There is a scene in "3:10 to Yuma" that catapults the remainder of the film into a wholly entrancing, carefully choreographed dance between good and evil, or more fundamentally, man versus man.
This scene is right at the beginning, as the film jumpstarts its first crucial minutes. Two brothers lie in bed, one asleep and breathing heavily, the other awake, trying to decipher the suspicious sounds coming from the darkness outside. A father lies still, doing the same. Then voices, the crackle of wood burning, and the father is out of the house with a rifle, shouting.
Many things happen next. The audience gets a glimpse of the father's stub for a foot as he is pushed down. Pitiless men threaten to burn down the house if payments aren't made. A son abhors his father for lacking the courage to shoot the bad guys in the head like they deserve.
This new Western from "Walk the Line" director James Mangold delivers all these faithful plot threads, and more, that are so common to the genre: the ranchero lifestyle, ruthless outlaws, dingy towns, and the dust and lawlessness of it all.
In "3:10 to Yuma," a remake of the 1957 classic, Mangold takes his audience to the Arizona territory just after the Civil War, where notorious outlaw Ben Wade is captured after a lifetime of robbery and murder charges. Played with a captivating stolid demeanor by Russell Crowe ("Cinderella Man"), Mr. Wade is scheduled to depart on the 3:10 train to Yuma prison, where he will await trial.
Lost in the fray of the arrest is rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale, "Batman Begins"), the poor, crippled man from the opening scenes who now offers his sharp-shooter skills to help transport the criminal to the station in exchange for hefty compensation. The road ahead is riddled with trouble, most of all, Wade's vindictive gang of miscreants hot on their trail.
While the film suffers from an oft-muddled plot, it makes up for it in visual effulgence. The wild prairies of the American West have a timeless look, and each scene is as heart-pumping and perplexing as the last. The obligatory stagecoach chases, for instance, follow not only the fight between the cowboys but also the dust swept up in the tires and the clang of the horses' harnesses.
It helps, too, to have such big names attached to the project. For one, it's hard to imagine any actor but Crowe as the charming villain. Crowe plays Wade with a commanding, quiet intelligence. Seeing his posse, which includes Ben Foster ("X-Men: The Last Stand") as a fierce devotee, it's easy to deduce that Wade is the smartest and most dynamic of the troupe. He sketches anything that stirs his interest and summons biblical verse into conversation from memory.
Clad in all black and riding a black horse, Wade is the perfect contrast to Evans. The latter is driven by a sense of duty and moral code, and must match wits with Wade to deflect his continuous output of deals for his release.
Wade's transport is also accompanied by a corrupt bounty hunter, played by the old great Peter Fonda ("Ghost Rider"). All together, the company faces off against the wilderness and each other, and it's a fun ride.
"3:10 to Yuma" brings fresh breath to the Old West genre. Mangold draws out the tension between the characters to its fullest, and he sets his picture against the stunning Arizona backdrop of a vast, rocky desert where it seems that anything could happen. Complete with railroad coolies, embittered Apache and quick shooting, this is one for the ages.
Grade: 4 stars out of 5
