Bale Faces Crowe in 3:10 to Yuma

[Hunter Rider]

Saw it today, god i loved this movie, at heart it's a morality play but as it develops there is so much more, Bale as Dan Evans is the heart of the movie, he gives a great performance making you feel for him every step of the way, his pride constantly taking hits as he struggles to maintain his ranch, a great line in the movie is when he turns to his wife Alice and says "I'm tired of the way my boys look at me and the way you don't" he's a man in need of regaining his self worth but at the same time wants to show his son what a decent man is.

On the flip of this we have Crowe's Ben Wade, at the core a stone cold killer but Crowe shades him with so much gray it leaves you confused over what to feel, This is a man that throws a guy off a cliff for insulting his mom "Even bad men love their moms" but he is so charming and charismatic that he's hard to fully hate until he suddenly does something like mentioned above and you get an abrupt reminder.

He's cultured and sophisticated for an outlaw of that time, the way he sketches in his book is a nice little touch to the character and his relationship with Dan is complex, the way that Dan's son sees his dad as a loser and weak but sees Crowe's outlaw as a man that makes things happen, he's captivated by him yet interestingly at the same time Wade is fascinated with Dan, perhaps seeing some of the man he wished he was.
The entire time he wants Dan to walk away and not get hurt, he offers him chance after chance and even his cut of the robbery they commit at the beginning if he'll take his boy and go, at the same time the men that want to build the railways and the Pinkerton's that defend it for them are not portrayed as good men, they just show their greed in a different way.

Ben Foster has gotten a lot of shout outs for his role as the psychotic Charlie Prince and he's very good as the two gun wielding crazy with the whiny prick voice and terrifying eyes.

James Mangold's direction is stellar, he allows time for the scenes to breathe and for the actors to deliver, never rushing to get to the next big moment, he chooses some fantastic shots to showcase the old west and his handling of the action is assured with a dab of style, there is a superb horse chase through some tunnels that ends with a fantastic money shot of Evans leaning back with his shotgun as he's riding and blasting the dynamite Wade throws up to bring the tunnel behind them in and hault their pursuers.
The final rush to the station is superb with some fantastic angles on the running gun battle and Mangold holds on shots long enough for you feel that you are running with Wade and Evans as they head for the 3:10 to Yuma.

9/10

 

[Super_Ludacris]

lol@ Tombstone being the best Western ever

Pick up the damn Leonne/Eastwood movies already, christ.

 

[Spider-Fan]

3:10 to Yuma was a great movie, and my 2nd favorite movie this year (though it was probably the best overall movie this year).

 

[Hunter Rider]

Fixed

That movie only made him a cult fav with fanboys though, it took quite a while after for anyone else to care

lol@ Tombstone being the best Western ever

Pick up the damn Leonne/Eastwood movies already, christ.

Heh, ive seen Tombstone a couple of times and i thought it was decent, it seems to have been elevated by many due to Kilmer's outstanding turn as Doc Holiday, I wouldn't say it's up there with True Grit, the Searchers, Josey Wales, Dances with wolves or Unforgiven though.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

I thought the general consensus was that with Unforgiven, Eastwood shattered all previous conventions within the Western genre to the point that anything predecessing it seemed obselete in comparasion ( or so my Media and Film Studies teacher told me..... I mean it got me a B+ when I wrote it on the term paper)

 

[Batty Belfry]

3:10 rocked, and that's all I have to say about that! Awesome film.

 

[DocHoliday]

Why Super Ludcris, we cross? Because if I thought we were not friends, I just don't think I could I bare it.


I love Tombstone. It may not be the "greatest" Wsetern but for me it is certainly the most re-watchable.

 

[Damiean Dark]

I think Tombstone is the best of the genre just because i love the performances from the whole cast especially the amazing turn from Kilmer.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

What's a "Wsetern"?

 

[Hunter Rider]

I thought the general consensus was that with Unforgiven, Eastwood shattered all previous conventions within the Western genre to the point that anything predecessing it seemed obselete in comparasion ( or so my Media and Film Studies teacher told me..... I mean it got me a B+ when I wrote it on the term paper)

Hmmm, Can't say Ive ever heard it described like that before, it was a great movie that had the interesting parallel of the character and actor, the old gunman out of time as the west was changing and the old actor saying goodbye to the genre that made him, it was very poignant but just another chapter in the genre IMO, albeit a fantastic chapter.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

I think Tombstone is the best of the genre just because i love the performances from the whole cast especially the amazing turn from Kilmer.

For you yeah, but for others....not so much.

Like I said Eastwood/Sergio Leonne Spaghetti Western era is the best. Older heads might argue it's the John Wayne/Stewart helmed "Frontierism" era. Anything from those two eras kills it.

Only thing in recent memory that holds weight is Unforgiven, because like I said it shattered previous conventions of the genre (which is what you should do to reinvent as Leonne did to Wayne's era) and no one really tried to change or preceed that since.

Most people have forgotten the prime era of the genre because it lacks the appeal of other genres (Sci-Fi, Horror) and so the casual film fan tends to forget the true classics and only thinks of the recent which made no impact.

 

[Damiean Dark]

I think Tombstone is the best of the genre just because i love the performances from the whole cast especially the amazing turn from Kilmer. But while other famous westerns where original ideas based on these gritty times all the people in Tombstone where based on real people it was a historically romantic idea of the times prior to and after the O.K Coral incident and the relationship between Earp and Holiday thus many parts are overblown and easily concluded e.g the romance between Earp and Josiphine.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Hmmm, Can't say Ive ever heard it described like that before, it was a great movie that had the interesting parallel of the character and actor, the old gunman out of time as the west was changing and the old actor saying goodbye to the genre that made him, it was very poignant but just another chapter in the genre IMO, albeit a fantastic chapter.

