A western update

Over on imdb.com, an amateur reviewer wrote this about 3:10 to Yuma:

As most westerns ultimately are, this was a movie about the measure of a man.

What we have here is a classic tale of man against man which turns into a tale of two men against themselves, and the two characters are well-enough written and masterfully acted that the tale rises far above and beyond the Western film cliches that have caused many of the original examples of the genre to age poorly.

This is very clearly a Western of the current age, one in which the characters' motivations are every bit as important to the story as the characters' actions. The dual leads are played by Russell Crowe, in the black hat, and Christian Bale, in the metaphorical white hat but a white hat that has a thick layer of dust on it as his living is eaked out of the drought-ridden dust of his poor ranch homestead where the film opens.

Bale in center with Fonda bringing up the rear

The film sees Bale happening upon our roguish black hatter, Crowe's Ben Wade who is clearly the moving force of the film. Wade sets the film in motion by robbing the local stage in spectacular fashion and lingering behind in town, celebrating with the local - and admittedly quite attractive - barmaid, leading to his eventual capture by the marshall and local railroad toughs. It is in the course of this capture that the plot is truly set into motion as Bale's character lucks into a paying job that just might save the farm if he can escort Wade to the titular 3:10 train bound for Yuma prison.

Wade's second in command - Charlie in the film's penultimate scene.

From there the typical things happen - Wade's gang races to rescue their leader, the rougue reveals himself to be both monster and man, and our hero eventually must stand alone. Typical, however, isn't what this film is. The depth of character of our dual leads as well as the acting - including Peter Fonda in a role that shocked me as I saw him interviewed on the DVD extras - is outstanding enough to carry the film even through its surprising and perhaps a bit unlikely ending.

The roguish Wade - killer and charmer in one package.

The film's reviews have suggested that it might be the best Western since Unforgiven, though that might be damning it with faint praise as the genre isn't exactly in its heyday right now. It is an excellent film that easily improves on - or at least strongly updates - the original film for a turn-of-the-century sensibility, and it's a very enjoyable view.

My favorite Westerns, by the way...just to give you some perspective...

1. Unforgiven


2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly / Fistful of Dollars / For a Few Dollars More (the sum of the trilogy)


3. Deadwood (series)


4. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid


5. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)


6. The Magnificant Seven


7. High Plains Drifter


8. High Noon


9. The Searchers