3:10 to Yuma

Come on.... bad guy Ben Wade is emotionally stirred to send himself to the gallows by Christian Bale's Dan Evans' moving story about how he can't reveal the truth of his lost leg to his sons??! I don't want to ruin the end for folks either but really??? To that point this was a great film, Russell Crowe delivers another stellar performance matched by Bale; Peter Fonda and a few other 'somewhat knowns' round out a great cast. The one thing about movies that always aggravates me, they have to maintain the illusion of plausibility (Smallville, you can't have Superman's ears bleed when the banshee chick screams really loud: Superman's ears aren't weaker than the rest of him); the wrap up of 3:10 to Yuma jumps the track.

This is really a western updated for our time. Well acted and written with lots of dark comic twists and great action. Much better than the trailer lets on it's a sure crowd pleaser.

The glory days of rideing tall in the saddle in Hollywood have been long past. At 33, I am too young to remember them. But 3:10 to Yuma, would bring a tip of the hat from The Duke himslef. This remake of an old John Ford picture feels fresh and new, while still holding true to the classic ideals of the American Cowboy. The charactors are complex, each with thier own secrects, and haunted pasts. As the we ride the trail with them, the people unfold before us like a long told campfire tale. A very well cast Bale and Crowe give fine performances,and its thier underline humanity,and vunerablilty, that gives the film its heart. With our own western landscape as the backdrop, and slow simmering tension, the Wild West has not looked this good in years. With gunsmoke, and tumbleweeds, heros and villains, 3:10 is as much fun as your first set of toy cap pistols.