3:10 TO YUMA

[stereosforgeeks]

I bought the ending. It was, at its core, a story about honor. Christian Bale was desperate, he wanted something to succeed. He was tired of watching everyone else get ahead and even though $200.00 wasn't enough to make or break his ranch, he wanted something to go his way.

Crowe was a man of honor too. In the end, that's why he did what he did. He was never in fear of his life and it amused him to go along with it...and he genuinely began to like Bale. What his gang did pissed him off--there's honor among thieves, after all, and you don't shoot a man in the back. He had told them to cease fire, and they disobeyed him. Crowe killed, at times quite coldly, but he generally had a good reason for it. Shooting a man in the back, in cold blood, wasn't his style.

It was more when they started the run for it I didn't buy. I knew why he killed his men but why did he decide to go along with Bale in the first place?

[Lady Sheridan]

It was more when they started the run for it I didn't buy. I knew why he killed his men but why did he decide to go along with Bale in the first place?

Because he wanted to help Bale out. He really did feel bad for him. Crowe was pretty fond of his own legend, and he understood Bale's desperation. Plus, it was just going to go down in Crowe's own reputation, another legendary escapade of Ben Wade. Same reason he didn't shoot Peter Fonda when he had the chance. He liked the risk.

[Will Scarlet]

I loved this movie. But I love westerns, or at least what I like to think of as the new western. I've never been much of a fan of the old style good guy in the white hat fighting the blood thirsty injun's. The cowboy who looked more like he'd walked out of the Sears Robuck catalog than out of a bunkhouse after a long winter. This isn't to say there aren't some good westerns out there. Shane still ranks high as does True Grit and Rooster Cogburn. I was never much of a fan of the "spaghetti western" as most were formula concoctions of more spaghetti than real west.

I am a beloved devotee of Sam Elliot, the first true cowboy to hit the screen since I don't know when. My DVD of Conager is one of my most precious possessions. I introduced my kids to westerns and real men via this film.

I remember another western that starred a much younger Russel Crowe, and a much lesser known Gary Sinese and a real new breed of gunslinger in the form of Sharon Stone. The Quick and the Dead--one of the most original westerns to come along in a long time.

I fell in love with westerns again when Lonesome Dove showed up. Since then I truly despaired of ever seeing anything of its kind again. Realistic, gritty, great characters and depth of story. Thank God Robert Duvall felt the same way and continued to search for more scripts that portrayed the west and the folk who built it accurately. Along came Open Range and more recently Broken Trail.

Now I can add 310 to Yuma to my collection of new westerns. It wasn't perfect, but it had what I like. Crowe as the bad guy you just can't hate. Realistic settings and characters. This is the real west, not the hollywood manufactured kind, and not the too far off the deep end west of Dead Wood. (thankfully that piece of crap was put out of its misery--even sailors can't swear that much)

This Ben Wade is a charmer, and he likes to get his captors talking and find out what makes them tick. He picks up on Bale's desperation right away. His poverty, his marriage problems and the obvious conflict between father and son. Wade almost seems a bit bored with his own legend. Maybe that's why he lingers too long and gets caught. He never once really fears for his situation. He's secure enough to toy with his captors. He kills the two men who are the real bad guys. The law man who has killed even more coldly and brutally than Wade himself. The stooge who works for a corrupt man and preys on men like Bale. Wade has an intriguing back story we only get a glimpse at.

I was never bored with the film except in spots. I liked the ending, except for Bale getting killed. I actually thought he might make it. I thought the tears in Wades eyes at the death of the rancher showed you how much he had come to respect that man. He wiped out his gang, hoped on the prison train and whistled for his horse. You knew he wouldn't be on his way to Yuma for long. Something also told me he just might take a swing back past a certain ranch near Bristol some day, just to see how the folks there were fairing....

W.S.

