Online Archive of Film Critic Sean Patrick
Movie Review: 3:10 to Yuma (2007) – A Masterful Modern Western
James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma (2007) is a gritty, muscular remake of the 1957 classic, itself based on Elmore Leonard’s short story. Starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, this modern western blends sharp psychological tension with thrilling shootouts. While Mangold had already shown he could tackle intimate drama (*Walk the Line*) and noir-ish thrillers (*Copland*), here he proves his hand at pure genre craftsmanship, creating a western for the 21st century that feels both fresh and timeless.
The premise is elegantly simple: down-on-his-luck rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) agrees to escort notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to catch the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. Wade’s gang, led by his feral right-hand man Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), is in hot pursuit. As the journey unfolds, what begins as a simple mission becomes a battle of wills, with Evans' integrity and Wade’s enigmatic morality clashing in fascinating ways.
- Performances: Russell Crowe oozes charm and menace as Ben Wade, giving one of his finest performances. Christian Bale plays the straight-laced Dan Evans with quiet desperation and deep moral conflict. Ben Foster nearly steals the show with his volatile, unpredictable turn as Charlie Prince.
- Direction: James Mangold strikes gold. His pacing is sharp, the action explosive, and his eye for character dynamics masterful. He keeps the film rooted in classic western structure while modernizing the emotional texture.
- Dialogue: The script crackles with tension. The exchanges between Wade and Evans elevate the film far beyond shootouts. Their moral sparring is the real duel.
- Cinematography & Design: The landscapes are dusty and expansive, and the production design evokes a lived-in, grimy Old West without ever looking artificial.
- Stretching believability: Some might balk at the code of honor the film ultimately leans into, or the occasionally mythic sense of manhood. But for genre fans, that’s part of the appeal.
- Supporting characters underused: While Peter Fonda’s presence as a grizzled bounty hunter is welcome, a few other characters don’t get much depth.
One of the most quietly riveting scenes unfolds over dinner at Dan Evans’ home. As Wade dines with the Evans family, a subtle power play takes place. Wade flirts—without overtly doing so—with Evans’ wife (Gretchen Mol). The tension in the room simmers below the surface. Mol’s performance is brilliant in its restraint, her flushed cheeks and nervous glances revealing volumes. Crowe exudes quiet confidence. Mangold shoots the scene in tight, intimate frames, drawing the characters closer even as nothing explicit is said. It’s a masterclass in subtext and tension.
3:10 to Yuma is a masterwork—brimming with tension, grit, and emotional depth. It’s not just about guns and grit; it’s about what makes a man, how far a person will go to reclaim self-respect, and whether even the worst men can surprise you. Mangold’s assured direction, Crowe’s devilish charisma, and Bale’s slow-burning intensity combine to create a modern classic. This is one western remake that not only justifies its existence—it surpasses the original in many ways.
⭐ Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
What’s your favorite modern western? Drop a comment below with your thoughts on 3:10 to Yuma and let me know if you prefer this or the 1957 original!
Enjoyed this review? Check out more Western movie reviews here.
Movie Review Girl Interrupted
Girl Interrupted (2000)
Directed by James Mangold
Written by James Mangold, Lisa Loomer, Anna Hamilton Phelan
Starring Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth Moss, Clea Duvall
Release Date January 14th, 2000
I have seen the movie Girl Interrupted before. I saw it when it was released theatrically in January of 2000. I recall admiring it and new, rising star, Angelina Jolie, who would earn a much deserved Oscar nomination for her work. Thus, it came as quite a shock to me, when I watched the film for the first time since the theatrical release and was shocked at how bad it was. The opening two minutes of Girl Interrupted features one of the most obnoxious movie tropes on the planet.
Let’s set the scene: Interior some dingy, unused portion of a 1960s mental hospital. Four young women are in the room and it appears that something awful has happened. The scene is narrated by our leading actress, Winona Ryder who delivers this wildly melodramatic voiceover monologue:
“Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you had the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train was moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60s.Or maybe I was just a girl… interrupted” Turn to camera, look directly down the lens.
Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here.
Movie Review A Complete Unknown
A Complete Unknown
Directed by James Mangold
Written by James Mangold
Starring Timothee Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbero, Boyd Holbrook
Release Date December 25th, 2024
Published December 18th, 2024
There are many sharp elements in A Complete Unknown. Timothee Chalamet’s prickly take on Bob Dylan is one, Monica Barbero’s sharp performance as Joan Baez is another, and Elle Fanning’s keen eyed take on Dylan’s muse, Suze Rotolo, renamed Sylvie Russo in the film, is equal to her co-stars. But it is in the softer, gentler moments of A Complete Unknown where I really enjoyed the film. In particular, Scoot McNairy portrays the dying days of music icon Woody Guthrie wordlessly but with remarkable warmth and expression. Seeing Dylan gently full of awe as Guthrie urges him to play a song for him is one of my favorite moments of any film in 2024.
