3:10 to Yawn

I had high hopes for the pairing of Christian Bale and Russell Crowe in the remake of western 3:10 to Yuma, and it delivered... boredom. I saw Yuma as the front end of a double feature, my first in a long time (sidenote: If you've never tried the unofficial double feature, you really need to. P - a future post topic!?). Unfortunately for Yuma, I saw Shoot 'Em Up as the second flick. Immediately after the first movie ended, I had a mixed reaction. The acting had been fine, the action exciting but unoriginal, but I really didn't have any visceral engagement with the characters or the finale. Of course, after being on the edge of my seat laughing and cheering throughout Shoot 'Em Up, my real issues with Yuma came out. 3:10 to Yuma is slow for no reason, and since it is slow, I expect a lot deeper, more engaging characters.

I blame the screenwriting, which didn't give us enough depth with Crowe's outlaw, Ben Wade, to really understand any of the choices he makes towards the end of the film. The writing is unfortunate, because both actors, Bale and Crowe, are on their game, bringing an intesity to these somewhat lifeless western caricatures. But the intensity seems out of place with no emotional weight to back it up. As for the pace, there are a number of unnecessary scenes and drawn out shots that accomplish nothing other than to put the audience to sleep. When I compare 3:10 to Yuma with Open Range, my favorite western of the new millenium but also a slow moving film, I find the characters, action and emotional weight of the latter to be significantly more original and engaging. So, skip 3;10 to Yuma and instead drop whatever you're doing and go see Shoot 'Em Up right now!.

3:10 to Yuma - 1.5 PB Jars