[burlivesleftnut]

I dunno LS, I get the feeling you are kind of viewing Rade as an anti-hero. I could totally be off base with that though. In my opinion he was an outright dick. I do think that his interaction with someone who was so downtrodden had an effect on him for a couple of reasons. I think Rade genuinely liked the Evan's kid, and I think he liked Evan's steadfastness. But Rade himself didn't make himself heroic (imo) just because he allowed Evan's to escort him to that train. After all, he knew he would escape again.

[Lady Sheridan]

I dunno LS, I get the feeling you are kind of viewing Rade as an anti-hero. I could totally be off base with that though. In my opinion he was an outright dick. I do think that his interaction with someone who was so downtrodden had an effect on him for a couple of reasons. I think Rade genuinely liked the Evan's kid, and I think he liked Evan's steadfastness. But Rade himself didn't make himself heroic (imo) just because he allowed Evan's to escort him to that train. After all, he knew he would escape again.

No, I agree. I saw Wade as a guy who would always look out for himself and shoot anyone who came between him and whatever he wanted. I don't think he was a pure good guy by any means. But I think he had some decency in him and developed a sympathy with Evan. He could have escaped and killed the entire group about ten times over...and he never did.

I don't think he made himself heroic--for both men, it cost more than it was worth. It was just the principle of the thing. Wade knew he'd be able to escape--and he figured he would toss Evan a bone. Evan could indeed be the guy who escorted Ben Wade to the train, when no one else would. I think Wade really respected that and was willing to go along with it because, in the end, it would just be part of his legend when he escaped again. I think he was a decent guy, but not a hero in the pure sense. I think the trip to Yuma was just a big game for Wade, but he found himself unable to really pull the trigger when it came to Evan and his son.

[Will Scarlet]

I'll admit, my post did make Wade look a bit too good. He was a bastard and a cold blooded killer, and he would have killed anything that got between him and his goal. But, he had a core of decency or respect, something that held him back from killing just to kill. He didn't need to return Evan's horses. In fact, as witnesses, he could have just killed him and both his sons stone cold in the ravine.

When he slips the fork up his sleeve at dinner, you knew it was coming back out, and when he killed the barn burning thug, he could have taken out a couple more guys while he was at it. He certainly could have left them all there for dead and escaped from the Indians alone.

I agree with Lady Sheridan, the whole thing was an adventure. Wade had no respect for Fonda's character, he points out the man's faults for everyone to hear. The Pinkerton agent wasn't worth worrying about. The poor vet was stuck in a bad situation he never asked for, and he came to his defense in the electrode (?) incident. We've already discussed what transpired between Wade and Evans.

Wade was not heroic because he let Evans take him to the train. The first 1/4 mile of that walk was pure luck that they didn't both die. Wade's men had turned the entire town on them. The second 1/4 mile Wade took Evans to the train. Because he wanted the man to get his money, help his family, but more than that become the hero he so wanted his sons to believe he was. Doesn't that make them both heros even if one is a cold hearted killer?

There is no doubt Wade will keep doing what he's been doing as the horse gallops off to his whistle. But as he himself pointed out, even bad guys love their momma's, and he never killed women or children. That doesn't mean he won't leave children and wives without husbands or fathers.

W.S.

[stereosforgeeks]

I dunno LS, I get the feeling you are kind of viewing Rade as an anti-hero. I could totally be off base with that though. In my opinion he was an outright dick. I do think that his interaction with someone who was so downtrodden had an effect on him for a couple of reasons. I think Rade genuinely liked the Evan's kid, and I think he liked Evan's steadfastness. But Rade himself didn't make himself heroic (imo) just because he allowed Evan's to escort him to that train. After all, he knew he would escape again.

No, I agree. I saw Wade as a guy who would always look out for himself and shoot anyone who came between him and whatever he wanted. I don't think he was a pure good guy by any means. But I think he had some decency in him and developed a sympathy with Evan. He could have escaped and killed the entire group about ten times over...and he never did.

