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DVD - 3:10 to
Yuma
 DVD Movie Review
Title: 3:10 to Yuma
Director: James Mangold
Release Date: January 2008
www.310toyumathefilm.com/
Once again, Russell Crowe does not disappoint his loyal movie audience.
The new 3:10 to Yuma is filmed on location in New Mexico and provides a
colorful wide screen western that was missing in the original movie.
This re-make of the 1957 film starring Glenn Ford as Ben Wade and Van
Heflin as Dan Evans requires even the more history minded railroad
enthusiast to sit up and take notice. The new film directed by James Mangold (who also directed the film Walk the Line, the story of Johnny
Cash) stays true to the original film but adds a bit more of the flavor
and spice that romantics of the period believe made up the old West.
There are scenes of the Chinese railroad track layers who cut through
mountain passes and long vistas of flat land to lay the first tracks
that were to become the Southern Pacific Railroad. We are presented
with wide shots of the natural red and gold splendor that makes up the
gorges of Arizona as the actors terrain through the Apache badlands and
travel from Contention to Bisbee Arizona to catch the 3:10 pm train to
Yuma AZ. The movie is a bit more violent and action packed than the
original movie, but then that is to be expected and necessary for the
more cynical movie goers of today. The black and white film’s tight
camera shots and painted scenic backdrops from the original 1957 film
are thankfully gone in this new version of 3:10 to Yuma.
It’s good to see Peter Fonda in a movie again. He’s aged a few years
since he starred in the movie where he was the beekeeper, and he’s aging
at least as well as his sister Jane. Mr. Fonda does a fine job of being
seriously wounded in the belly one day and returning with in a
miraculous recovery, as the hired stagecoach lookout and gun totter
“with a reputation” Byron McClevoy. Christian Bale plays the poor
rancher, Dan Evans. Evans is desperate enough for money that he will
risk life and limb to get Ben Wade to the train no matter the personal
consequences. Bale does a fine job of convincing the audience he is
almost an invisible creature who develops into a reluctant hero in 122
minutes. Russell Crowe, the master and commander of any movie, provides
a believable if sometimes “eating marbles” performance as he struggles
with the American West accent. Crowe adds a bit of depth and humanity
to Mr. Ben Wade, an outlaw, thief and killer. William
Evans, played by young actor Logan Lerman, is very believable as the
elder son coming to grips with his father’s humanity.
Definitely a movie worth seeing a few times. I remember Russell Crowe
in an interview once said something to the effect of “when people see me
in a movie they should know it is worth seeing, no matter how well the
film’s marketing machine advertises it around the world.” He had a
point with that comment and with the remake of this western he’s proved
he can gather a cast and make a good old movie come back to life with
color.
Sound: 5.1 Dolby surround.
Running time: 122mins
Contact the author:
jfshaw@mylasco.com
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