Another great performance from Bale, and Crowe's most interesting character yet.

Rating: 10/10 (8 September 2007)

3:10 to Yuma - James Mangold's remake of a Western I haven't seen starring Russell Crowe as Ben Wade and Christian Bale as Dan Evans. Ben Wade (Crowe) is an outlaw seemingly too smart to be an outlaw who, in the celebration of his latest robbery, was apprehended. Dan Evans (Bale) agrees to hold the captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the Dan and Ben travel closer to Ben's punishment.
Let me just say firstoff, that the performances are captivating. Christian Bale, who I've never known to give a bad performance, brings quiet intensity and a desperateness to his part. He wants his family to have a future, and for his son to be proud of him. Russell Crowe gives possibly my favorite performance of his, as he chews the scenery, kills people (not much new there), and barely lets you know what is going on in his character's mind. His intentions are never clear, and just as muddled is his take on morality. The Western genre has been famous for muddled character desires, though money and the killing of others is usually among them. Ben Wade is famous, has all the money he could desire, and has killed "more people than the Drought", so the ambiguity of the character and his chemistry with Dan Evans (whose fate he showed more interest in than his own) made for great viewing.
Alan Tudyk (one of my favorite "that guy" guys), Peter Fonda and Luke Wilson play small parts. The action is intense, but doesn't overpower the character driven screenplay, as two of this generations' best actors go toe-to-toe. Not everyone will appreciate this film perhaps, but I found it to be very good and quite moving (esp. at the end). The film's is a little over 2 hours, but very well paced. I'd see it again in a heartbeat.
I give it an A.