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3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Dir: James Mangold (Walk the Line, Identity)
Cast: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster, Gretchen Mol, Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk
USA, 2007

Seen: September 8/07 at Scotiabank

Reason to see: I was sneaking in a speak preview for See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year, for week 37/52.

A great study in character is what the essence of 3:10 to Yuma is for me. Although many westerns delve in the land of character study this film focused on two characters that are a not as often seen in the genre. We have Christian Bale as the down on his luck family man Dan Evans, and Russell Crowe as the charismatic bad guy Ben Wade. This is excellent casting and I al always impressed by Christian Bale, and for this film in particular he portrays an uncanny strength of character which I feel is not often show enough. Russell Crowe is also very good, although I did feel at moments a strong similarity to Gene Hackman. The plot itself is fairly straightforward, however it allows for lots of interplay between our two protagonists, as well as a fantastic supporting cast featuring Alan Tudyk, Kevin Durand and Peter Fonda. But it doesn't end there, the one performance that literally commanded attention was that of Ben Foster, who plays Russell Crowe loyal follower Charlie Prince with such fierceness. He is definitely one to watch.

*3:10 to Yuma is a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. I saw the 2007 version before the 1957 therefore reviewed if from the point of view as a stand alone film. I will discuss any comparison between the 2 films in my review of 3:10 to Yuma (1957).

Warnings: Violence

Shannon's Overall View:
I thought it was great
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it

2 minutes of preshow including 0 minutes commercials (yay!) and previews : Good Luck Chuck

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© Shannon Ridler, 2007

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