A Surpising and Enjoyable Treat

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2008)

The production of traditional cowboy (or more commonly known as Western) movies swiftly ended with the retirement of actors such as John Wayne. The occasional Western film is brought out from time to time such as Dances with Wolves and the Magnificent Seven which still contained elements of their classic forefathers. Yet today, Western films have taken a different turn, amplifying the evil wills of the bad guys and developing character plots far more than the classics, such as "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". 310 To Yuma is just that, it's another newly produced film of the present breed of Western films. The character development between the "evil as hell" Russel Crowe and "pride wounded" Christopher Bale is surprising and memorable at the sacrifice of logic. Towards the end the viewer is left with many unanswered questions and left to assume with their own interpretations. The storyline was fairly adequate to a real western story of crime, not blowing the whole thing out of proportion. I personally enjoyed the malevolence of the supporting actors it made the film more memorable. Commendable mentions to Ben Foster who whenever talked had an affect on the audience. There weren't any clear messages of the film, besides looking out for your family and die hard. Just another tale of good vs evil. It's not exactly an instant classic but it's worth seeing on either the big screen or television set. The action certainly won't let you down and you won't be left disappointed. This movie seems to be a building block for new generation audiences and will help guide the path for more Western films in the years to come. Overall, I give it a 3.5 stars and it's worth watching a second time.