3:10 to Yuma Review
By Lexi Feinberg
Crowe's Feat
If you're still not convinced that Russell Crowe is one of his generation's best actors, look no further than "3:10 To Yuma," an expanded take on the much-loved 1957 classic Glenn Ford Western. As Ben Wade, Crowe is equal parts charming and sociopathic, showing a range of emotions by the subtle shift in his eyes (he's buttering you up, no wait, he's ready to rip you from the planet). The film never quite matches his slick, menacing persona, though scene-stealer Ben Foster, as his hopelessly devoted sidekick, works wonders of his own.
"3:10 To Yuma" is the story of Dan (Christian Bale), a down-on-his-luck, crippled Arizona rancher who struggles to feed his wife (Gretchen Mol) and two sons (Logan Lerman, Benjamin Petry) amid a devastating drought in the late 1800s. Not helping matters is Hollander (Lennie Loftin) who is set to rescind Dan's debt-ridden property and supplant it with a railroad - the old-school version of the neighborhood-squashing shopping mall. His one chance at salvaging his dignity is to escort Wade, a ruthless outlaw with a knack for reciting proverbs, to the mid-afternoon train to the city of Contention, where he'll be executed. The prize? Two hundred dollars, a bona fide jackpot for the time period.
The Western has earned a second wind of appreciation following the warm reception to "Open Range" and "The Proposition," and people still continue to worship John Wayne (a character in last year's so-bad-it's-good "Running Scared" beat his kid for enjoying one of the icon's onscreen death scenes). "3:10 To Yuma" has many of the classic Western touches - the gazing shots of the landscape, the trigger-friendly gunmen on horseback - but never fully excels for one reason: The hero, Dan, is a snooze. Sure, he's an earnest, family man with good intentions, but he's about as thrilling to watch as back-to-back golf tournaments. It's tough to witness his depressive drone and not miss the bad guys, who sneer, snap and say things like "I hate posses!" before blowing one to bits. The moping, one-footed Civil War vet simply can't compete with the villains' despicable yet always captivating antics.
Still, there is more than enough of them to keep things interesting for the duration, up until the frustrating, didn't-buy-it-for-a-second ending. Director James Mangold (
"Walk The Line") takes the basic setup of the original film, based on the short story by Elmore Leonard, and throws in an extra 30 minutes to help flesh it out - an update likely to please some fans while enraging others. Regardless of which camp you're in, there's a respectable buildup of tension and a handful of memorable one-liners, courtesy of the screenplay by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. But ultimately, for all its potential and stellar acting, "3:10 To Yuma" trots when it should gallop.
