Derailed...

Rating: 4/10 (21 February 2008)

As a fan of both Russell Crowe and Christian Bale with a taste for spaghetti westerns, James Mangold's 3:10 to Yuma was quick to catch my eye amidst the likes of Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton and Tarantino's Death Proof. Pitting the Oscar winning, bad-boy Crowe against the ever impressing, intensely diverse Bale was a mouth-watering prospect and Yuma was a train I eagerly sought to catch. Unfortunately, I found myself travelling second class.
As in the original, the drama lies in the tension between the two leads. Crowe is the bearded outlaw Ben Wade with the stupidest cowboy hat I've ever seen. Bale is the partially crippled, cash-strapped rancher Dan Evans, don't worry his hat is better. Anyway, their paths cross when wanted man Wade is arrested via the aid of Evans, who offers to help guard the bastard until the train to Yuma prison arrives in an exchange for $200. As the men edge towards the station and the clock tick-tocks towards ten past three, the tension rises. The men's strained company is fuelled by envy; Wade yearns for Evan's domestically orientated way of life and hot wife (Gretchen Mol); whereas Evans wants the outlaw's mutinous freedom. And, in time, a hushed respect develops between the two. But Wade's widespread reputation as a ruthless gang-leading, gun- slinging killer keeps all the guards on their toes. Especially Evans. Will Wade's raucous, trigger-happy crew intercept? Or will they be beaten by the clock? Only time will tell
3:10 To Yuma is by no means a bad film, but its plot is relatively bland and falls short of exercising its star's potential as well as its audience's imagination. It's a western that shies away from trying something new. Whether that's the point of the tale or not I don't know, after all it is a remake. And the fact that Mangold opts to open with (brace yourself western fans) a robbery, is an early indication of just how lacking in innovation Yuma is. As for Crowe, well, he's been far more convincing in the past. His portrayal of Wade requires him to be a merciless, short-fused desperado whose only real effort to cut loose as the villain is by oddly supporting Evans in his personal pride filled quest and conjuring up some rather nifty charcoal sketches. How intimate. But the character of Wade is ultimately a cold-blooded, bible- quoting killer who seems to do all he can to capture the audiences' sympathy. It doesn't work. The Aussie seems to have a knowing grin on his face throughout the entire movie and, after a while, his sadistic comebacks flirt with your nerves. Bale, on the other hand, is excellent, playing a hard-done-by, withdrawn hero who's more concerned with regaining the respect of his wife and two boys by putting the bulky villain behind bars than he is with the cash. His poignant justification to his wife as to why he's opted to guard Wade is one of the film's few captivating moments. "I'm tired of watching my boys go hungry. I'm tired of the way they that look at me. I'm tired of the way that you don't."
Ben Foster's portrayal of Wade's right-hand-man Charlie Prince is also one of the film's highpoints. He's about as ruthless as Wade himself, but his idiosyncratic Arizona accent, killer one liners and swanky jacket make for a character you'll love to hate. Add to that the bombastic, far-fetched gun war at the end which helps generate a decent level of excitement but, ultimately, 3:10 to Yuma fails to build up a full head of steam.
If you're a hardcore fan of the western genre, steer clear of this. Clint Eastwood practically buried the genre with Unforgiven. Yuma has absolutely nothing on Clint's magnum opus and would be shot-dead in a stand off withJohn Hilcoat's potent Aussie western (well eastern) The Proposition. Unless you can pick Yuma up somewhere for cheap, the £12.99 for which you'd normally be required to pay for this DVD, really isn't worth it. And don't even get me started on the £24.99 you'd have to fork over for the Blu-Ray version.