by his failure to support his family, likeable, noble and sympathetic as he finds that there’s more to marshalling Wade than mere money.
Still, this is Crowe’s movie. He invests Wade with a callous streak - “Even bad men love their mothers,” he quips, before pushing someone off a cliff - but also flashes of humanity, as he begins to like Evans almost despite himself. As we said, Wade’s clearly not all bad, but the real skill in Crowe’s performance is that he keeps us guessing, as Wade tries manfully to resist the redemption he can feel tugging at him.
Then, Mangold has always been an actors’ director (just ask Reese Witherspoon). Sadly, though, he doesn’t quite deliver on the action front, particularly in the final shoot-out. Despite the inbuilt ticking clock, there’s precious little tension as the two men race towards their destiny through a shower of squibs and splinters - and then, out of nowhere, comes a character development so baffling that it feels like Mangold left out a scene, Grindhouse-style.
It’s a real shame to see this otherwise solid train derail so late in the day.
Verdict A decent Western, attractive mainly because of the acting duel between the straight-shooting Bale and the untamed Crowe.
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Average user rating for 3:10 To Yuma
not sure about this rating, the ending felt fine to me and any other problems are easily compensated for by the clear technical competence of the camera and sound crews. the ending could have been more tense i suppose, but it was about as exciting as a big shoot-out could reasonably be in a western, seeing as a duel thing with just two of them facing off would have been out of place and cliche^d ... Read More
Really liked it, the ending (which I happen to read about before viewing) didn't come across as too out-of-place, I agree that it feels too forced given all that happens before - but I don't think it detracts from the film's enjoyment. Bale is very good and Crowe is excellent (has he ever not been?) and the whole thing moves at a great pace, the action is unspectacular, but fun. (I don't think westerns can get away with having OTT sequences) ... Read More
Well acted, the main characters were three dimensional and entertaining. Highlight of the action is Crowe taking out 3 Apache indians. Other than that the only redeeming feature is that Crowe and Bale look good during the action sequences but the adfrenalin rush provided in the Batman films, Gladiator and Master and Commander. Good interactions between Bale and Crowe are the beswt parts of he film. Crowe channels his Maximus for the badass impact but his character bears similarities to his Preac... Read More
Well acted, the main characters were three dimensional and entertaining. Highlight of the action is Crowe taking out 3 Apache indians. Other than that the only redeeming feature is that Crowe and Bale look good during the action sequences but the adfrenalin rush provided in the Batman films, Gladiator and Master and Commander. Good interactions between Bale and Crowe are the beswt parts of he film. Crowe channels his Maximus for the badass impact but his character bears similarities to his Preac... Read More
This film has everything one could reasonably ask for: a perfect cast, with stand-out performances from the ever-trustworthy Crowe and Bale (a great pairing), Lerman and Foster; beautiful photography, a script which holds you to the final reel and a terrific score by Beltrami. Those who carp at the ending have surely never seen Angels with Dirty Faces: I thought it brought the film to a satisfying and well-rounded conclusion ... Read More
I think the film did express a (reasonably) gradual build up of respect between Evans and Wade, however I agree that it didn't make sense for him to so quickly turn on his own gang, as the Empire review says, it felt like there was a scene missing. I don't think Wade was supposed to be fully reformed, he remarks that he has escaped from that prison twice and he whistles for his horse, suggesting he will try to escape again. He gets on the train out of the respect for Evans, but does not plan to ... Read More
the ending was, as fluke said....total WTF?
it was completely unbelievable, completely out of character and cringworthy as hell.
and it got worse, not only does he start killing his own crew, but they inexplicedly start fighting each other, and then at the very end, Wade walks onto the train??
I though he was meant to be a ruthless murderer, noway did Bale and his son manage to transform him into this regret humanatarian.
stupid, stupid, stupid.
I thought at first this film showed a l... Read More
I think films stand or fall on their internal logic - if someone does something completely out of character (as I feel Wade did) it diminishes the whole experience because it's a contrivance.
It didn't ruin the film for me because up till that point it was still a good Western but it definately knocked it down in my estimation. ... Read More
Why are we trying to objectify the ending? Wade did what he did and thats enough for us. It was a great film and it's natural that the audience will want to better understand the character's motivation but just because you 'can't fathom why' doesn't make it 'a shocking ending' that 'ruined the film'. In a movie like this you meet a character at a certain point in their life and then follow them for a short time, during which you should get some insight into their personality, ... Read More
I thought this was excellent. Top notch acting and script, great score.
Crowe, Bale and especially foster were all fantastic. Heartily recommended.
I liked the ending, so it was a bit out of the ordinary or a stretch to think of Wades reasonings, but I thought it gave the movie a nice turn out.
... Read More
Classic
Excellent
Good
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Tragic
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