3:10 to Yuma

Director: James Mangold

Release Date: 31^st January, 2008

Lead Actor: Russell Crowe

Running Time: 122 mins

Genre: Western

Review by Fraser Green

Now the third western film to recently hit the screen, 3:10 to Yuma is a re-make of the 1957 film of the same title, but doesn’t really offer anything substantial. Starring Russell Crowe (Gladiator, American Gangster), Christian Bale (The Prestige, Equilibrium), Logan Lurman (The Butterfly Effect) and Dallas Roberts (Walk the Line) this line up is reasonable with Roberts being the most impressive.

A rancher named Dan Evans (Christian Bale) struggles to support his farm and family during a long drought. Desperately needing money to build a well, he takes an assignment to transport a notorious felon, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) in the hands of authorities, to Yuma for imprisonment. But, once the two meet, the criminal tries to tempt him with, in exchange for allowing him to escape, an offer of much more money than the rancher ever expected. Not to forget, Wade’s gang following in his tracks to bring him back out of custody.

This film can provide some entertainment, but the suspense in minimal and the plot isn’t too absorbing. Even though it is obvious that Russell Crowe’s character is no doubt a horrible criminal, he second in the gang, Dallas Roberts’ character, is even more horrific and displays a much more sickening quality. He also plays it better than Crowe. I didn’t feel much suspense in this and did find the story that the story could be more interesting. However, the action scenes are well executed and I did like the ending, from a certain point of view. James Mangold (Walk the Line) is a talented director, but I wouldn’t say this is his best work.

My Rating: 3 stars

~ by cade14 on January 31, 2008.