Save your money ... rent "Unforgiven"

Rating: 5/10 (23 September 2007)

If you're looking for a western on the same lofty level as Eastwood's "Unforgiven", HBO's "Deadwood", or even the original "3:10 To Yuma", this remake ain't it.
While Christian Bale and Russell Crowe give strong performances, everything else about this film rates a "C" at best. The quality of the cinematography is uneven throughout the film, looking more like a series of dailies than finished product. While some films purposely strive for a dated look, "Saving Private Ryan" being one example, "3:10 To Yuma" just looks sloppy. Wash-out in one scene, uncontrolled glare in the next. It simply looks cheaply done.
The dialogue, storyline and edits aren't much better than the cinematography. Scenes that should be longer are truncated, while other scenes just run on and on, with no apparent rhyme or reason. Somewhere in the 120 minutes of mish-mash, there's a reasonably good film, crying out for an editor who understands dramatic timing.
The storyline and dialogue seem more suited to a shoot-em-up video game than a serious film. As the body count grows, there are practically no realistic reactions from any of the characters, good or bad. Just another dead guy ... 30 points ... "ding!" All that being said; ... if you like westerns, see this film. At best, you may enjoy it. At worst, you'll have the mid-range of the graph that this film represents as a reference point with which to judge the truly great westerns.