3:10 to Yuma is one of those few remakes that's on par with its original. A desperate, down on his luck rancher, Dan Evans, played by a very convincing Christian Bale volunteers to traverse a dangerous outlaw, Ben Wade,(Russell Crowe) to a train that will take Wade to a Yuma prison. Bale and Crowe are two of the best male actors today and they're excellent to watch on screen.

Major props should go to screenwriter Michael Brandt(2Fast 2Furious), for weaving a story that has added even more heart to an already excellent original. Ben Wade and Dan Evans aren't sterotypical good vs. evil characters. They're complex leads who have backgrounds that pave the way for the people they have become.

The story might get a little too compact in the middle with everything from Native Americans, Ben's gang, and tough train workers put in the story, but it's all made up for in the end where an exceptionally well directed climax is installed.

The Acting is superb, the action is top-notch, and the story is original. 3:10 to Yuma is a western that won't be soon forgotten.

I'm getting really excited since everyone is talking about the "comeback" of the western with 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James coming out within weeks of each other. Hopefully these two movies will inspire some other western movies with big time actors.

Yeah, I'm excited about this one. I'm probably going to go see it in the next couple of days. I liked the original a lot, so I kind of have high expectations.

You said it was on par with the original, but you also said the screenwriter weaved in more heart, which do you think is better? How similar is this one to the original?

Quoted from TAnthony I'm getting really excited since everyone is talking about the "comeback" of the western with 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James coming out within weeks of each other. Hopefully these two movies will inspire some other western movies with big time actors.

Is everyone talking about the comeback of the Western? I haven't heard anything about it but maybe its just that the people I hang out with aren't into Westerns. Anyway I hope you're right and theres another revival, Westerns are one of my favorite genres.

sheepwalker

Don't forget Brandt's writing partner Derek Haas, need to give them both props for this movie.  It is one of the best movies of the year IMO.

I didn't mind the Act II.  It added to the theme of impending change that was going on in the west as the train tracks were being laid down.  The indians fighting desperately to avoid change.  While the work camp showed the price of the advancing change.  However, I can see how some would find that disjointed from the main plot.  To me it just gave the west a more realistic feel.  It was a time and a place where things were happening fast.

As for the differences, I think they tried to keep true to the original.  In an interview I read they said they used some of the original's dialog, enough to warrant giving original screenwriter credit.  But they did add a good deal to make it different.  Primarily the middle section and the father son relationship which features prominently in the movie, if I remember right.

I wouldn't go so far as to say this will bring the Western back.  Yuma is just a good story.  If Brad Pitt's Jesse James also makes it big that might lead the executives into making more westerns.  However, I doubt it.    

Oh yeah, thanks Dethan I forgot to give credit to Derek Haas.

Quoted from Soap Hands You said it was on par with the original, but you also said the screenwriter weaved in more heart, which do you think is better? How similar is this one to the original? sheepwalker

Hey, Sheepwalker. I liked the new 3:10 to Yuma better than the original, now that I think about it. Not that the original isn't good, but this new one has everything it's got and more.

I saw this yesterday and I have to agree with TAnthony that it's better then the original.

Like he says it does everything the original does and in many ways it does these things better. For example the inclusion of Dan's son instead of in the original the thing with Dans wife. It was more believable and more powerful this way.

The actions scenes in this new version were more impressive, I thought both the two main characters were filled out better and the entire thing was much more satisfying. I thought the ending in this one was better done, and will be more satisfying for a contemporary audience then the ending of the classic.

If your a fan of Westerns this is a must see, and if your not it's still very good, probably one of the 3 best movies I've seen so far this year.

sheepwalker

Best movie so far this year, and the best western since, God, Tombstone, and that was ages ago, I hope this does well enough to give the western a comeback, and from what has been said about the brad pitt/jesse james flick from the Toronto film festival is that one is a winner as well, so hopefully we will get more of these films to come.

Bale and Crowe are awesome, and Peter Fonda's exit in the film is Hilarious, along with the follow up line by Russel Crowe, beauty scene.

all in all a great movie.

