I generally don’t care for Westerns because of how predictable they have become, how awful the acting generally is, and how redneck the entire experience feels. Some of the worst, in my opinion, are those in which the good guy is the hero and is never tempted by evil, and where the bad guys have no bit of goodness left in them. But when I saw that 3:10 to Yuma was starring two great actors (Russell Crowe and Christian Bale) and was getting some amazing ratings and reviews, I couldn’t pass it up... even if it meant feeling like I was back in Kansas.
The movie focuses on Ben Wade (Crowe), a criminal mastermind who has led his gang through 22 stage coach robberies, all of them carrying the Southern Pacific Railroads payroll. It just so happens that Southern Pacific Railroads is trying to take property from a dirt poor rancher, Dan Evans (Bale), to put down a new railroad. But on one of Wade’s holdups, Evans cattle and land get involved, and their paths cross. And when Wade is captured, Evans is so desperate for enough cash to make his down payments that he agrees to help escort Wade to the 3:10 train to Yuma, where they will detain Wade until his trial, conviction, and hanging.
Although it is definitely a Western, it’s by far the best one I have seen. The characters have more personality and depth than I have ever seen in a Western. Wade has a gentler, civil side to him, yet his gang is completely brutal, evil, and even animalistic. And as a hero, Evans is very conflicted; doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons and being visibly tempted by Wade’s offers to pay him more than he is getting for delivering him to the authorities. Yet, through their journey, trials, and troubles, you can see a strange sort of respect form between Wade and Evans, even with Wade in handcuffs and Evan’s gun on him most of the movie.
The other big perk about this movie is that the action scenes are top-notch. All of them are really well executed, filmed, and edited with almost all of the actors doing their own stunts and very little CG being used. And the end of the movie has a classic shoot-out between Evans and Wade’s entire gang which spans the entire town, includes running and shooting from roofs, and all kinds of crazy stuff. This is a Western like you’ve never seen, and with some luck, it could just revolutionize what it means for a movie to be a good Western.