Featuring two of the greatest actors alive. An underappreciated gem.
When it comes to marketing a film, we’re certain that the studios love nothing more than something that can be easily defined and categorised. Genres like romantic-comedies, horrors and big-budget action films are an easy sell.
On the other hand, Westerns are not.
The fact that James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma absolutely flopped at the box-office did come as a surprise though because with a cast that’s lead by Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, audiences should have been lining up at the cinema.
Hell, Mangold’s own CV should have been enough of a draw when the film was originally released in 2007 because after directing films like Cop Land (massively underrated), Girl, Interrupted, Identity, and Walk the Line, he boasted one of the most interesting back catalogues around.
In fact, Mangold would later strike gold by making a very different type of Western, Logan.
In many ways, 3:10 to Yuma absolutely destroys the belief that a remake can’t be better than the original because this thrilling throwback features brilliant characters, great acting, gritty action and a very quick tempo throughout.
Special praise goes to Ben Foster because in a film that’s lead by two Oscar winners, he manages to steal every scene that he’s in.
Ok, what’s it about?
In Arizona in the late 1800’s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad.
When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans (Christian Bale), struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the 3:10 to Yuma, a train that will take the killer to trial.
On the trail, Evans and Wade, each from very different worlds, begin to earn each other’s respect. But with Wade’s outfit on their trail – and dangers at every turn – the mission soon becomes a violent, impossible journey toward each man’s destiny.
Clip via – TrailersPlaygroundHD
With a rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and 76% on the far more reliable Metacritic, it’s clear that 3:10 to Yuma was a critical darling but despite this positive word of mouth, audiences largely stayed away from it – the film fell below expectation with a domestic gross of $53.6 million and a $55 million budget.
The New York Post described it as “An extremely well-acted and well-directed remake of a 1957 oater based on a short story by the then-obscure Elmore Leonard, while TIME said that “when a movie is as entertaining as this one, you begin to think this formerly beloved genre is due for a revival.”
On that note, we definitely think it’s worth another watch when it airs on TG4 at 21:35 tonight.
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