Oscar Worthy!

I don't like westerns. They are boring. The dialogue is normally anoyying. And everyone is dirty(Rob Zombie should direct one!).

Yet, I liked this movie. The plot wasn't amazing. It was predictable and offered nothing really original. It's by no means bad, but it is over-shadowed by what's so good.

The acting.

Christian Bale and Russel Crowe are magnificent. These are the best perfomances either has given. But who really impressed me was Ben Foster. He is amazing and should win supporting actor of the year. He's the ultamite bad guy.

If you wanna see a mind blowing epic, rent something else... but if you wanna see some truly amazing perfomances, BUY 3:10 To Yuma.

~Zack~

It's a really good film, yeah, and Ben Foster steals the show, just like in Hostage and 30 days of night. Amazing actor.

Though I think you should watch Unforgiven or Once Upon a Time in the West. I normally don't care for westerns either, but there are some amazing films among the generic ones. Avoid those where Lee Marvin sings though.

I agree with your views on the movie, probably not oscar worthy though but only because there are better contenders out there. Christian Bale is a fantastic actor who while I am pleased to see him fully established as an A list star I hope that in between his Batman and Terminator franchise commitments he at least picks a decent "actors project' now and again, would hate to see that huge talent go to waste.

If you want to see Bale's best performance check out "The Machinist" he is amazing in that.

I've seen 'The Machinist", great movie. But he's better in this.

Death Monkey, I'll check out those movies.

~Zack~

Hey,

Yeah, I absolutely loved this movie, but I also love westerns.   I had some problems with it but they were easy to overlook for the powerful acting, the action, and the high emotions. Better then the original imo and imo that's saying a lot.

I also absolutely second Death Monkey's western recommendations. Once upon a time in the west is my all time favorite western(though it has some big problems) and Unforgiven  is a close second. (I'd concede that Unforgiven is a better movie but Once Upon a time is special to me).

To round out the suggestion list though I'd also recommend Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, "The Good, the bad, and the ugly", and The Man who Shot Liberty Valence.

There's a lot of crap in the western genre but if you look there are also some real gems.

sheepwalker

I actually just finished watching this movie a hour ago and I can't believe I didn't go see it in theatres.  I mean, I knew the acting would be good and I love the director's work.  I don't know why I kept second guessing it.  I think the only other western I've watched is 'The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly' and that was awesome too, so I guess I have no problem with the genre.  I've been trying to see 'Unforgiven' for so long and will probably pick it up this or next weekend.

But back to the movie: The two leads play very well of each other and it's hard to pick just one to get the best actor nod(I couldn't see them picking both).  It certainly kept my attention the entire time and I felt that everything about it was top notch.  To make things short, I give it a 9.5 and I'm kicking myself for not seeing this earlier.

Something extra: is that what Ben Foster really sounds like?  I've seen him in other movies but never really noticed him until 30 Days of Night, but then I thought he was doing that voice to build the character.  Then I noticed it in here and I was just wondering.  Has anyone heard him in an interview or something and noticed it?

Yeah, I loved this movie too. While Ben Foster is certianly good (in his annoying way) this movie belongs to Russel Crowe - talk about stealing every scene your in!

Westerns our not my favourite genre but if anyone is interested in other westerns, the should first check out the godfather of westerns namely 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'. But my favourite western is by far 'Pale Rider'.

Overall a good solid western. I'm glad they DID actually try to stay with Elmore Leonard's story  - the hotel scene which makes up the majority of the short story was well handled on film.

My only major complaint - ****SPOLIER****

What's with the jokey final shot of Crowe whistling for his horse, which then gallops along like a faithful steed, to enable his escape? Did this come in from another movie? The entire film is fairly grim, and the ending is downbeat, but then...hey , no worries, the bad guy is actually a COOL guy with his Wonder Horse ! That was SUCH a shift in mood it conflicts with the previous 2 hours...it just felt like a major misstep. *****