Fine remake of the 1957 original

Rating: 8/10 (28 February 2008)

This is a very fine remake of the 1957 Van Heflin, Glen Ford version. Director Mangold sustains tension between his characters throughout his film. The acting and editing are top-notch and help this film transcend other works from this genre. Crowe's portrayal of Ben Wade is ruthless, artistic, humorous, and tragic all at once. Bales' Dan Evans is less rich in texture, but he clearly conveys the emotions of someone struggling with definitions of heroism and honor. When all other lawmakers demonstrate cowardice, only Evans and his son, a potential outlaw like Wade, do what's right. Bales' Evans is stoic and relentless, yet his existential doubt about the task at hand is abundantly evident. What motivates him is having to transcend his guilt over how he lost his leg. Next to Wade, Ben Foster's Charlie Prince character is the most interesting. Prince is sinister and darkly comical at the same time. We understand why he feels no remorse gunning down Pinkertons and cheer him when he shoots sadistic railroad bosses, yet we loathe him when his gang and he kill defenseless lawmakers. For these reasons, his brand of violence is easier to swallow than that of sociopathic Richard Widmark, the grinning killer in "Kiss of Death." Peter Fonda, Logan Lerman, and Dallas Roberts also perform admirably and leave us with memorable images of their characters' actions. "Yuma" is aligned in tone with "The Unforgiven" and similar revisionist Westerns, and it carries an underlying social justice motif with contemporary parallels. When Evans finally reveals how he lost his leg, we understand his stubborn drive to deliver Crowe to justice. It's fair to compare his fate to those or our neglected, mentally and physically wounded soldiers from the Iraq War. That's the subtle, universal power of the film.