3:10 TO YUMA [R]
The western is back. Writer-director James Mangold, who wrote and directed the multiple award-winning Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, remakes the minor 1957 movie starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin and makes it pop. This is no over-elocuted “Deadwood” soap, either, but rather a lean, shrewd and energetic new take on the story by Elmore Leonard (who was rather fond of westerns before he took to hard-boiled crime stories). The story involves a forlorn rancher and Civil War veteran named Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who volunteers to shelter and then shuttle captured charismatic outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to the train to Yuma Prison, only Wade’s gang of sociopaths is bent on preventing that. Shot and choreographed beautifully and scored by Marco Beltrami (Live Free or Die Hard) with only a subtle flavor of Morricone, the film is a real treat, especially when the cast asserts itself. Bale (The Prestige) is a chameleon for the ages, making Evans epic but understated, pathetic and pitiable. Crowe’s badass swagger is in full effect, and were he not so good in the role, the proud smirk he wears throughout would be irritating. The rapport the two share is fantastic, a cat-and-mouse dynamic that satisfyingly shifts to one of respect and understanding. Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand) is terrifying as Wade’s fancy-pants muscle, Charlie Prince, and veteran Peter Fonda adds some Old West punch as Pinkerton man Byron McElroy. While Mangold’s love letter to the great westerns is no genre redefining Unforgiven, it is sure to be the year’s first post-summer hit, and may even have the juice to make it to awards season. It’s that good, and it’s about time. –Robert Newton