3:10 to Yuma: Don’t Miss This Train

Studio: Lions Gate Films
Starrting: Russell Crowe (Gladiator) as Ben Wade, Christian Bale (Rescue Dawn, Batman Begins) as Dan Evans, Ben Foster (The Punisher) as Charlie Prince, and Peter Forda (Ghostrider) as Byron McElroy
Directed by: James Mangold (Walk The Line)
Subtitles: English, Spanish

The Story
Ben Wade (Crowe) is the leader of a gang of ruthless robbers, targetting the southern rail road. After robbing a stage coach and killing the crew, they return to town to divide the spoils. There, Wade is captured.

Down on his luck cattle farmer and former civil war veteran, Dan Evans (Bale) offers to escort Wade to Contention, so that he can be taken by train to Yuma prison. The posse takes the hazardous journey, all the while being trailed by Wade’s gang, led by vicious killer Charlie Prince (Foster). Can Evans get Wade on the 3:10 to Yuma, or is this too much for one man to carry on his shoulders? Can he redeem himself to his son?

This is a very welcome return to form for the western genre. Sure, there’s gunslinging and stage coach robberies, but there’s also a very real story of a man’s self-doubt as he struggles to do right for his family. Bale is superb as the man struggling to keep his farm and land in the face of an ever expanding railroad. He is a good man who’s killed with low self-worth, but with enough strength to fight to keep his family fed.

Crowe shines as the ruthless Ben Wade, a man just as willing to kill his own gang members as any unfortunate Pinkerton who stands in his way. His love of nature and his knowledge of the bible are at odds with his murderous nature.

Ben Foster is spellbinding as the cold as ice killer Charlie Prince who respects no one except Wade and who was willing to do anything and kill anyone to get him freed. He was truly chilling.

After watching all those early westerns with John Wayne that were riddled with blatant racism, I was wary about revisiting this genre, but boy, am I glad I took the risk. This is simply a superb movie, ably directed by James Mangold, and based on a short novel by Elmone Leonard (Jacky Brown, Get Shorty). What an enjoyable way to spend 2 hours! My score: 9.5/10.

The Visuals
The visuals on show are superb. The many outdoor shots are rendered faithfully. The open scrublands and canyongs are beautifully detailed. Close-ups, too, look fantastic. The stubbled faces, the textures of the clothes worn were impeccable. Skin tones are accurate. The nighttime scenes look great, too, with topnotch shadow detail. This is reference material, and I will give it a 9.5/10.

The Audio
The only word I can use to describe the 7.1 PCM soundtrack is WOW. This is truly top draw material. Panning is accurate – you really feel as though you’re part of the action. The numerous gunshots emanate for all around you with a real kick. But it’s the quieter moments, too – that shine, the rustle of the dry vegetation in the canyons sound eerie. Dialog is never drowned out and the score by Marco Beltrami plays out clearly. Again, this is reference material. My score is 10/10. There is also a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX soundtrack.

The Extras
As soon as the disc is spinning, we get a collection of trailers for the new Rambo movie, War, Lord of War, The Condemned, Crank, The Punisher, and Good Luck Chuck, all in hi-def.

We have an audio commentary with director James Mangold. Destination Yuma is a behind-the-scenes featurette. It’s not your usual fluff piece, and I found it interesting to watch. It was shown in full HD.

Outlaws, Gangs, and Posses goes into the truth and myths of living in the wild west, a very interesting featurette showing the rise of the outlaw gangs. It’s great to finally hear the sometimes dirty truth about the wild west. It runs for 13 minutes and is shown in HD. An Epic Explored discusses the differences and similarities between the movie and reality. It runs for 6 minutes and is shown in HD, as well.

3:10 to Score is a featurette on the scoring for the movie, featuring Marco Beltrami. Of particular interest was how a simple piece of piano wire was used for the opening sequence. This feature runs for just over 7 minutes in HD. From Sea to Shining Sea discusses the transcontinental railroad and the impact it had on America. It runs for 20 minutes, also in HD.

A Conversation with Elmore Leonard discusses his life writing western novels and what influences him. This runs for 5.5 minutes, yet again in HD. The Guns of Yuma is a featurete on the guns used in the movie with the Key Armorer going into detail why each gun is used. Very entertaining, and runs for 6 minutes in HD. Historical Timeline of the West shows a timeline from 1869 to 1899, and is full of interesting facts well worth a browse.

Deleted scenes are basically scene extensions. These run for 7 minutes in HD. Also from Lions Gate is the before-mentioned trailers for other LG movies. Bookmarks enable the viewer to bookmark any particular scene. There’s the theatrical trailer for the movie in HD. Inside Yuma allows the viewer to watch the movie with either storyboards, script, Picture in Picture (PIP), or dailies. Very clever and worth your time.

This is an excellent collection of worthwhile extras. That they are all shown in full HD is a bonus. My score is 10/10.

Overall Impact
A much needed return to form of the western genere, this is an excellent movie with superb visuals and audio and quality extras. Lions Gate proves it is truly behind Blu-ray with 3:10 to Yuma. High recommended. My score: 10/10.

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