That I don’t completely love A Complete Unknown has a lot to do with my lagging ability to tolerate music biopics. While A Complete Unknown does have a stronger approach than many other recent biopics, the thudding Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect, comes unfortunately to mind as an example of rote hero worship, director James Mangold nevertheless falls into many of the typical traps of the hagiography as his reverence for Dylan and his culture shifting performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival renders the director something of a fanboy rather than a clear eyed director.
Find my full length review at Beat.Media, linked here.
Movie Review Logan
Logan (2017)
Directed by James Mangold
Written by Scott Frank, James Mangold, Michael Green
Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Hal Holbrook, Stephen Merchant
Release Date March 3rd, 2017
When I first saw Logan, the latest spin-off of the X-Men franchise, I was not impressed. There was so much hype, so much discussion about how the R-Rating would finally allow Wolverine to be Wolverine. Then I saw the film and found it to be as conventional as any of the other X-Men movies with a little bit of gore tacked on for fan service. So, what’s changed for me since March of this year? Why was watching Logan at home on a DVD screener from the studio so different from watching the film in theaters earlier this year?
Logan once again stars Hugh Jackman in the role of Logan aka Wolverine. When we see him, he’s sleeping in the back of a fancy stretch limousine and gang members are trying to steal the tires. Logan tries to convince the men to leave peacefully but they prefer to attack him. In defense of his expensive vehicle, and with little care for his own well-being, Logan launches into a grisly battle and leaves several of the thieves’ dead.
From there we travel across the border to Mexico where Logan is hiding the debilitated Professor X (Patrick Stewart). With the help of another mutant named Kaliban (Stephen Merchant), Logan cares for Professor X by doping him up with medication to keep his powers neutralized and to keep him from remembering that he was responsible for killing a lot of people when he suffered a seizure several years ago that led the government to consider his mind a weapon of mass destruction.
The tiny, insular world that Logan has built for himself is upended when he meets Gabriella (Elizabeth Rodriguez). Gabriella wants to hire Logan to drive her and a girl she claims is her daughter, Laura, (Daphne Keen) to North Dakota where a group of fellow mutants is expected to help them cross the border to a place they call Eden. Unfortunately, Gabriella is being hunted by Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), the low-life leader of a group called The Reavers. It’s Pierce’s job to eradicate mutants that won’t fight for the evil Transigen corporation.
The plotting of Logan is simple and straight forward and I failed to give the film credit for that simplicity in my original review. Keeping things clear and easy to follow in the complex and desperately crowded super-hero genre is surely something to be praised. Logan has a clear and simple goal, get out of the country alive at all costs and if unable, make sure you die, and take as many Reavers with you as possible. The motivation is clear, and all the action is linked strongly to that motivation.
Find my full length revie in the Geeks Community on Vocal
Movie Review Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny
Movie Review Knight and Day
Movie Review 3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Directed by James Mangold
Written by Halstedt Welles, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas
Starring Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster, Gretchen Mol
Release Date September 7th, 2007
Published Septembeer 6th, 2007
Director James Mangold made a splashy directorial debut with the gritty crime drama Copland. Though most remembered for star Sylvester Stallone's weight gain for the lead role, Copland was in fact quite good. His next feature earned him even more acclaim. Girl Interrupted was nominated for multiple Oscars and won one for Angelina Jolie's tremendous supporting turn.
Then Mangold drifted toward the mainstream with a pair of forgettable studio efforts, the dull time travel romance Kate & Leopold and an oddball thriller called Identity. Both were pro level efforts but they lacked heart. Then in 2005 Mangold found himself again and delivered Walk The Line. The biography of Johnny Cash was everything one could ask for in a bio of the legendary man in black.
As great as Walk The Line was however, with 3:10 To Yuma James Mangold has crafted his first masterpiece. This moody, manly western, based on an Elmore Leonard short story, stars Russell Crowe as Ben Wade a badass outlaw whose gang is a group of mad dog killers who will follow him straight to hell if need be.
