Is the American Western making a comeback? Perhaps it's just perception, for two big westerns released close to the same time does not a comeback make. However, I saw 3:10 to Yuma today, and I'm excited to see The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford as soon as it gets a wide release (Roger Deakins is about the only person who can interest me in a movie just by being the Director of Photography).
As far as 3:10 is concerned, it's a remake of (or at least shares the same Elmore Leonard short story for source material with) the 1957 film of the same name. Even having seen the trailer, there were some pleasant cast surprises in the film, namely Alan Tudyk, Peter Fonda, and Luke Wilson. And like all the good westerns of the 50s and 60s (okay, probably not), the leads are fleshed out by a Kiwi and a Brit (that's Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, if you happen to live under a rock, Batman vs. Gladiator.)
In the interest of keeping this short, 3:10 is a great mix of the old-style western and modern movie sensibilities. All is not black and white, although it starts off down that road. It's rated R for good reason. It's very violent and bloody. Although it's not shot by Roger Deakins, Phedon Papamicheal (The Pursuit of Happyness) can do no wrong with the various New Mexico locations as a backdrop. The story draws in the viewer from the first 30 seconds and never allows time for his mind to wander after that. The only 2 things that even reminded me I was watching a movie were a couple of minor continuity errors where the editor chose a take on a long shot that showed two men operating the gatling gun after one had already been shot off the coach, and another where snow appears on a slope after having not been there seconds earlier.
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