Movie Review: 3:10 to Yuma...
3:10 to Yuma
Friday Night, Rose and I had movie night and watched this. It was slow at first, ok for about the first 3 quarters of the movie. Slow enough for Rose to say... "I'm really not into this movie." But we forged ahead, because I had already invested more than the alloted time. (30 minutes). Now I must admit it was slow, but it did pique my interest a tiny bit. Just enough for me to wonder a little bit about the characters to hold on for a few answers. So we made it all the way through the movie. I liked it. Rose, Not so much. Now what is funny is that when I was in college I took a class that explained the influence of westerns on popular culture of today. Heck, we watched westerns in class and then dissected every nuance of the movie. It sounds like a no brainer class... it wasn't. I failed the first test. I did however turn it all around and ended up with a B. I was an interesting class and to this day I look at westerns differently than most people and my movie rules don't apply to them. Now for the review...
I enjoyed the fact that you were never really sure of the integrity of the Main characters. No cut and dry answers. The "Good Guy" Pinkerton guy (peter fonda) really wasn't all that good. The "Bad Guy" (russell crowe) lived by a code, kept his word and had a decent streak. "Good Guy" farmer (christian Bale) you wonder throughout if he could be bought. Secondary "Bad guy" was loyal to his boss, but did not share the same code. Westerns that are heavy on the drama tend to do that with their characters... blur the lines of good and bad. When that is done well, You end up rooting for both sides to win and dissappointed when there is only one winner. Watching the dynamics between the two leads makes me believe they two characters probably would have been friends if things were different.
Yes the movie was slow, but all in all I thought it was a pretty good western. Would I buy the DVD to watch again.?.. No. Would I watch it on TV if it came on... probably not. When it comes to westerns, I can watch the drama heavy ones once maybe twice... But my favorites (watch over and over and over (like silverado) will be the ones that are a little more commercial and lighter because they are formula driven. My favorite watch over and over are the 1960's John Wayne westerns. Now there is some mindless escapism.
Review over.
Friday Night, Rose and I had movie night and watched this. It was slow at first, ok for about the first 3 quarters of the movie. Slow enough for Rose to say... "I'm really not into this movie." But we forged ahead, because I had already invested more than the alloted time. (30 minutes). Now I must admit it was slow, but it did pique my interest a tiny bit. Just enough for me to wonder a little bit about the characters to hold on for a few answers. So we made it all the way through the movie. I liked it. Rose, Not so much. Now what is funny is that when I was in college I took a class that explained the influence of westerns on popular culture of today. Heck, we watched westerns in class and then dissected every nuance of the movie. It sounds like a no brainer class... it wasn't. I failed the first test. I did however turn it all around and ended up with a B. I was an interesting class and to this day I look at westerns differently than most people and my movie rules don't apply to them. Now for the review...
I enjoyed the fact that you were never really sure of the integrity of the Main characters. No cut and dry answers. The "Good Guy" Pinkerton guy (peter fonda) really wasn't all that good. The "Bad Guy" (russell crowe) lived by a code, kept his word and had a decent streak. "Good Guy" farmer (christian Bale) you wonder throughout if he could be bought. Secondary "Bad guy" was loyal to his boss, but did not share the same code. Westerns that are heavy on the drama tend to do that with their characters... blur the lines of good and bad. When that is done well, You end up rooting for both sides to win and dissappointed when there is only one winner. Watching the dynamics between the two leads makes me believe they two characters probably would have been friends if things were different.
Yes the movie was slow, but all in all I thought it was a pretty good western. Would I buy the DVD to watch again.?.. No. Would I watch it on TV if it came on... probably not. When it comes to westerns, I can watch the drama heavy ones once maybe twice... But my favorites (watch over and over and over (like silverado) will be the ones that are a little more commercial and lighter because they are formula driven. My favorite watch over and over are the 1960's John Wayne westerns. Now there is some mindless escapism.
Review over.