I don't think he made himself heroic--for both men, it cost more than it was worth. It was just the principle of the thing. Wade knew he'd be able to escape--and he figured he would toss Evan a bone. Evan could indeed be the guy who escorted Ben Wade to the train, when no one else would. I think Wade really respected that and was willing to go along with it because, in the end, it would just be part of his legend when he escaped again. I think he was a decent guy, but not a hero in the pure sense. I think the trip to Yuma was just a big game for Wade, but he found himself unable to really pull the trigger when it came to Evan and his son.

I can see where your coming from. Maybe I will be able to buy the moment more on repeated viewings.

[Ribbons]

Did anybody else who saw this movie get the impression that Ben Foster's character (Charlie Prince) loved Ben Wade in a vaguely romantic way?

[stereosforgeeks]

Did anybody else who saw this movie get the impression that Ben Foster's character (Charlie Prince) loved Ben Wade in a vaguely romantic way?

Ohh yeah! Charlie definitely wanted Wade.

[Lady Sheridan]

I agree. Plus his nickname was reportedly "Princess" so I think the entire Wild West knew...

[Ribbons]

Yeah, for a while I wondered whether or not it was just my imagination. I don't think the character was necessarily written that way, but it did seem to me like that's how Mangold and Foster chose to play it.

So, I gave the movie a 7/10. It drags in spots and the motives of certain characters are a bit dubious, but I liked it a lot at the time that I saw it. I thought the pacing of the film was very well-done, and I liked how the (late) 3:10 to Yuma almost seemed to fill up the screen when it finally arrived. I think Wade did what he did because he saw himself in Dan Evans, and especially in Dan Evans' son; as he told Dan, he read the Bible and lost his family on the same weekend, and I think the idea is that he learned to take what he wanted both out of necessity and out of disillusionment. A similar dichotomy existed within Evans, but he labored to protect concepts like fairness and justice. Part of him wanted to believe that someone like that could thrive, if not flourish, in the west, and when he was killed it snatched away a part of him as well. That said, wasting his entire posse was pretty dumb, especially considering he was just planning on breaking out again anyway. What's he going to do now?

The acting was great. As written and performed, Ben Wade makes for a compelling villain; apparently Russell Crowe's "team" is counting on American Gangster to be his Oscar vehicle, but I don't think they should take his performance here for granted. I admire how gung-ho Ben Foster is about transforming himself for his roles; although he's no Johnny Depp talent-wise, I do think that kind of commitment has a positive effect on the film. I was also pretty impressed with the kid who played Christian Bale's son; according to IMDb he's only 14-15 years old, but he gives a really solid performance. Peter Fonda's got a nice supporting role as a grizzled pinkerton, as well.

[RaulMonkey]

Well, on the subjec of 3:10 to Yuma...I saw it last weekend and it rocks. The film kind of falls apart at the end (at least for me), but still a solid film.

The movie fell apart for me when Alan Tudyk's doctor character died. It had absolutely ZERO impact. It wasn't even clear that he had died at first since he's still alive the last time we see him. The other guys are coddling him, telling him that he did a good job helping them escape from the miners, and then all of a sudden they're in Yuma and he's not with them anymore, and no one seems to care. That character's death reminded me a lot of Captain Kirk's death in GENERATIONS, now that I think of it. He's lying down on the ground, mortally wounded but with little to no blood on him, and a contented grin on his face because he "made a difference." How poignant. Except that it's tossed off in about three seconds of screen time and then it's BLIP! Smokey Thingie burn--YUMA. He's forgotten and gone. After that I felt like the filmmakers were just going through the motions and hadn't bothered to really think through their characters' motivations or the plot as a whole, and if they didn't really care that much, why should I? There's some good work in this movie; I second the general appreciation of Bale, Crowe and Foster's work, and I thought Fonda and a lot of the others are on the ball as well. The cinematography is often quite lovely. But on the whole I would have liked to have felt that the characters were really compelled by forces outside their control or their own personality traits to do everything that they do. I wanted to watch human beings, but as it is, they're all a little too apparently cogs in a screenplay. Five out of ten.

