3:10 To Yuma
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale & Ben Foster
Rated: R
Length: 122 min.
Release Date: Sept. 7th 2007
Trailer
Synopsis:
Rancher Dan Evans heads into Bisbee to clear up issues concerning the sale of his land when he witnesses the closing events of a stagecoach robbery led by famed outlaw Ben Wade. Shortly thereafter, Wade is captured by the law in Bisbee and Evans finds himself one of the escorts who will take Wade to the 3:10 to Yuma train in Contention for the reward of $200. Evans’s effort to take Wade to the station is in part an effort to save his land but also part of an inner battle to determine whether he can be more than just a naive rancher in the eyes of his impetuous and gunslinging son William Evans. The transport to Contention is hazardous and filled with ambushes by Indians, pursuits by Wade’s vengeful gang and Wade’s own conniving and surreptitious demeanor that makes the ride all the more intense.
My Thoughts:
Hollywood remakes…sometimes we love them…often we just end up hating them. Depending on how big the original was and how long it has been since its original release can have a big impact on how the public takes the update. Often, if it’s been decades since the film was out and it didn’t have a monumental impact on the industry then it’s likely many people have forgotten the original film all together or they didn’t even know the film was a remake in the first place. At times they might re-title the film to make it look like a fresh idea (like 1961s The Absent Minded Professor remade in 1997 and simply titled Flubber) but often they will keep the same title. Great examples of such films are Scarface staring Al Pacino, Fun With Dick and Jane staring Jim Carrey, Gone in 60 Seconds starring Nicholas Cage and The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser.
Love them or hate them one thing you can be sure of is when Hollywood gets bored they look to the past to revive long dead cash cows. You can be the judge of whether or not each of these updates are handled with the care they deserve (let alone if they deserved the update in the first place) but one older film I’m glad was re-addressed is 3:10 to Yuma.
The original 3:10 to Yuma was made back in 1957. It is a classic western flick from the hay day of Hollywood westerns. However, being 50 years old it had become a bit dated and lost much of its appeal and attention that it once had. I was very open to a remake, if done right…which they did. Perhaps the most ironic part of this re-make is that the two leads aren’t Americans…they are Australian. As ironic as that is, Bale and Crowe do a great job taking these classic American characters and making them their own while staying true to the spirit of the original.
Over all this movie has kept the story and the core themes explored in the original very much the same, which I greatly appreciated. I am finding that, because of movies like this the western movie genera has been making a come back. I don’t know that it will ever be as hot as it was in the 1940s and 1950s when it seemed as if a new western movie was coming out every weekend (not unlike action movies in the 80s and early 90s or like the comic book super hero/graphic novel movie craze today) but I have seen an increase in good modern westerns that touch on great themes like courage, respect, and doing the right thing even if you have to do it alone, which is what 3:10 to Yuma is all about. If this trend continues I can’t wait to see what else Hollywood will come out with next. 4 stars out of 5.
The Goulson Movie Marathon 