by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
A Rated R 117 min
This is filmmaker James Mangold’s exciting remake of a 1957 film based on an Elmore Leonard short story. The original starred Glenn Ford as Ben Wade and Van Heflin as Dan Evans. The complex paradigm shifts in morality between the outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and Rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is what makes this western really special.
An underlying subplot involves the advancing railroad across rancher Dan Evans’ land. Heavily in debt, Evans is in danger of losing his ranch to a ruthless land speculator who lent Evans money. Motivated by a large payday, Evans agrees to help guard Wade on a trip to catch a prison train to Yuma. The thing is–Wade’s gang of killers is shadowing the group and plans to attack them to free their boss. Wade has committed numerous stagecoach heists, murders and bank robberies, so he has a date with the hangman in Yuma.
At first meeting, Wade takes a liking to Evans because he sees part of himself in Evans’ morality. But Wade has long ago strayed from conventional morality by his murderous deeds and criminal ways. Similarly, Evans sees the good in Wade but needs the money for helping to bring Wade to justice. The two have a grudging mutual respect for one another, blurring the lines between good and evil. In other words, Wade is not all bad, Evans is not all good and both men are smart and cunning, so they meet each other on a common ground between good and evil.
Wisely, Mangold did not tamper with the well-written script, but updated the special effects, stunts, and gun gags to be much more realistic. Mangold’s western mosaic is properly gritty and dusty, as grungy, gun-toting men live by the frontier justice of the Colt six-shooter and shotgun. Logan Lerman portrays Evan’s fourteen year-old son with scene-stealing verve. The boy has had to grow up fast, and against his father’s wishes, he shadows the group as it moves closer to trouble.
Although Wade is the prisoner wearing handcuffs, he wields the power over the men. The Pinkerton guards give him space and his above-average intelligence and leadership ability rules their wills. In this ad hoc platoon, Evans is second in command. Thus, the trip to the train station to put Wade on the 3:10 to Yuma is a clash of wills, with Wade winning out. When they are attacked by Indians, Wade takes command and helps them defend the group with a gun. Of course, this exemplifies the old adage that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
The prisoner contingent pull off a successful ruse by sending a fake Wade off in a stage coach, knowing Wade’s gang would attack it, thus buying them time in the process. But, when the gang realized they’ve been had, they quickly regroup and head back to the train station, which is the scene of the inevitable showdown.
There are many times during the fateful trip to the train station when Wade and Evans join forces. By now, they could be allies, but Evans’ strong sense of morality is his anchor. His integrity and moral compass guide him in his decisions. When Wade offers him a thousand dollars (like a hundred grand in today’s world) to let him go, Evans knows that he could not explain the windfall and people would know he betrayed the rule of law.
The truth is, Evans only took this job to help pull himself out of debt. He has a pretty wife and younger boy at home. Evans is satisfied with making an honest living and providing for his family. On the other hand, Wade is ruled by greed and murders people who get in his way. Yet, the story suggests that Wade still has a spark of morality in his soul that allows him to admire Evans.
When the dust clears, the two men are still on opposite sides of the law, but they are willing to live and let live without killing each other. But circumstances change when the gang arrives at the train station. All hell breaks loose, and all the men’s loyalties to job, God, and family are severely tested.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
