Sunday, February 10, 2008

3:10 To Yuma

I love a movie that gives me The Danny Gut! Flicks that make me fidget while I watch, and ponder what I'd do if living under the circumstances of the characters. Having seen the original 3:10 To Yuma, (starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin) I presumed to know how this 2007 remake would go down. So I overlooked it for several months.

That was a mistake!

So much better is this remake that it really is significantly different from the original, sharing only that film's most basic concepts. There's more back story, better plot development, better acting and better production. Christian Bale is remarkable as the dirt farmer who puts himself in harms way to rekindle a sense of dignity. Russell Crowe is equally riveting as the outlaw who's reminded that dignity is essential to humanity. The two men are polar opposites drawn toward a common understanding by their shared experience.

Let's compare the two films on The Danny Gutometer, (Where 1 means "yawn," and 5 means "I'll be thinking about this movie for days"):

The 1957 version: 3 Danny Guts
The 2007 version: 4.5 Danny Guts

This scene shows why Christian Bale is, in my opinion, the most talented actor working today:





11 comments:

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Thanks for the heads up on the movie. I just added it to my Netflix acount.

The Film Geek said...

Sure, Fishing Guy. Be sure and let me know what you thought of it.

Ian C. said...

I loved this movie, though the ending initially left me scratching my head a bit. Watching two of the top actors working right now go toe-to-toe was truly a pleasure.

Buzzardbilly said...

I rented this the other week for Curmy and he didn't even watch it. Maybe I'll rent it and put it in when he's out of the room (this usually lures him to the doorway to see what the movie is where he hovers till he finally sits in the chair to watch...this is how we watched Mr. Woodcock this weekend...it was better than I thought it would be).

All Click said...

Dude, didn't I tell you this film was great? Maybe I forgot. But yer, I loved it. I don't even like Russell Crowe that much but thought he did a fantastic job and Bale was as superb as expected.

The Film Geek said...

Ian: The ending was strange, but I settled on the dignity aspect of it. Not how I would have eneded it though.

BB: Rent it again!

All Click: You did tell me. And I ignored you. I apologize. :)

Unknown said...

I summarized this movie to a coworker as "good, but don't get attached to anyone." lol

I'm really beginning to like Christian Bale. He was also intriguing in The Prestige.

Brendan said...

Loved it up to the point where a character starts making decisions that are completely out of character. Will say no more so as to avoid spoilers, but man that ending was ridiculous.

The Film Geek said...

In the original, the Crowe character develops a deep respect for Bale's character during the time they spend together. He connects with the dignity of Bale and, I think, aspires to that. I thought this remake did a poor job of visually representing that, as in the silly ending you reference. But it was within the character's make-up to appreciate and be attracted to humanity and dignity. I took the ending as his way of recognizing he had lost that, and doing something to re-develop it.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

I finally recieved the movie from Netflix. It took a week to get here from GA. It was worth the wait. I enjoy Russel Crowe and just watched him in 'A Beautiful Mind'. I do agree the ending does leave you scratching your head. The action was outstanding in through the course of the movie.

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