3:10 to Yuma

Libby and I saw 3:10 to Yuma last night, and we loved it. It's the best movie I've seen in a theater for awhile. We were both riveted the whole movie, and powerfully moved by the climax.

It's a good cowboy movie, with good characters, exciting action, and really great acting by Crowe and Bale. It's full of conventions from other cowboy movies - the slick, dandy gunman, the poor out-of-luck rancher, and the smooth talking intelligent outlaw. I loved it!

It was also based in Southeast Arizona, and the Crowe's character is introduced whilst sketching a bird. It was some raptor I didn't recognize, perhaps a Short-tailed Hawk - if they are conscientious enough to take range into account. I thought that was especially cool, since it's supposed to be taking place in one of the premier birdwatching areas of the United States. Short-tailed Hawks are distributed sparsely in the United States.

In the movie, they travel a route from Bisbee to Contention - here's a map of the way to do it now a days. Some of the country looked very correct (it was actually filmed in New Mexico), but there wasn't enough variety. Most of the movie takes place in mesquite grasslands. They're supposed to travel through a mountain pass, but the mountains don't look anything like Madrean sky islands - much too dry. Still, identifying with the area added something to the movie experience.


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I've never seen the original movie it's based on, so I added it to our Blockbuster queue. I hear it's pretty good, too, and some reviewers definitely liked it better than the current offering. I can't imagine it being much better than this one, though.