The plot of 3:10 To Yuma is as stripped down and straight forward as any classic western. One brave man must escort a murderer to the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. There the killer will be hanged for his many crimes. Complicating manners is the bad guys gang of badass killers who will ride through hell or high water to rescue their boss.
It's not the plot that matters, but rather the motivations, the actions and interplay between the exceptional characters. Russell Crowe inhabits the evil Ben Wade with snaky charm and a sharp tongue. Though admittedly a killer and an obvious menace, Crowe's Ben Wade has the kind of charm that few women could resist and few men can compete with.
Compared to Crowe's Wade, Christian Bale's stalwart good guy Dan Evans is a bit of a wet blanket, initially. Part of the story of 3:10 To Yuma is Bale's Evans earning the respect of Ben Wade and those of us in the audience harboring a secret affection for Wade's charms. This battle between good and evil, shaded with the gray of desperation, fear and greed, is played out with blood, guts and bullets but more than anything, great old school filmmaking.
James Mangold's direction of 3:10 To Yuma is nearly flawless. From his dusty western landscapes to the brilliant interplay between Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, Mangold manages a classic western that never feels stale. Though this is a remake, there is no retread vibe here. 3:10 To Yuma modernizes the western aesthetic without gimmicks like modern scoring or quick cuts but rather with the awesome star turns of Bale and Crowe.
In the supporting cast I especially loved the inclusion of Peter Fonda as an old west lawman. Fonda has not been this good in awhile and his inclusion is yet another nod to the old school western, his dad Henry made a few pretty good westerns back in the day. The supporting performance that nearly steals the film however, belongs to young Ben Foster whose intensity almost exceeds Crowe and Christian Bale, two of our more ferocious leading men period.
As he showed in Alpha Dog and 2005's Hostage, Foster can play live wire with the best of them. In 3:10 To Yuma it's more of a controlled burn than a live wire but it's as fierce as those performances with a touch more maturity. Foster is developing into an excellent go to character actor and may have found a real niche with this performance.
My favorite scene in 3:10 To Yuma is one of the more quiet moments in the whole movie. Dan Evans and a small posse are hiding Ben Wade, preparing for the trip to Yuma, at Dan's farm. Wade joins the family for dinner and when Evans leaves the table to check in with the posse guarding the doors, Wade begins a conversation with Evans' wife played by Gretchen Mol, in her dowdiest school marm frocks. Mrs. Evans is fearful of Wade but its not long before you wonder if she'd be willing to run off with him if given the chance.
Crowe gets much of the attention in this scene but Ms. Mol's subtle changes in expression, her flushing cheeks and darting eyes are near perfect. The scene is perfectly captured by Mangold with tight close ups and framing that seem to draw the two actors into the same frame without them moving an inch. Though I noticed these subtle movements, I was watching for them, most audiences will experience them seamlessly and, I think, be as mesmerized by them as I was.
There are a number of similarly strong scenes in 3:10 To Yuma including much of the third act which takes place in a single hotel room as Evans waits to take Wade to the train even as the place is surrounded by Wade's gang. The original 3:10 To Yuma spent most of its runtime trapped in one hotel room under similar circumstances, these scenes in the new 3:10 To Yuma are as much a nice throwback nod to the older film as they are a necessary piece of plotting.
3:10 To Yuma is a masterpiece of style and substance. While some may fault the films logic of manhood and respect above all else, I dug the old school western values. I especially bought into the idea that Crowe and Bale's characters would hold these ideals above all else and be willing to give their lives for them.
When awards season rolls around in late December and early January expect to see 3:10 To Yuma on a number of lists. Especially keep an eye out for Russell Crowe who delivers a performance here that is arguably the best of his career.
You must see this movie!
Movie Review Kate and Leopold
Kate & Leopold
Directed by James Mangold
Written by James Mangold, Steven Rogers
Starring Hugh Jackman, Meg Ryan, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer, Natasha Lyonne, Bradley Whitford
Release Date December 25th, 2001
Published January 24th, 2002
There has been talk that romantic comedy is a dying genre. The plots and conventions of the genre have become too familiar and many filmgoers are growing more pessimistic about on-screen romance. Kate & Leopold may not be the film to breathe new life into this struggling genre but for what it is, a light little cookie of a film, it's not bad.
You know your watching a romantic comedy when Meg Ryan comes on screen wrinkling her cute button nose that screams, “Love me.” In this film she is the titular Kate, who is more concerned about getting ahead at her job in advertising than finding a meaningful relationship. Her last relationship was with a quirky scientist played by Liev Schreiber. Schreiber is trying to solve the puzzle of time travel so that he can travel through time to meet his great-great uncle Leopold (Hugh Jackman), an inventor who may hold the key to Liev's scientific writer’s block.
