The Ben Wade and Dan Evans of then and now – is the change just in keeping with the times or is the genre so strong that any fiddling around with it could end in disaster? The film 3:10 to Yuma shot way back in 1957 was based on an Elmore Leonard short story. With Delmer Daves directing, Glenn Ford and Van Heflin brought the rough and tough story to life. Do Christian Bale and Russell Crowe do that in today’s rendition? Well, the film seems made to order for today – the shots, the chase, the effects. It has also somehow been stretched to two hours from the 90-minute fast paced original.

The thing is, is the reticent Christian Bale right for this role? Perhaps Russell Crowe has just the right sadistic touch to carry off his role but somehow there seems to be a ‘stretching’ of time in a plot that should have been fast faced and edge of the seat. Well, to stretch things out, enter a few more characters like Alan Tudyck and Peter Fonda, part of Bale’s party. There’s also a bit of a father-son story as well as a railroad chase and of course Luke Wilson comes in to make sure the Chinese railroad laborers toe the line. (weren’t the Jackie Chan movies enough?) Directed by James Mangold, there are moments when modern day cinematic effects erupt into the storyline and hold your attention. Scenes like the horse with the dynamite being blown up just somehow catapult it from the old-time Western into an action flick like Die Hard perhaps. The dialogue however, seems a bit too structured and lifeless and is rather flimsy at times. Somehow, every action and every shootout seems a little too mechanical to be gripping.

The characters too may not have been rightly picked for the part – Bale let’s face it, is great as a reticent hero and may not be the best choice for a confused Evans while Russell Crowe, though he fares better, somehow seems to be struggling at times to fit the role. Was it because somehow the characters have now become synonymous with the older actors? Who does emerge as a breath of fresh air is Charlie Prince, Wade’s man, played by Ben Foster. Somehow he stands out, true and fierce.

The film seems to be lacking in sincerity and maybe there is too much riding on the actors and not the characters. Yes, it does make for an entertaining film but somewhere, there’s a hollow note that’s struck. What could have had depth and a more complex structure seems to rely on effects to get by. There’s action but no sense of direction. There’s a certain looseness when it should have been a taut and tight script. Is it an attempt to lift the Western to the action flick of today? If so, there’s a sense of disdain that sits ill. Because, all said and done, the old Western genre is tough and maybe quite indestructible.