He stands out from his gang, not only his dress and demeanor, but also in his commanding presence. As his outfit ruthlessly destroys the stagecoach in the beginning of the film, he acts almost bored with the whole ordeal. He steps in when bigger decisions have to be made and has no qualms about killing anyone. He is an infallible, transcendent figure, spouting biblical proverbs left and right, and constantly deciding who lives and who dies. He always appears to be in control of any given situation. He easily charms the barmaid in a scene that is noticeably more explicit than the original film. The shift in American interest toward more “real” and voyeuristic depictions in film is demonstrated here. Instead of humanizing the character, the scene seems to further point to Wade as a man who takes what he wants through manipulative tactics that always seem to work. Russell Crowe’s Ben Wade kills much more often and much more callously than Ford’s. He singlehandedly kills two of the men in the group escorting him to Contention City and two Apache Native Americans, with handcuffs on. The destruction and bloodshed is present to secure the attention of an audience fascinated and entranced by action and carnage. Americans love a bad boy, and Ben Wade certainly is one of the villains that you cannot help but root for. His cool demeanor and calculating charisma make him to be a man that …show more content…
The 2007 film reflects “post-cold war politics and a nation defined by an unbridled commitment to capitalism” (McMahon and Csaki 4). Here, with big businesses acting as ultimately superior, it is only those who are willing to take what they want that survive. Money runs the world according to Mangold, and capitalism is to thank for this. The nihilistic ending is attributed to the greed of American capitalism. This is exemplified in the scene in which Wade’s gang amasses half the town of Contention to kill Dan Evans for $200. In a few particularly telling scenes, it is made abundantly clear that the needs and interests of business far outweigh those of the individual. In a conversation between Butterfield and Wade, the true reasons why it is so important that Wade makes it on the train is