3:10 to Yuma (2007)
by Robbo
Posted on 9 July 2021
Rating -
3:10 to Yuma is a 2007 American western action drama film directed by James Mangold and produced by Cathy Konrad, and starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in the lead roles, with supporting performances by Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Ben Foster, Dallas Roberts, Alan Tudyk, Vinessa Shaw, and Logan Lerman.
It is a remake of the 1957 film of the same name, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1953 short story “Three-Ten to Yuma”.
In 1884 Arizona, Dan Evans (Bale) is an impoverished rancher and Civil War veteran, who owes money to the wealthy Glen Hollander. One night, two of Hollander’s men set fire to his barn and scare off his cattle, warning that his house will be next if he fails to pay his debts.
The next morning, as Evans and his two sons, William and Mark, look for their lost herd, they stumble upon outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) and his gang, who have used Evans’ cattle to block the road and ambush an armored stagecoach staffed by Pinkerton agents.
As Wade’s outfit loots the upended stage, Wade discovers Evans and his two sons watching from the hills. Determining that they pose no threat to him and his gang, Wade takes their horses and tells Evans that he will leave them tied up on the road to Bisbee.
Wade’s gang departs, and Evans rescues the lone surviving coach guard, Byron McElroy (Fonda), left alive but severely wounded by Wade.
Wade travels with his gang to Bisbee to celebrate at the local saloon and divide up the loot, then chooses to stay behind to enjoy the company of the barmaid while his gang departs.
Evans arrives separately with McElroy and delivers him to lawman Doc Potter, before trying in vain to negotiate with Hollander, who shoves him to the ground and departs. Enraged, Evans barges into the saloon looking for him, but instead encounters Wade emerging from an upstairs room. Evans coaxes a few dollars from Wade over the trouble the outlaw has caused him, delaying the outlaw long enough for the railroad men to ambush and arrest him.
The railroad’s representative, Grayson Butterfield (Roberts), enlists McElroy, Potter (Tudyk), Tucker (one of Hollander’s men), and Evans to deliver Wade to Contention, where Wade will be put on the 3:10 afternoon train to Yuma Territorial Prison.
Evans requests a $200 fee to deliver Wade for transport, which Butterfield accepts.
From Evans’s ranch, McElroy arranges for a decoy wagon driven by the town marshal to distract Wade’s gang, now led by Charlie Prince, with the real prisoner transport departing later that night.
The rest of the film follows the group in their quest to get to Bisbee and the final stand-off with Wade’s men.
Although 3:10 to Yuma is a remake of the 1957 film it’s only similarity is the story.
This film is a lot darker and is more greed driven than the original, and went some way to resurrect the western genre which was out of fashion at the time, and I think is the best western since Unforgiven.
The highlights of the film are the performances from Crowe who is charming, charismatic yet dangerous, and Bale being wounded, desperate and stubborn, and the interplay between them, ably supported by a fierce performance from Fonda.
This film is tense, cynical and brutal yet with intelligence and is one I would urge everyone to see.
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