3:10 to Yuma

James Mangold’s take on the 1957 Western classic 3:10 to Yuma, both adapted from the same Elmore Leonard story, proves to be a satisfyingly mounted modernization of the timeless Western tale. Russell Crowe takes over as the nefarious, suspiciously charming renegade thief Ben Wade. Christian Bale steps into the shoes of Dan Evans, a kindly down on his luck rancher. The two cross paths under less than ideal circumstances and soon Evans, desperate for cash to save his family’s farm, takes the dangerous gig of escorting Wade to the prison train that will take him to Yuma. The difficulty being that Wade is a much respected figure amongst crooks and thieves and his truly psychopathic band of followers are not likely to let him go without a messy fight.

If there’s a major difference between this version of Yuma and its predecessor, it’s in the length and efficiency of telling the tale. To be honest, the newer version, despite amping up the action to unexpected new heights, can still seem a bit slow at times. It tangles itself in subplots and bit characters where the original was as sparse and clean a narrative as could be dreamed. Judging it fairly, and on its own merits, there’s no reason to really condemn the new version. As could be expected, Crowe and Bale are both stellar in their roles. Bale, in particular, takes Evans to a more desperate, passionate place than anticipated. And while both men keep the film sailing along wonderfully, it’s Mangold’s stellar eye that keeps this thing standing tall beyond the more stunning moments of performance from the two. Even in the slower parts, it’s an undeniably beautiful film to look at with dusty, small town landscapes captured in brilliantly vivid color detail that could not be matched technologically by the black and white original, stunning though it may be.

It’s reassuring to see that there’s at least some interesting alterations made in this new version. It thankfully doesn’t play like a beat by beat recapitulation of the original’s story. Not every new twist works, but the gut-wrench ruthless attitude it’s taken toward the previously more peaceable Western genre (a trend of modernization certainly not invented here but utilized well nonetheless) is just enough of a reinvention to keep this remake fresh. It’s a well-done entry into a intensely waning genre that seems due for a comeback.

Grade: B