Overrated, Unrealistic but Entertaining

Rating: 7/10 (23 November 2007)

Overrated is the first word that comes to mind. I don't know, I remember hearing such wonderful and shockingly positive things about this movie from critics. For god sakes, Roger Ebert gave it a '4-star' rave review. Critics said it was the best western since Clint Eastwood's 1992 Best Picture Oscar Winner 'Unforgiven'. After having finally viewed '3:10 to Yuma' I realized that most of what the critics said was pure bullshit. I mean, it was a good movie, don't get me wrong, but it's a seriously flawed Western and calling it the "best Western since 'Unforgiven'" isn't ridiculous, it's unforgivable. Christian Bale stars as a down-on-his-luck rancher/family man who is struggling to get by and getting run out of town. When gun-slinging bad-ass Russell Crowe comes to town and gets arrested, it's up to Christian Bale who is appointed to take him as a prisoner to the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. After that it's a wild but uneven ride rittled with clichés and poorly-crafted dialogue. When guns are a-blazin' in '3:10 to Yuma' it's absolutely incredible. Both the cinematography and directing (from the highly underrated James Mangold -- Identity, Walk the Line) of the film are absolutely sensational. The dialogue is another story. When the movie relies upon the dialogue and character development it's tedious, drawn-out and uninteresting. Also, while entertaining the gun-slinging is completely unrealistic and unlike what many morons want to compare it to "Unforgiven", which was one of the most realistic and gritty westerns I've ever had the privilege of seeing. As far as the acting goes, the two leads are very good. Russell Crowe is very effective and likable as the bad-ass bad guy, but it's Christian Bale who outshines him with a much more subtle and better crafted performance which boils to an emotional and brilliant peak in the film's final minutes. The supporting cast is filled with solid performers -- Gretchen Mol (The Shape of Things), Peter Fonda, Luke Wilson, Alan Tudyk (FOX's Firefly, Serenity) and especially Ben Foster (Alpha Dog), who for some reason seems to only being playing a hyper-active sociopath these days. All in all, I recommend '3:10 to Yuma' for anyone looking for a good time. Just don't be expecting anything Oscar-worthy. Grade: B