Review 260: 3:10 to Yuma

3:10 to Yuma is a great Western and excellently crafted fascinating character study.

The rancher Daniel Evans (Christian Bale), who lost part of his leg in the Civil War, is broken and owing a large amount to a powerful man in Bisbee. When the outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is captured after the heist of a stagecoach, Dan offers to escort the cold blood killer to the city of Contention to take the 3:10 PM train to Yuma to be sent to trial. In return, he would receive US$ 200,00, enough to save his land and give a better life to his family. During their journey, Ben gets closer to Dan while his gang of criminals follows the group to rescue their boss.

The plot is fantastic, it tells the story of two men. Two very different men for that matter who appear to have nothing in common with each other and who are forced together.

What makes this film work is that it's a fantastic morality play. Daniel Evans is the one who represents good: He's a crippled Civil War veteran turned rancher who is struggling to provide for his family and at the same time they don't respect him. As a result of Ben Wade is the only person who he can match and its fascinating to watch these two men talk. Eventually we see him become a braver person and become a hero.

Ben Wade, on the other hand, initially represents evil but over time as he spends time with his captives, we find that he may not be as bad as we first suspect him to be and in the end we see him do an act of real nobility. Also it's wonderful to watch his character get into other peoples head.

Director James Mangold's direction is sharp, the cinematography is beautiful and captures the beauty of the West. The effects are awesome, the score by Marco Beltrami is fantastic, the production design is brilliant (I personally think this film so captures the brutality, poverty and simple living style of Western life). The costumes are majestic, the make up is rich, the props are wonderfully crafted, the sound effects are terrific, the stunt work is amazing, the action scenes are e the scenery is breathtaking and the ending was superb.

The acting is tremendous, Christian Bale and Russell Crowe are electric in their respective roles, the way they depict their characters maturity is staggering. Logan Lerman is very strong playing Dan's son Will, the way the two characters grow closer and they way he looks up to Evans is spellbinding, Ben Foster is a nasty villain and the rest of the cast is great.

3:10 to Yuma is a first rate Western and a film that really gets you thinking-which is great, 4.5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.