The genre may not be anywhere near as ubiquitous as it once was, but the 21st Century has nonetheless thrown up more than its fair share of Westerns worthy of entering the pantheon of all-time greats, and there’s an excellent case to be stated for James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma being the best.
The 1957 original is a classic in its own right, so much so that it was inducted into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress on account of being “”culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Those are mighty big shoes to fill, then, but its also fair to say that Mangold exceeded even the loftiest of expectations with a breathless remake that put its foot to the gas and refused to let up.
Even now, a full 16 years on from a theatrical release that yielded a solid-if-unspectacular $71 million at the box office, streaming subscribers are being sucked into a story that hooks them from the get-go and refuses to let up. Per FlixPatrol, 3:10 to Yuma V2.0 is currently the eighth most-watched feature on Paramount Plus’ global rankings, a well-earned return to prominence for one of the greatest do-overs of the modern era that never really tends to get the credit it deserves.
Respective scores of 89 and 86 percent from critics and crowds on Rotten Tomatoes are entirely fair, too, with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe sparking off each other brilliantly as a wounded war veteran strapped for cash and the deadly outlaw being transported to the titular train in reward for a huge bounty. Naturally, things don’t go according to plan, but watching the bullets fly in beautifully balletic fashion never gets old.
