Train's too late

"3:10 to Yuma" is described in its advertising as the greatest Western since "Unforgiven." Whoever said this should be shot. Comparing this movie to "Unforgiven" is an insult to Clint Eastwood and the western genre altogether.\nThe story revolves around rancher Ben Evans (Christian Bale) who has had to make sacrifices to raise his family. An opportunity to make some money arises by transporting outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to a prison train. Wade's posse has other plans. Along the way Evans and Wade face moral dilemmas, learning what it means to do the right thing.\nBale and Crowe show us why they're badass, but the acting as a whole was too over the top. Each character was a caricature. Charlie Prince (Ben Foster) hams up the drama too much to be an outlaw. Think Jim Carrey as the Riddler, without the humor, but with guns. Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda) makes sure you know he is a lawman, but the director wants you to know he's not all good. They even have the Western equivalent of the anonymous extra who the filmmakers set up as the first to die.\nThe DVD's unfortunate irony becomes clear in the documentaries. One talks about how the West really was, about how outlaws weren't all bad and lawmen weren't all good. This seemed hypocritical considering the main characters were still "mythological" characters of the West. Then, the other documentary detailed how Westerns lately have been cliche, even though the characters of "3:10" were nothing but cliches. The dynamic between Evans and his son felt more "Dawson's Creek" than "Lonesome Dove." Oh yeah, and the documentaries are shorter than the credits, which makes them essentially worthless.\nThe commentary is nothing more than the director talking about what he did and bragging about how he did unique things that weren't done in previous Westerns. Mangold is proud of doing things differently despite his obvious rip-offs from other Westerns. \nIf you're a Bale or Crowe fan, it's worth picking up, but otherwise this is one train that derailed too late.