3:10 to Yuma

2005's incomparable "The Proposition" set the bar very high for any future Western, especially in its realistic portrayal of the times. It's the dirtiest film I've ever seen. Every frame had countless flies, and every character was covered in dirt and sweat and blood.

"3:10 to Yuma" does well in showing how characters become weathered when camping out and fighting in the plains and cities and mines, but as a story, it's lacking. The plot is there, but the direction is lacking. The gun battles -- of which there are a few -- seem perfunctory and lack tension. And the in-between sober dialogue of justice and father-son relationships doesn't reach the levels it should to serve as the crux of the film.

The ending veers sharply towards incomprehensibility. The last five minutes show the whole film was meant as a vehicle to show what a father will do for his sons. But Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), the mass murdering robber who grew up without parents, is an unlikely partner for Christian Bale's character in this mission. If it had been better executed, or if there had been more build-up in the rest of the film, it might fly. But as it stands, it's unsatisfying.