[Maui]

Just saw this tonight. Loved it. Any fan of classic westerns will eat this film up. Russell Crowe and Ben Foster just pwn. The score is also really awesome. My only complaint is the appearance of Luke Wilson. Totally took me out of the movie for the few scenes he was in.

Cool, didn't know Foster was in this. I'm gonna check this flick out this weekend!

Of course a big factor of seeing this flick is that Christian Bale is in this movie.

[Nachokoolaid]

I just saw this. I gave it an 8/10. I thought it was very solid and probably my favorite film of the year so far. My expectations were really high, so I don't considring it the second coming of westerns like some were proclaiming, but it was a good movie.

Bale was solid, as usual, and the story was effective.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

I'm gonna see this tomorrow, albeit not at my free cinema though. Dissapointed it didn't run for a bit longer over here.

[so sorry]

I happened to catch the original 3:10 to Yuma on saturday night (on some random Western channel)... really wasn't that bad considering when it was made. I'm going to make an effort to see the remake for comparison's sake.

[papalazeru]

Not for one second did I believe the relationship between the protangist and Ben; and for that matter, his own son.

None of it have any heart.

Considering I saw snippets from review that said, 'Best western since Unforgiven',I hope they were watching some Blaxploitation movie cos, man this movie stank.

There was not one second I felt a tug on the heart strings when Evan whimpered as a coward and died as a *ahem* hero. It sucked.

Just goes to show that 2 great actors does not maketh the movie.

[tapehead]

Maybe that's a post-modern reflection, really. If this movie had been done in the 50's, I bet you would root for Bale.

It was, and despite a great performance by Bale (as always) as the Civil War vet who will do anything for his family, and Crowe clearly having a ball in this, charming the ladies in his best Richard Burton voice and getting a turn to play the cold blooded killer who gains a conscience, I think the original is better. Certainly it concludes more satisfactorily than this version. There's a great cast in this new version who aren't put to much great use, but it's nice to see Peter Fonda at a tough gentleman, in this, and Ben Foster is great as Charlie Prince. I could only really give this a five out of ten though, as there's Elmore Leonard's original story and the previous film version, both superior.

[burnhollywood]

***SPOILERS***

Good show, by and large, but thought Fonda was kinda dispensed with a little too quickly...shoulda been a showdown.

Also, thought Crowe would have been more justified in gunning down his gang if Bale's SON had gotten it instead of him. Also, if they'd foreshadowed this by indicating that he was getting a little tired of this particular pack of baddies.

3 outta 5 stars

[Vegeta]

FINALLY got around to seeing this last night. Don't ask me how (especially after starting this thread) it took me until now to see 3:10 to Yuma, but it finally happened.

And now I wish it hadn't. I will say that 3:10 to Yuma was well acted and looked great. But the story was teh suck. Character actions and motivations were puzzling at best and downright stupid in the least. Why the hell did Crowe keep hanging around when he could escape anytime he wanted (and did, with ease)? He murdered two of his captors within the first 24 hours of his captivity, wouldn't you think it might be a better idea to just shoot Crowe at that point. Bale's willingness to shoot and injure folks for the $200.00 bounty (later $1000) at the mining camp and still thinking he had the moral highground. The whole turn of events in the last 20 minutes were like . Basically, the story in general was a hazy mess of motavational problems.

At any rate, Vegeta gives 3:10 to Yuma a weak 3 out of 5 punches (5 out of 10 on this scale).

[papalazeru]

Nice review. I thought it was poor on the emotional content as well.

