Ah, westerns, gotta love them. Despite our perception this is a dying genre, it has been a big year for them with: 3:10 To Yuma, No Country for Old Men, Sukiyaki Western Django and The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford. Initially, you would think casting an Englishman and a Kiwi in an American Western would be a recipe for disaster but with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in the saddles, damn, it works well. The film is based on the short story by Elmore Leonard, and is a remounting of the 1957 film. The 2007 version has James Mangold directing and it's a romp-roaring ride. Poor Dan Evans (Bale) sees himself caught up in escorting the mean and murderous outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) with a ragtag group of marshals and deputies (and eventually his son) to the railway town of Contention so Wade can be put on the 3:10 train to Yuma for his hanging. That is essentially the plot but, of course, there's a whole lot more going on here ... all of it brilliantly done. This is Crowe's movie for sure and his self-deprecating approach to playing Ben Wade is a joy to watch. Long live the westerns!
My rating 9 out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment