#1 ·
One good thing about a remake of a movie like 3:10 to Yuma is realizing just how much you've changed over twenty-five years, and how watching a film more closely opens up so many different ways to interpret it. Still, one thing stays true: a well-executed western, in all its stripped-down simplicity, is arguably the most rewarding genre to film. Especially when you have two of the best actors working today in the lead roles—that pretty much settles the matter. Easily the best film I've seen in the last year. On one hand, you have the classic setup where, amidst a sea of crime and fear, one man with a code shows everyone else what it actually means to be a man (think High Noon), and on the other, there's this modern visual authenticity of the Western (like Unforgiven). It’s that rare moment where you're actually glad you sat through a film in a theater.
It's hard to say which of the two is better. What’s interesting is that at certain points, you almost lose track of who stands where, plus it feels like they intentionally played it so their fates are intertwined by chance—making who is on which side almost secondary.
After it ended, I found myself wondering if it's even possible to make a similar kind of film set here in our own backyard... maybe something involving a member of the US Military Police heading to the front lines a few days after the Storm, tasked with arresting a US Army officer over some alleged crimes... hmm....
It's hard to say which of the two is better. What’s interesting is that at certain points, you almost lose track of who stands where, plus it feels like they intentionally played it so their fates are intertwined by chance—making who is on which side almost secondary.
After it ended, I found myself wondering if it's even possible to make a similar kind of film set here in our own backyard... maybe something involving a member of the US Military Police heading to the front lines a few days after the Storm, tasked with arresting a US Army officer over some alleged crimes... hmm....