3:10 to Yuma

I have a confession: the biggest reason I saw this movie is because it helps me in my quest to see everything Christian Bale. I have yet to be disappointed by any of his performances (and yes, I have seen "American Psycho." Baaaaad movie, good acting). That, combined with the fact that word-of-mouth was virtually unanimous in its praise of this film, reassured me that this was a must-see.

I am happy to say that, as in the case of Stardust (see below), I will once again side with the majority here and assert that 3:10 to Yuma has several qualities that qualify it for the high praise it has been receiving. Let's begin with a brief synopsis: Christian Bale's Dan Evans is a down-on-his-luck rancher in Post-Civil War era Arizona. Evans bears heavy burdens of debt, a disheartened wife and disenchanted teenage son, and a physical handicap that has defined his life for the past 3+ years. By circumstantial events, Evans volunteers his services to help transport the baddest man in the West, Russell Crowe's Ben Wade, to a train station where the outlaw will be shipped off to prison in Yuma. Evans' motivation is a two-hundred dollar payoff if he delivers Wade in one piece; Ben Wade's motivation is to avoid prison and reunite with his gang at all costs.

Throughout the journey, the audience is treated to terrific performances by both Crowe and Bale, who, by the way, do a fantastic job of portraying Western stereotypes even though the actors are Aussie and Welsh, respectively. The real scene-stealer, however, is Mr. Ben Foster, who plays Charlie Prince, the doggedly-devoted sidekick and second-in-command over Ben Wade's posse- er, excuse me- gang (he hates posses). Allow me to include a bit of a review that I feel describes Charlie perfectly:

"...speaking of the bullet in the belly from two feet, the man on the trigger end of that action is super-arch bad guy deputy gang leader Charlie Prince, played in a flat-out show-stealing performance by Ben Foster ("Six Feet Under," "Alpha Dog"). Don’t be fooled by the name, Mr. Prince is no prince---he is as steely-eyed a cabin-fevered prairie killer as you will ever see. Foster actually manages to look like he is cross eyed, drooling and has an uncontrollable nervous twitch without drooling, crossing his eyes or twitching. He is just that good. Watching him you can’t believe anybody that messed up could speak in complete sentences."
(to see author Ron Wilkinson's full review, click here: http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/reviews/article_1353003.php/Movie_Review_310_to_Yuma)

Aside from mostly excellent performances (come on...Dallas Roberts' idiotic performance as Mr. Butterfield was so out of the league of the other leads- Ben Wade's legendary gun had more personality), the film also presents some interesting psychological details that seem a little incongruous at times but also provide some depth to an otherwise formulaic Western. I realized pretty early on that I would have to reconcile the fact that the take-no-prisoners, sharpest-shooter-in-the-West, ruthless-killer-if-ever-there-was-one Mr. Wade would just happen to take a liking to Dan Evans and they would become buddies, of a sort. After allowing myself to accept that fact, it became pretty easy to enjoy the rest of the movie and ignore some characterization inconsistencies.

This film deserves kudos for solid acting, plenty of rootin'-tootin' Western-style action, and some interesting psychological and emotional explorations courtesy of characters Evans and Wade. A distracting bit part by Luke Wilson and its accompanying sequence of events seemed a little out of place, and having to ignore some rather large characterization flaws will cost this film some points. But generally, an enjoyable film. Long live the West. B+