New Classic Review - 3:10 to Yuma

Today's review is of another instant classic, James Mangold's stunning western epic 3:10 to Yuma. The film is a remake of the 1957 film of the same name starring Glen Ford and Van Heflin, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard's short story.

The film begins outside of Bisbee, Arizona, sometime after the Civil War. Union veteran Dan Evans (Christian Bale), who lost part of his right leg in the war, is awakened to find the henchmen of his ruthless debtor Glen Hollander (Lennie Lofton) burning down his barn for being behind on his debt. He and his son William (Logan Lerman) manage to save the horses, but the last of their feed is lost in the fire.

The next day, while trying to wrangle their scattered herd, Dan, William and the youngest son Mark (Ben Petry) accidentally run across notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his gang attempting to rob the Southern Pacific Railroad payroll from a heavily armed and armored stagecoach for the 22nd time. Wade ends up using some of the cattle to finally bring the wagon, and it's Pinkerton Detective inhabitants, to a stop.

William, who idolizes Wade from the stories he's read about him, wants to get a closer look against Dan's objections. His hesitation causes them to be spotted by Wade and his sociopath second-in-command Charlie Prince (the brilliant Ben Foster). Recognizing that they pose no serious threat, Wade takes their horses, promising to leave them on the road to town so that they can't go for help. Dan and his sons find a survivor among the stagecoach wreckage, bounty hunter Byron McElroy (a marvelously subdued Peter Fonda), who has been shot by Prince. They drag him to their horses, at which point Dan tells the boys to round up the herd while he takes McElroy into town for help.

Meanwhile, Wade, Prince and the rest of the gang have sent the town Marshall off on a wild goose chase, and proceed to take over the local saloon in order to relax and split their bounty. The gang splits up, agreeing to reunite later, but Wade stays behind to romance the pretty barmaid. Prince agrees to wait near by in case Wade needs anything.

Dan arrives in town with the Marshall and in the process of begging Hollander to allow the stream that once flowed through his land to do so again, finds himself face to face with Wade. At this point, Wade is captured and the plan is to take him to Contention, a two day ride, so that he can be put aboard the 3:10 train to Yuma prison of the title. A posse is formed to accomplish this task, knowing that Wade's gang won't be too far behind. Gathered for the job are McElroy, Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts), a representative of the railroad, Tucker (Kevin Durand), one of Hollander's thugs, and Doc Potter (the always awesome Alan Tudyk), the veterinarian who pulled the bullet from the still-healing McElroy. Dan agrees to go, for the sum of $200 so that he can keep his ranch running. Butterfield agrees, and the men head off after switching Ben for a double to throw Prince off their trail.

What makes this film so amazing is that it could have been played like a typical action movie, with witty banter ridiculous stunts. Instead, interspersed with the action set pieces, we get some genuine character development. There isn't a single character in the movie who isn't changed by the events that occur. Crowe and Bale carry the film, turning in strong, understated performances. Usually in a film with two stars of this magnitude, one will outshine the other, but both actors perform the roles with a stunning minimalist approach that fits the film's tone perfectly.

The film is paced perfectly enough that the audience feels some of the same tension that the characters feel. Mangold also continues the style he used in Walk the Line: Every frame is composed like a work of art. His palette is suitably muted, with everyone wearing different shades of brown, and all the clothes are realistically covered in dust.

The main theme of the movie seems to be what it takes to be a real man, and much like real life, it means something different to each of the characters. William, through watching his father risk life and limb to deliver Wade to train, learns that manhood has nothing to do with how fast a draw you are or how many men you kill, but what you sacrifice for your family. Wade learns through observing Dan that real manhood is sticking to your word no matter what. Even when Wade offers Dan $1000 to look the other way and let him escape, that no one will think less of him for taking the money, Dan replies with "No one could think less of me."

Dan learns that being a man has less to do with how you provide for your family than it does just being there for them. By keeping his word and having integrity, he proves to his son that he is the hero his son deserves.

Also turning in a fine performance is Gretchen Moll as Dan's long-suffering wife Alice. She has a weariness in her eyes that really sells the performance. Also look for a strange, very small cameo by Luke Wilson.

All in all, Mangold's subtle direction perfectly matches the underacting performances turned in by Crowe and Bale, leaving fans of dramatic films well satisfied. And the shootout the ends the film (it takes up nearly twenty minutes of screen time) should be more than enough for action buffs looking for a thrill, although there are several well executed action scenes throughout.
Grade: 10
(All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being about as good as any film directed by a music video director with one name.)

Classic Review - Tombstone

Today's review is another of my all-time favorite movies: Tombstone.

Written by Kevin Jarre and directed by George P. Cosmatos (although the rumor is it was ghost-directed by Russell himself), Tombstone tells the story of the Earp brothers - Wyatt (Kurt Russell), Virgil (Sam Elliott), and Morgan (Bill Paxton) - and their attempts to settle down in the mining town of Tombstone, Arizona after a life-time of rough riding and gun slinging, on both sides of the law. They are joined by Wyatt's old friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer, criminally overlooked for a best supporting actor nod).

Unfortunately, as so often happens in movies and in real life, things take a turn for the worse. It turns out the town is under siege by a gang calling themselves the "Cowboys." After the kindly town Marshall is killed by the gang's leader, Curly Bill Brocius (a scenery-chewing Powers Boothe), and the local judge fails to convict Curly Bill, Virgil decides to restore some much needed law and order by having himself sworn in as a replacement. With his younger brother Morgan deputized, Virgil begins passing laws that the Cowboys find offensive. After breaking up a drunken brawl between one of the cowboys and Doc, Virgil finds himself on the wrong side of a Cowboy vendetta. Events escalate and lead up to Wyatt breaking his oath to himself to stay out of any trouble and becoming a Deputy Marshall himself.

What happens next is probably the best known gunfight in history: a showdown between the Earps and Doc Holiday, and a few of the Cowboys known as "The gunfight at the OK corral." However, this is only the first half of this epic western masterpiece. What follows is Wyatt's charge against the Cowboys, arguably less well known but much more impressive than the one gunfight. Russell is superb as the world-weary once and future lawman, conveying both an uncertainty in his every day life and a decisiveness in action that bring depth to what could have been a very one-dimensional character. Also excellent is the perpetually underrated Michael Biehn as Johnny Ringo, second-in-command of the Cowboys, and the second fastest gunslinger in the west.

The major theme running throughout the movie is fate. It begs the question, are certain people born to do certain things? Were the Earps born to be lawmen, destined to move from place to place, cleaning out towns full of thieves and murderers?

And what is Doc's place in the world? He seems to care about nothing but drinking and gambling, even going so far as to continue both, while chain smoking, despite his terminal tuberculosis. But as soon as Wyatt and his brothers get themselves into trouble, Doc is there to pick up the slack, fighting along side them, guns blazing.

While the questions are never fully answered, it would seem as though this was these men's lot in life. Virgil in particular seems burdened with a heavy conscience, as though he, in his inaction, is as responsible for the crimes committed by the Cowboys as Ringo and Brocius.

All-in-all, this extremely well written, amazingly acted, and expertly paced film deserves a spot on any movie-lover's shelf. I would highly recommend it to any action or western movie fan.
Grade: 10
(All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being anything Jean-Claude Van Damme has crapped out on DVD in the past ten years.)