On the most basic level, the plot setup is basic Western material. Regular-joe rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale), who usually spends his days tending the cattle and giving money to greedy land-owner Hollander, happens to find outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) at the town saloon. Now, the newly-captured Wade needs to get on the 3:10 train to Yuma prison.
A group of townspeople, which includes Evans, town physician Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk), crusty old lawman Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda) who was wounded by Wade’s gang and bank benefactor Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts), is assembled to take Wade to the station. Along the way, they must fight off Wade’s gang, led by Ben Foster (Charlie Prince) and other numerous dangers — not to mention Wade himself.
The set of characters seems stock on the surface — doctor, old guy, etc. What seperates them from the usual set-up is the acting behind these roles. For one, Bale brings a quiet grace to Evans. He’s not a great hero or a crusader for good, just a family man with a missing foot and a quiet sense of honor and pride. Evans wants to support his family and do right by him, and that’s all. Ironically, it’s this simple integrity that makes Evans into a great hero as the film goes on. The background actors here don’t chew the scenery or phone it in — they strike the perfect balance between the two and fill their roles amply. Tudyk breathes life into the tired “timid doctor” cliché with his naïve enthusiasm and just-doing-my-job attitude. Fonda plays a great hardened curmudgeon, underplaying where he could have overacted. Prince is menacing as Foster without slipping into cartoon villainy. Best of all, Crowe makes Wade into a multifaceted outlaw with his own moral code and suave wit. He could have gone for the typical “bad guy who is really good and/or misunderstood” angle, and instead went for a portrayal that is neither good nor evil, or even misunderstood. Wade follows his own code, with his own heart and morals at the center of his philosophy.
Along with these great players comes a great story, full of turns and surprise moves. This is especially refreshing, as Westerns tend to follow a set track. Thanks to some unexpected deaths and changes in plan early on, the fate of everyone and the whole mission is always in question. Thanks to this atmosphere, the successes and defeats are all the more meaningful.
All this action goes on in a completely authentic setting. The plains and hills look stunning, yet never steal the show like in “Brokeback Mountain.” The buildings and cabins are the same, all of them looking like they were hand built. Even the lighting looks real, with the sunlight and shadows left in.
Gunfights look so much better when they take place somewhere that doesn’t look like a Burbank set with a green screen. On that note, the gunfights are spectacular — no fake sound effects or toy guns filled with blanks.
You may not know who will be alive or in the end, but you can know for sure that the film itself will stay alive to the last. For a solid Western, or just a well-done flick in general, “3:10” is a sure shot.
