3:10 to Yuma 4/5 reviewed by Mike
I know we're a little behind the ball on reviewing this one, but it's still in a lot of theaters, if you hurry, you can still catch this really cool remake of a really cool classic western. This one had me fully sold right from the first scene.
If you're unfamiliar with the original "3:10," the story is about a down-on-his-luck rancher named Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who gets intertwined with one of the baddest dudes around, Ben Wade (Russel Crowe). Dan isn't just down on his luck, he's about to loose everything, his ranch, his family, what shred of identity he still has, when he finds himself unwittingly involved in Ben Wade's capture. Dan subsequently volunteers to help escort Wade to the train that'll take him to prison. What follows is a great character drama, where we really get into these characters heads, and watch them try and get into each other's heads to gain the upper hand. There's some great themes, too, about redemption and sacrifice, having goals and dreams in a broken world, deciding what kind of person you're going to become... none of these are heavy handed or preachy at ALL, rather, subtle and tasteful.
Even if the characters start out as typical western stereotypes, they're deeply explored and fully realized. The dialog is great, too, and never forced or contrived. There were plenty of times where you thought you were going to be able to predict the next line (people around me in the theater tried) but it almost never went there. That said, the story structure was a bit weak. The second act isn't very cohesive, it basically throws a bunch of random encounters at our protagonists (including great cameos from Luke Wilson, and my favorite Alan Tudyk) that they quickly get out of and move on to the next. It's exciting, yes, but clearly devices to extend the movie, as they don't always tie into the main story or the themes as well as they could. I'll say this, though, a journey like this in the real American West would probably be a lot of random encounters like that, so while I'll give it points for realism (minus the Apache encounter--no way could it be THAT easy), it wasn't the best structured movie.
If I had to grade this movie just on story, it'd probably be a 3 or 3.5, but the craft elements really pushed this movie up to a 4. The acting, in every single role, is fantastic. Bale is again brilliant, Crowe, despite how I think of him as a person, is a great actor and proves it yet again. Tudyk does a great job in his role, as do all the side characters, even the kids. Only when Luke Wilson showed up did I realize I was watching actors, and thats not because his acting was bad (quite the opposite) it's because his baby-face is just so cutesy...
Other craft elements were great--music was just right, and the costumes and make-up were incredible. I usually don't notice such things, but they were just SO well done here--meaning that no one ever looked pretty (minus Wilson). When someone got hit, you saw their face bruise up and stay that way for the rest of the film. Nice work. The directing is also great--camera work was beautiful, interesting, and exciting. The locations were so beautiful--looking at the environment really pulled me into this film and made it very real, yet very romanticized at the same time.
While there's nothing here you haven't seen in other westerns, particularly older 50s and 60s ones, it's done SO well that it's worth checking out. If you're a western fan, you'll probably want this on your shelf. If you're not a western fan, there's still probably enough here to keep you interested, even if it doesn't blow your mind. Go catch this one before it's gone from theaters!
See this movie if:
-You're a fan of the Western Genre, in particular the older, "classic" westerns (think: Big Country, the original 3:10, the Shootist, Liberty Valance, NOT the Eastwood stuff)
-If you like the ideas in some of those older westerns, but don't like the cheese factor. This movie has very high production value and no cheese, but retains the spirit and feel of a 50s-60s western.
-You like character dramas where character is more important than action (not to say there's not action--there's plenty, but it means more because the characters are so realized)
Don't see this movie if:
-Lots of cussing and violence offends you. This earns it's R. No sex or nudity to worry about, though.
-You just hate the Western genre completely
-Your favorite movie is "13 Going on 30." Come On!
If you're unfamiliar with the original "3:10," the story is about a down-on-his-luck rancher named Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who gets intertwined with one of the baddest dudes around, Ben Wade (Russel Crowe). Dan isn't just down on his luck, he's about to loose everything, his ranch, his family, what shred of identity he still has, when he finds himself unwittingly involved in Ben Wade's capture. Dan subsequently volunteers to help escort Wade to the train that'll take him to prison. What follows is a great character drama, where we really get into these characters heads, and watch them try and get into each other's heads to gain the upper hand. There's some great themes, too, about redemption and sacrifice, having goals and dreams in a broken world, deciding what kind of person you're going to become... none of these are heavy handed or preachy at ALL, rather, subtle and tasteful.
Even if the characters start out as typical western stereotypes, they're deeply explored and fully realized. The dialog is great, too, and never forced or contrived. There were plenty of times where you thought you were going to be able to predict the next line (people around me in the theater tried) but it almost never went there. That said, the story structure was a bit weak. The second act isn't very cohesive, it basically throws a bunch of random encounters at our protagonists (including great cameos from Luke Wilson, and my favorite Alan Tudyk) that they quickly get out of and move on to the next. It's exciting, yes, but clearly devices to extend the movie, as they don't always tie into the main story or the themes as well as they could. I'll say this, though, a journey like this in the real American West would probably be a lot of random encounters like that, so while I'll give it points for realism (minus the Apache encounter--no way could it be THAT easy), it wasn't the best structured movie.
If I had to grade this movie just on story, it'd probably be a 3 or 3.5, but the craft elements really pushed this movie up to a 4. The acting, in every single role, is fantastic. Bale is again brilliant, Crowe, despite how I think of him as a person, is a great actor and proves it yet again. Tudyk does a great job in his role, as do all the side characters, even the kids. Only when Luke Wilson showed up did I realize I was watching actors, and thats not because his acting was bad (quite the opposite) it's because his baby-face is just so cutesy...
Other craft elements were great--music was just right, and the costumes and make-up were incredible. I usually don't notice such things, but they were just SO well done here--meaning that no one ever looked pretty (minus Wilson). When someone got hit, you saw their face bruise up and stay that way for the rest of the film. Nice work. The directing is also great--camera work was beautiful, interesting, and exciting. The locations were so beautiful--looking at the environment really pulled me into this film and made it very real, yet very romanticized at the same time.
While there's nothing here you haven't seen in other westerns, particularly older 50s and 60s ones, it's done SO well that it's worth checking out. If you're a western fan, you'll probably want this on your shelf. If you're not a western fan, there's still probably enough here to keep you interested, even if it doesn't blow your mind. Go catch this one before it's gone from theaters!
See this movie if:
-You're a fan of the Western Genre, in particular the older, "classic" westerns (think: Big Country, the original 3:10, the Shootist, Liberty Valance, NOT the Eastwood stuff)
-If you like the ideas in some of those older westerns, but don't like the cheese factor. This movie has very high production value and no cheese, but retains the spirit and feel of a 50s-60s western.
-You like character dramas where character is more important than action (not to say there's not action--there's plenty, but it means more because the characters are so realized)
Don't see this movie if:
-Lots of cussing and violence offends you. This earns it's R. No sex or nudity to worry about, though.
-You just hate the Western genre completely
-Your favorite movie is "13 Going on 30." Come On!
posted by Hankinstien at 6:19 PM
1 Comments:
I back Mike's review. I'd probably put this at a 3.5/5 though, only because I felt the characters were a little too cookie cutter, but they were so well established and portrayed that it almost doesn't matter. On that line, go see The Assasination of Jesse James...that is anouther excellent "western." Full review coming soon. High five.
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