3:10 to Yuma

3:10 TO YUMA(15)

D: James Mangold

Lionsgate/Relativity Media/Tree Line (Cathy Konrad)

US 2007

122 mins

Western

W: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt & Derek Haas [based on the novel "Three-Ten To Yuma" by Elmore Leonard]

DP: Phedon Papamichael

Ed: Michael McCusker

Mus: Marco Beltrami

Christian Bale (Dan Evans), Russell Crowe (Ben Wade), Logan Lerman (William Evans), Ben Foster (Charlie Prince), Peter Fonda (Byron McElroy), Alan Tudyk (Doc Potter)

Elmore Leonard's novel was originally given the big screen treatment in 1957 starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. Fifty years later comes this update with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in the respective roles and it has to be said that it's a very impressive remake, especially considering it was released in a decade when the western genre was generally considered a thing of the past.

Bale plays Dan Evans, a penniless rancher who lives with his family and gets no respect from his teenage son.  He witnesses a stagecoach robbery by infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his crew nearby his land and when the criminal is captured by authorities, he volunteers to escort him to the town of Contention, which has a rail station which will transport the prisoner to Yuma, where he will face trial. Evans does this for two reasons, money to save his ranch and also to win the respect of his son, as the mission takes them across hostile territory and pursued by Wade's violent gang.

Both Bale and Crowe are excellent and the film does a great job transporting the viewer back to the Wild West. Oscar nominations were received for its music and sound, and it wouldn't have been a huge surprise had it received more. 

Many have called it one of the best remakes of recent years, and I'd be inclined to agree.

7/10