3:10 to Yuma

3:10 to Yuma……1957 - 2007
In black & white with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, exactly 50 years later in color with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Yuma 2007 style is a taut, well written, well directed, well edited, and well acted flick. It’s story, action and dialogue have you riveted to the screen. Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is a no nonsense ruthless dude, yet somehow evokes empathy for his cut throat portrayal. Like the lad in one scene stated he’s not all bad. Crowe’s (Wade) dialogue towards Bale is probing and Bale’s (Evans) responses muted, but a rapport is eventually established. Bale (Evans) is steadfast and grounded and wishes to leave a moral imprint with his family. The story has subtle twists and turns and a dubious ending. Great camera work that is visually stunning and flows smoothly and effortlessly from scene to scene, enhance this film. There are blitztering hails of gunfire at the movies end, which is a bit far-fetched, but at lease they do reload frequently. The music score reminisce of Ennio Morricone spaghetti westerns doesn’t really come into play until the end but is a fitting score none the less. All in all the 1957 version and the 2007 deserve the label CLASSIC western.