It’s time to take the 3:10 to Yuma all over again when director James Mangold’s Western remake pulls into the streaming train station on Paramount+ beginning Friday, November 1. Starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, the film even outshines director Delmer Daves’ 1957 original, which came out 50 years beforehand, in the eyes of the late movie critic and Chicago Sun-Times journalist, Roger Ebert.
Ebert gave 3:10 to Yuma a perfect four-star rating, and he was particularly impressed by the “quality of the acting,” which he wrote about in his original review (per RogerEbert.com):
“James Mangold‘s 3:10 to Yuma restores the wounded heart of the Western and rescues it from the morass of pointless violence. The Western in its glory days was often a morality play, a story about humanist values penetrating the lawless anarchy of the frontier.
It still follows that tradition in films like [Clint] Eastwood’s Unforgiven, but the audience’s appetite for morality plays and Westerns seems to be fading. Here the quality of the acting, and the thought behind the film, make it seem like a vanguard of something new, even though it’s a remake of a good movie 50 years old.”
Unlike its 1957 predecessor, which didn’t receive any love from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mangold’s updated 3:10 to Yuma was nominated for two Oscars. Marco Beltrami was recognized for his efforts working on the Western’s score, while David Giammarco, Paul Massey, and Jim Stuebe were nominated for Best Sound Mixing. And even though the film walked away empty-handed at the 2008 ceremony, 3:10 to Yuma remains a must-see today.
Roger Ebert’s Reasons Why the 3:10 to Yuma Remake Outshines the Original
James Mangold has made some fantastic movies during his illustrious career, including Walk the Line and Logan. However, the filmmaker’s take on author Elmore Leonard’s 1953 short story, Three-Ten to Yuma, really struck a chord with the late Roger Ebert. And the renowned film critic preferred the 2007 reimagining over the original because of the actors and thanks to “more thought behind the dialogue.” Ebert wrote in his same review:
“Mangold’s version is better still than the 1957 original, because it has better actors with more thought behind their dialogue. Christian Bale plays not simply a noble hero, but a man who has avoided such risks as he now takes and is almost at a loss to explain why he is bringing a killer to justice, except that having been mistreated and feeling unable to provide for his family…”
Ebert, who became the first movie critic to receive a Pulitzer Prize (1975 | Criticism), continued by writing about 3:10 to Yuma as follows:
“He [Bale’s character, Dan Evans] is fed up and here he takes his stand. Crowe, however, plays not merely a merciless killer, although he is that, too, but a man also capable of surprising himself. He is too intelligent to have only one standard behavior which must fit all situations, and is perhaps bored of having that expected of him.”
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In addition to its imminent arrival on Paramount+, November 1, Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma is currently available to stream on Netflix. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale give memorable performances, as Ben Wade and Dan Evans, respectively. However, the must-see Western’s cast also includes the likes of Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk, Vinessa Shaw and Ben Foster.