3:10 to Yuma
Director: James Mangold
Year Released: 2007
Rating: 2.5
Loose remake of the 1957 Delmer Daves classic - based on the Elmore Leonard story (Mr. Leonard is, as of this writing, thankfully still with us and still productive) - that has a disgraced farmer (Christian Bale) escorting a badass outlaw (Russell Crowe) to a train station. The plot is incredibly flimsy and psychologically implausible (the ending is particularly baffling - why have the townspeople open fire when there's a chance they can kill Crowe? - but I was rather into the dark tone of the picture, the scenery and the performances of Crowe and Bale, who are outstanding together. This isn't about to redefine the Western in any way, shape or form, and I'm probably overrating this - plus, Ben Foster's performance is over-the-top (as usual) - but I don't care: I enjoyed watching every minute of this, so take that for what it's worth.