[Nachokoolaid]

I saw this in theatres, and I totally bought all the motivations. I thought that Wade didn't understand Dan at first. However, through the film, he comes to realize that Dan's whole existence and moral code rests on getting him to Yuma. So he plays along, because he knows he's going to escape anyway (as evidenced by "his guys" on the train. In fact, I think he already had a "back-up" plan of escape in case they got him to Yuma. So in his mind, he's helping Dan to achieve what he needs to in order to continue and better his way of life. No harm, no foul. Wade didn't imagine he'd come to respect Dan's way of life so much, and when Dan dies because of this simple "game," he acts rashly, as it's shown he's prone to do. Worked for me.

[justcheckin]

I really enjoyed this movie. I am not much for Westerns in general but it was really good. YAY greasy cowboys...

[so sorry]

I happened to catch the original 3:10 to Yuma on saturday night (on some random Western channel)... really wasn't that bad considering when it was made. I'm going to make an effort to see the remake for comparison's sake.

So I just watched the remake this saturday night. Well, saturday night/sunday afternoon, considering I fell asleep about 3/4 thru it.

Not a bad flick, but not one I'll rewatch anytime soon (who am I kidding, never).

Defiently dragged towards the end, and the ending itself was a little too unbelievable (the gang has the hotel/town/street surrounded, but they can't shoot Bale during that whole escape? That fucking Apache sharpshooter hit a dude on a moving stagecoach from hundreds of yards away in the beginning action scene!), but I'd say it was worth a watch.

I gave it a 7/10, then read thru this thread for some thoughts, and i'd bump my score down to a 6 if I could...

[Al Shut]

FINALLY got around to seeing this last night. Don't ask me how (especially after starting this thread) it took me until now to see 3:10 to Yuma, but it finally happened.

And now I wish it hadn't. I will say that 3:10 to Yuma was well acted and looked great. But the story was teh suck. Character actions and motivations were puzzling at best and downright stupid in the least. Why the hell did Crowe keep hanging around when he could escape anytime he wanted (and did, with ease)? He murdered two of his captors within the first 24 hours of his captivity, wouldn't you think it might be a better idea to just shoot Crowe at that point. Bale's willingness to shoot and injure folks for the $200.00 bounty (later $1000) at the mining camp and still thinking he had the moral highground. The whole turn of events in the last 20 minutes were like . Basically, the story in general was a hazy mess of motavational problems.

What he said to a t.

Except that I would rate it 2/5 instead of 3 because I nearly changed into hate/rage mode again when I thought 'If Wade kills one of them and they don't shoot him they have no way to threat him and he could just get up and leave' and sure as hell that's pretty much what happens five minutes later. Another exception might be the word motavational.

The whole ending screamed wtf for me too? (or was that me screaming?)

[papalazeru]

FINALLY got around to seeing this last night. Don't ask me how (especially after starting this thread) it took me until now to see 3:10 to Yuma, but it finally happened.

And now I wish it hadn't. I will say that 3:10 to Yuma was well acted and looked great. But the story was teh suck. Character actions and motivations were puzzling at best and downright stupid in the least. Why the hell did Crowe keep hanging around when he could escape anytime he wanted (and did, with ease)? He murdered two of his captors within the first 24 hours of his captivity, wouldn't you think it might be a better idea to just shoot Crowe at that point. Bale's willingness to shoot and injure folks for the $200.00 bounty (later $1000) at the mining camp and still thinking he had the moral highground. The whole turn of events in the last 20 minutes were like . Basically, the story in general was a hazy mess of motavational problems.

What he said to a t.

Except that I would rate it 2/5 instead of 3 because I nearly changed into hate/rage mode again when I thought 'If Wade kills one of them and they don't shoot him they have no way to threat him and he could just get up and leave' and sure as hell that's pretty much what happens five minutes later. Another exception might be the word motavational.

The whole ending screamed wtf for me too? (or was that me screaming?)

I saw it a while ago, you've just brought back memories of disappointment and boredom.

I second both of what you've said.