Nope, James Mangold’s follow-up to the Oscar winning Walk the Line will not be rejuvenating the Western as 3:10 to Yuma is only mildly entertaining and pretty much “one note” in every aspect from storyline to acting. This is truly a shame as Mangold had two of today’s premiere actors in Russell Crowe and Christian Bale at his disposal, not to mention appearances by Peter Fonda and Alan Tudyk. This is not to say everyone didn’t do as much as they could with what they had, because they did, but there just wasn’t enough to make this two hour cross country duster anything more than your average day at the movies.
3:10 to Yuma is as straight-forward as they come. Ben Wade (Crowe) is an outlaw that is finally caught and is set to be hand delivered to Contention and put on the 3:10 train to Yuma. Getting caught up in the story is a down on his luck rancher played by Christian Bale whose debt is catching up with him and he is about to lose his land to a deed-holder who is eyeing the profit that would come his way thanks to the incoming railroad. So, for a price he agrees to help the authorities in taking Ben to his final destination, a move that will get him out of debt and back in favor with his doubting family.
The danger of the story comes courtesy of Wade’s gang, led by Charlie Prince played by Ben Foster. Now when I say everything about this film is “one note” Foster’s performance is a perfect example. Early buzz gives Foster a lot of credit for his menacing snarl and his overall nastiness portrayed in the movie, but eventually it just becomes tiresome shit talking to the point that you want someone to just slap the taste out of his mouth and get him to shut up. You may say this is effective acting, but it is more of an overall dislike for the actual performance more than the actual character that began to annoy me. Continuing the “one note” theory is Ben Wade who is calm and collective throughout most of the picture, outside of a few violent outbursts, and Bale as the poor rancher Dan Evans who is just trying to make some money to support his family, and we are reminded of it every step of the way.
I didn’t think Bale or Crowe, Crowe specifically, were given nearly enough to work with in this film. Their characters were well drawn out, but the film simply meandered along as you knew where everything would eventually culminate, as it became a matter of when will we get there and who would be left standing once the smoke cleared.
For how wonderful it looks 3:10 to Yuma just never seems to live up to its own appeal. The wardrobe, cinematography, sweeping landscapes and overall effectiveness of the design of the film are all top notch, but when it comes down to it Yuma just doesn’t deliver in the end. Considering the overall primal nature of the Wild West I never quite understand why the “good guys” will shoot their way through those that aren’t so bad just so they can deliver the real bad guy to his destination where things can be “done right” and “according to the law”. Law? This is the Wild West, to hell with the law, you are sleeping in the dirt and the guy just beat your bud with a rock! I would say a new plan of action is in need.
The major problem with 3:10 to Yuma can be summed up with one word, “motivation”. Why don’t they just kill him? Why is he helping him? Why? Why? Why? The questions of “why” in this film aren’t exactly questions of logic (they certainly could be), but motivation is the main issue here. While each characters’ original motivation is clear, as the film goes along and original plans get shot to shit everyone involved begins making some of the silliest decisions imaginable. So much so that once the end credits began to roll I was left scratching my head thinking, “Really? They are going to end it like that?”
While I had high hopes 3:10 to Yuma would be the film to bring the Western back into prominence, it ultimately ends up being a semi-entertaining romp that won’t make a dent. If you do check this out in theaters you won’t be upset that you did, but I don’t believe you will be rushing back to see it again anytime soon.
