It works... as a comedy

Rating: 10/10 (12 July 2012)

If you're in a mood for high camp, "3:10 to Yuma" is sheer entertainment. It never gets boring, thanks to its two leads, who are cheerfully chewing the scenery.
Outrageous plot holes make for an endless source of humor, the unintentional type. Funny details like why Wade isn't handcuffed properly with his hands behind or how is it possible that his face looks intact after a severe beating, will keep you wondering what brand of entertainment this is.
With a gunshot wound to the stomach, Fonda's character shouldn't even be alive, let alone travel and talk back. Dan gets to jump off roofs despite his handicap, the most dangerous mass murderer is allowed to sit next to Dan's children at the dinner table Not to mention something that all viewers must have wondered: why don't they just kill Wade? Why are they willing to risk their own lives to save a murderer from torture? "You can't do that. It's immoral". Wow, this is a masterpiece of the unintentionally hilarious. Are these people politically correct police officers transported with a time machine back in the Wild West? Such blatant disregard for plausibility makes you wonder about the filmmaker's intent.
The conclusion is tragi-comical and mind-blowing, for sure. Characters are elusive and inconsistent; we never really know what's driving Wade, and why Dan is ultimately drawn to him. The perplexing punchline, dripping with "moral ambiguity" had me laughing out loud. The soundtrack made it epic. I almost felt sorry for poor Charlie Prince.