After accomplishing time travel he accidentally brings Leopold back to the future with him. From there Kate meets Leopold who she assumes is some method actor. Leopold is immediately drawn to Kate but she at first just thinks he's weird. There is something odd about him, he's chivalrous and well mannered and well spoken. Very unusual for the modern male, but then as we already know he's not modern at all.
The love story develops well and director James Mangold doesn't let the film’s gimmicky premise get in the way of Ryan and Jackman's wonderful chemistry. All great romantic comedies are based on the chemistry of the lead actors, as Ryan has shown with Tom Hanks and Billy Crystal previously.
In Kate & Leopold, Jackman shows himself a worthy replacement for Hanks. Jackman's best work is in his willingness to humiliate himself while holding on to his Victorian era dignity. Jackman becomes a star right in front of our eyes, breaking out of the action genre and proving he can do just about anything as an actor, as he would later demonstrate in a brilliant hosting gig on SNL.
Ryan is her natural cute self in Kate & Leopold, which isn't a bad thing. But there are moments where you can see she is beginning to tire of this kind of role. More than a couple times she looks outright bored by material that she has done more than a few times. Jackman and the very surprising comic turn by Schreiber save the film. He steals every scene he's in with a goofy energy we haven't seen from him before.
Kate & Leopold isn't anything you haven't seen before but as a Friday night rental to relax and watch with your girlfriend, it’s an enjoyable rent that will leave you smiling.
Movie Review Identity
Identity (2003)
Directed by James Mangold
Written by Michael Cooney
Starring John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Clea Duvall
Release Date April 25th, 2003
Published April 24th, 2003
I have harped on this issue many times in many reviews, and though I know many readers have tired of my constant ranting on the subject. Nevertheless, I must once again complain about a movie’s ad campaign. While many felt the trailer for Identity is one of the best of the year thus far, and I don't disagree necessarily, I must complain about how much of the mystery it gives away.
Now the most observant of viewers will not solve the film’s mystery from the trailer. However, once you’re sitting in the theater and applying what you learned from the film’s marketing campaign, it doesn't take long for the mystery to fall apart. That said, thanks to the clever script and another stellar performance by John Cusack, Identity neatly transcends its predictability.
So we have a dark and stormy night, a lonely motel with a creepy clerk (John Hawkes), and a group of strangers with something in common. The setup is familiar, and the various homages are sprinkled throughout. Cusack plays Ed, a former cop turned limo driver for a diva ex star (Rebecca De Mornay). As Ed is driving the star to LA through Nevada, he accidentally hits a woman (Leila Kenzle) as she waits for her husband (John C. McGinley) to change a flat tire. The injury is life threatening, and the woman needs immediate medical attention.
Unfortunately, the roads were washed out by the storm. Ed takes everyone to a roadside motel where they are joined by a cop (Ray Liotta) who is transferring a prisoner (Jake Busey). Also on hand is a prostitute (Amanda Peet), giving up her profession to go to Florida and start over and a young married couple (William Lee Scott and Clea Duvall) to round out the group. As soon as everyone is assembled, people start dying.
In parallel to this story is a court hearing for a convicted murderer (Pruitt Taylor Vince) whose psychiatrist (Alfred Molina) attempts to convince an obstinate judge that his patient is too insane to execute. The two stories don't dovetail early on, but if you are observant it won't take long to figure out the connection.
I'm not going to give anything away because I don't have to, the trailer does enough. Thankfully, Michael Cooney's script is so crafty and interesting that it saves the film from itself. He takes elements of Agatha Christie, Hitchcock and classic horror and mixes it with subtle nods to Freud and even Sartre. Along those lines, an early scene of a book in Cusack's limo is a wonderful inside joke you won't get until after the movie is over.
Cusack is the most effective of the doomed cast, none of whom seems the most likely to survive. Amanda Peet turns in another effective performance that takes advantage of her sexy presence and innate ability to earn audience sympathy. Ray Liotta, another of my favorite actors, seems dialed down a little from his intense performance in Narc and that is likely because his character is the most underwritten of the group.
If only the trailer hadn't given so much away, Identity could have been a really fun shocker that would have people talking for weeks after seeing it. Unfortunately, the film overplayed its hand and its biggest surprise was ruined for me before the second act. As it is, it's a cleverly written and well-directed Saturday night rental. But oh, what might have been.
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