3:10 to Yuma

3:10 TO YUMA (2007) - August 5, 2008
A superlative western about an outlaw who finds himself being escorted to a prison train by a determined rancher (an a few others). This was a really well made film, featuring interesting characters and great performances. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale are both in peak form here, and I particularly liked the relationship between their two characters (and Ben Foster was a definite scene-stealer as one of Russell Crowe's smarmy henchmen). James Mangold's direction is particularly good; he makes good use of the widescreen frame and directs the action sequences with a steady hand, making them exciting without ever resorting to the quick-cut/shaky-cam trope that so many contemporary directors fall back on when they can't think of any other way to make an action scene work. The film lags a tiny bit around the mid-section, but that's a minor complaint. It really is too bad they hardly ever make westerns any more, especially when they're this good. ***1/2