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3:10 to Yuma“Wanted: Dead or Less Dead” The Western has perished. It will never return to life, despite the best efforts of films like Silverado, Unforgiven, and the truly unsung Tombstone. Yet, every decade, someone attempts a resurrection. And in the case of 3:10 to Yuma, we may have a weak, but existent, pulse.3:10 to Yuma weaves the tale of Dan Evans, a disabled and disgruntled veteran of the Civil War, who is trying to keep his simple Arizona Territory cattle ranch afloat, while at the same time raising a family, which includes a rebellious, ill-tempered son named William. Evans, ably portrayed by Christian Bale (the eponymous Dark Knight of Batman Begins), finds himself basically forced, to due to financial dire straights, to escort the scurrilous outlaw and killer Ben Wade to catch the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison. Wade, played appropriately violent and charming Russell Crowe, and his gang of murderous misfits had previously attacked a stagecoach carrying money for the Southern Pacific Railroad, making them now fugitives from the federal government. Believing he will rescued by his vile compatriots, Wade lets himself get captured and is forced to ride to Yuma. Of course, it is never that simple, and so what ensues next is a series of bloody missteps and misadventures, as well as a half-hearted delving into the psyches of Civil War veterans and deadly gunfighters and fathers and sons.3:10 to Yuma features great acting by its two leads, Bale and Crowe, with the edge really going to Bale, who has began hitting his stride since 2005’s awe-inspiring Batman Begins. He plays Dan Evans with a quiet subtlety that slowly builds and transforms into intense emotion. Meanwhile, Crowe, a true master of his craft, is sort of phoning it in here in 3:10, but despite that, still delivers a good, almost Oscar-worthy performance, as the sly, arrogant Ben Wade. It appears evident that the screenplay by writer/director James Mangold (Walk the Line) tries to make Wade into the increasingly stereotypical sympathetic villains, not unlike Anthony Hopkins’ Doctor Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter, but this ploy fails. I never did feel sorry for Ben Wade nor did I ever really like him. Was I the only person in the audience that wanted to see this scumbag get shot? We may never know. The true standout in 3:10 was Ben Foster (Alpha Dog, X-Men: The Last Stand) as Charlie Prince, Ben Wade’s sociopathic sidekick and first lieutenant. Foster gives another chameleon-like performance here, and is really the most memorable character of the film.3:10 to Yuma is a fine film, perhaps one of the best of the year, but to this humble reviewer, it sort of felt like a waste of the great talents that lied within it, and may have played better and with more drama as an episode of The Rifleman fifty years ago than the star-studded heavy-handed epic it turned out to be. GRADE: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
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