3:10 to Yuma

OK so no one in this entire group of Pinkertons thinks to gag and restrain/ tie up Villain Ben the most dangerous outlaw in the area? He starts playing psychological warfare at a campfire the first night they have him and he continues it all the way to Yuma. Nobody gags him. Come on, let's be real. What kind of enormous gaping hole is that in the writing...Anyone in this situation would have at the very least gagged him and most likely he would've been heavily restrained.

Long ago, I saw the original 3:10 to Yuma featuring Van Heflin and Glen Ford, but I don't remember it well enough to compare it with James Mangold's new remake. Instead, my review will focus exclusively on the new film.

Mangold's film is a tense, traditional western based on an Elmore Leonard story. Leonard is a solid writer, and gave the material upon which the film is based enough background and characterization to permit willful suspension of disbelief. Mangold's film does the same. Our protagonist and antagonist are, respectively, Dan Evans (Bale) and Ben Wade (Crowe). Evans is a would-be rancher and family-man whose family is suffering from a drought and a merciless landlord. Evans and his boys cross paths with notorious outlaw Ben Wade and his gang on their way into town to confront their landlord, and Wade whimsically lets them go. But the connection between these two men and Dan's eldest son is far from over. Eventually Dan will accept an offer made by a railroad agent to help escort Wade to a train headed to Yuma prison, while Wade's crew of murderers dogs their every step.

Two performances stood out for me - Bale and Ben Foster (Charlie Prince). Crowe was good, but it's not clear that he engaged with his role with his usual intensity. There are several very talented actors in supporting roles, and they each pull off the transition to the western genre quite nicely (Alan Tudyk, Logan Lerman, Gretchen Mol, Peter Fonda and others). The film showcases the acting talent very well without losing sight of its straightforward but interesting story.

More often than not, good westerns are at least as much character studies as they are 'shoot-em-ups'. After all, it pretty close to impossible to enjoy a film in which anybody might drop dead at any given time without caring about the people you are watching die, or those doing the killing. Mangold achieves this by drawing on the simple strengths of the original material and allowing relationships to dominate both the story's development and the cinematography. For a western, there is a tremendous amount of dialog in this film, coupled with the usual meaningful stares. Wade is so wily and unpredictable that you really never know what to expect out of him, and his crew is headed up by his loyal and equally nihilistic protégé Charlie Prince. Dan Evans is his polar opposite, and Dan's son is an unusually accurate and complex Hollywood portrayal of a teenager. These and other relationships are the strengths and the medium of the film. When the camera isn't being used to build tension before a battle or showing us a gun-fight, it is establishing relationships and character. And many of the characters and relationships we see are surprising, ambiguous and more than a little ironic.

Highly recommended for western fans.

The western genre is all but dead in Hollywood these days but every now and then a film comes along that reminds us of the genre's potential. The last one was Costner's OPEN RANGE, and this one manages to be even better than that thanks to the central pairing of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. 3:10 TO YUMA is an actor's film from the off, a powerhouse pairing of two Hollywood stars at the top of their game, who can actually act.

Although the rest of the movie is excellent it's these two guys who make it unmissable. Clearly, this isn't some kind of B-movie with black and white characters; Crowe is introduced as the chief villain yet ends up showing a lot more humanity and character than many of the good guys. Bale takes his flawed hero role and runs away with it, turning what could have been a caricature – what with his crippled leg and everything – into a deeply human guy who you just can't stop watching.

The plot works really well because it's fast paced. The story is told through action, which is a very difficult thing to achieve – off the top of my head only the BOURNE films and the TERMINATOR films are similarly successful. There are dozens of shoot-outs, things exploding, showdowns and more – all you could expect from a hi-tech western and all expertly choreographed. Yet it's the script, too, which makes the film, creating thoroughly engaging 'quiet' moments just as riveting as all the chases and shooting. My favourite scene is in the run-up to the showdown, set in a hotel's bridal suite, where the assorted characters ponder their fate and decide their futures. It's tremendously suspenseful and edge-of-the-seat viewing material.

The supporting cast does a very good job – from an almost unrecognisable Peter Fonda as a grizzled cowboy to Ben Foster as another creepy, hateable bad guy. Director James Mangold has proved himself in the past with the likes of COP LAND and he once again shows that he's a master of his craft, able to deliver a solid, exciting and highly entertaining movie despite the familiarity of both the setting and the set-up. 3:10 TO YUMA is a masterful film and one to be enjoyed over and over.

This is the best western since Unforgiven. Every aspect of this film is great.

The acting was superb. Russell Crowe continues to give great and much overlooked performances. He delivers a great performance as outlaw Ben Wade. Crowe just keeps on putting me in shock with his spectacular performances. Crowe brought a mystique to his role that would of fit in with the old westerns. He seems as if he play anything and was a joy to watch here. He needs to be given much more and was definitely worthy of an Oscar nomination. Christain Bale also gives as a surprise to me a great performance as Dan Evans. He is on the verge of losing everything he's got. Bale displays his desperation and his willingness to feel that he has a purpose in life. He is definitely turning into a very good all around actor. I think he also deserved an Oscar nomination. Peter Fonda and Ben Foster also give very solid performances in their supporting roles.

I have heard some people say that this western was to talky but I don't believe so. I think this was filled with great dialog and was engaging for the length of the movie.

The directing by James Mangold was probably the best I have seen from him. He was able to bring back the old western style but yet mix it together with a modern effects and etc. He did not fall into the trap of making it boring or to violent. He carried the movie all the way through keeping the viewer entertained. The cinematography was amazing. The sceneries were spectacular and many of the shooting scenes were delivered with such excellence with the acting, directing but the cinematography brought those scenes and this movie to another level. The music was great as well. It did not become cliché but instead made you feel like you were back watching Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper or John Wayne. It just captured me like no other western has in a while.

This movie is truly a modern classic.

Christian Bale (Dan Evans) holds the screen as an honest rancher who volunteers for two hundred dollars to be part of a doomed group of guards to take the enigmatic bandit and killer Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to a train, the 3:10, leaving Bisbee, Arizona for Yuma prison to trial…

Beaten down by an old Civil War injury, and unable to protect his farm and his family from Wade's ruthless gang and humiliated by his teenage son (Logan Lerman) who makes no efforts to hide his disappointment in his impoverished father, and who doesn't try to hide the fact that he admires the charismatic criminal, Dan finds a great quantity of reasons to undertake the perilous trip to Contention City to fight back like a real man and regain his son's respect… The story concentrates on Evans whose unknown destiny tries to paint to his son an unforgettable picture turning up poignant and endearing…

Wade—leader of a murderous band of robbers—had great respect for Dan throughout the film and develops a kind of understanding and appreciation for him… Their short scenes in the hotel room celebrate the virtues of two opposite men who stand up for what they believe stopping on issues in relation with family, dignity, virtue, and admirable integrity… The best scenes are those in which Wade teases Dan: "Your conscience is sensitive, Dan. It's not my favorite part of you."

Crowe's interpretation of a gifted cold-blooded smooth-talking bad man is one of the most compelling parts of the film… Bale is splendid as the struggling, crippled rancher, misunderstood by his whole family… The two actors comfortably inhabit this stunning western…

It is nice to see that there are still good westerns being made lately… And James Mangold's "3:10 to Yuma," a remake of Delmer Daves' 1957 picture, is one of them… It is a Western with realistic violence, great action sequences, breathtaking photography, and an inevitable final shoot-out