Original is better

Rating: Null/10 (28 August 2011)

Are remakes always better than the original? Certainly not I'm sorry to say and this is particularly true for 3.10 to Yuma. First of all, I must agree with other reviews on this site that have pointed out the far-fetched contents of the plot; particularly those relating to the personality structure of Ben Wade. The bad guy with the not-so-bad human touch does not work, as so many examples in former reviews have amply illustrated. Wade remains a cold-blooded murderer and deserves no sympathy on the part of the viewer. The shoot-out at the end of the film as a final climax even borders on the comical as it totally unacceptable that in order to give the plot a sort of Greek drama content, the leader of the pack turns on the gang that set out to rescue him. Russel Crowe does his best to to portray Wade's supposedly split personality but can't compete with Glenn Ford whose natural charm contrasted perfectly with his role as a villain. Christian Bale is a brilliant actor but his physique and strong features stand in the way of his portrayal of a rather weak character. Here again the hesitant Van Heflin in the original cast was more convincing. On the whole the first version of this movie was more slow-paced, less complicated and although even then one had doubts as to the credibility of the story, much more convincing.