Well when you look at Unforgiven, it was one of the rare films where the hero showed an incredible amount of vunerablilty. One of the appeals of the genre in the 50's and the 70's was the precieved invincibility of the main characters ( I mean if you wanna get technical and overthink it: John Wayne was like a Silver Age Superman with his patriotism and pro fronterism stance and Clint Eastwood was on some 80's Frank Miller/00's Nolan Batman type shizzle. But this Unforgiven one dude was like Nite-Owl in Watchmen. Think about that parrell when it comes to the evolution of main characters across genres).

Anyways, your right about the fact that it was Eastwood saying goodbye to the genre but in doing so, he kinda smashed a lot of connatations and it was really hard for the public (coupled with the fact the genre is itself was not as appealing to the current generation) to look at the genre the same since it had been stripped of its auroa of invincibility, I mean you cant compare the Quick and the Dead, Tombstone and Wyatt Earp in the same respects to it cause they didnt try to maintain the new formula and so it felt like Unforgiven was the peak and the Western had died....

The remake of Yuma's is intresting because in some ways it feels like its cut from the same cloth as Unforgiven with a vunerable good guy and a darker tone to the "old western small town" its set in. But again it is a remake and its not really orignal (though really good). One could argue Deadwood as a show did more to update and bring back the western on TV.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Well when you look at Unforgiven, it was one of the rare films where the hero showed an incredible amount of vunerablilty. One of the appeals of the genre in the 50's and the 70's was the precieved invincibility of the main characters ( I mean if you wanna get technical and overthink it: John Wayne was like a Silver Age Superman with his patriotism and pro fronterism stance and Clint Eastwood was on some 80's Frank Miller/00's Nolan Batman type shizzle. But this Unforgiven one dude was like Nite-Owl in Watchmen. Think about that parrell when it comes to the evolution of main characters across genres).

John Wayne also portrayed a very similar character in his final movie "The Shootist", a dying gunman who was a relic of the past who wanted to go out old style before the West he knows is gone forever.The Hitman looking for redemption is also a familiar theme of other genres but the age thing was what really set it apart, not just a vulnerability but what happens when a cowboy gets old , his shooting aim is going and his badass days behind him much like the old West that was dying with him

Anyways, your right about the fact that it was Eastwood saying goodbye to the genre but in doing so, he kinda smashed a lot of connatations and it was really hard for the public (coupled with the fact the genre is itself was not as appealing to the current generation) to look at the genre the same since it had been stripped of its auroa of invincibility, I mean you cant compare the Quick and the Dead, Tombstone and Wyatt Earp in the same respects to it cause they didnt try to maintain the new formula and so it felt like Unforgiven was the peak and the Western had died....

I feel Unforgiven is one of a kind, it's a genre that can be adapted in many different ways, Unforgiven certainly felt like it took it in a brave direction compared with some of it's peers thus stands out.

The remake of Yuma's is intresting because in some ways it feels like its cut from the same cloth as Unforgiven with a vunerable good guy and a darker tone to the "old western small town" its set in. But again it is a remake and its not really orignal (though really good). One could argue Deadwood as a show did more to update and bring back the western on TV.

Well Unforgiven isn't totally original in themes and quite a bit was changed in this remake but i take your point, the Evans character's difference is he was the every man from the start, never a badass, his injury and mild mannered decent man nature made for his vulnarebility, William Munny was a Stone Cold killer gotten old, his age was his vulnerability.

 

[DocHoliday]

What's a "Wsetern"?

Don't be a smartass lol. t: Hponestly I think everyone who hates on Tombstone should be taken out to the stable and beaten by Kurt Russell.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Don't be a smartass lol. t: Hponestly I think everyone who hates on Tombstone should be taken out to the stable and beaten by Kurt Russell.

What's "Hponestly"?

 

[DocHoliday]

What's "Hponestly"?

As Bruce Willis would say, "Spellcheck is for ******s" Come on dude as if you have never had a typo. Get with the program, chief.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

I bet whatever word that was put on auto-censor was spelt wrong too....

 

[Hunter Rider]

Don't be a smartass lol. t: Hponestly I think everyone who hates on Tombstone should be taken out to the stable and beaten by Kurt Russell.

Well for what it's worth i wasn't hating on Tombstone, just saying i think there are better and it's gotten elevated due to the Kilmer performance

 

[DocHoliday]

I bet whatever word that was put on auto-censor was spelt wrong too....

Censored it myself. So wrongo, again pal.

 

[DocHoliday]

Well for what it's worth i wasn't hating on Tombstone, just saying i think there are better and it's gotten elevated due to the Kilmer performance

haha not you man. I was talking to Ludacris who clearly took offense to a Tombstone joke and decided to attack my stellar typing skills.

 

[Super_Ludacris]

Because it was spelt wrong?

 

[DocHoliday]

Because it was spelt wrong?

LOL I thought it was funny at first because I picked fun at your apparent dislike (hate) of Tombstone but everyone know typos are not fair game for scrutiny. OH but if you are asking why I censored it, because it is profanity silly. I am in no hurry to get banned for TOS violations.

 

[echostation]

I love this film and i am not even a big fan of westerns... there was just something different about this, I thought the chemistry between Crowe and Bale was off the hook... excellent stand out film, so far the best film i've seen this year imo (after Pan's labyrinth which I only saw earlier in the year despite it being last year's release)

 

[Hunter Rider]

haha not you man. I was talking to Ludacris who clearly took offense to a Tombstone joke and decided to attack my stellar typing skills.

lol, Well after this convo i feel like digging out Tombstone, it's been a while since i watched it and i'm in the mood for more Westerns after seeing Yuma.