This movie blew me away! One of the Best Westerns ever made!

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2008)

To great regrets, I missed this movie in the theaters a few months ago. So I anxiously went out and bought this movie last night on Blu-ray disk at release date, saw it, and loved it instantly! As a big fan of Westerns ranging from classic Leone and Peckinpah to all of the WB/Eastwood productions, my expectations of YUMA was quite high. To my delight, YUMA exceeded my expectations not only as a Western...but it's also just a darn good, kick-a$$ movie about honor and respect amongst both good and bad men.
Great performances by Russel Crowe and Christian Bale both as men of strong moral character despite being opposites in ideal, and side of the law were to be expected. What really blew me away was Ben Foster's role as the cunning and ruthless Charlie Prince, Crowe's most loyal gunman. Having seen him in more youthful and down to earth roles in his past films, it was a real treat to see him in such a darker role...and he pulls it off quite well.
The action and gun-play in YUMA is also very well done. The key thing is very well paced. The violence in YUMA is not as gratuitous as the Peckinpah films, but it's generous enough where the action and gun-play is evenly paced within the context of the story, which involves the journey of two men being pursued. From the stagecoach robbery at the beginning (with a Gatling Gun too!), to the climatic shootout between Bale, Crowe, and Crowe's Posse...you definitely get more 'bang' in this film than the most of Leone's films and Eastwood's 'Unforgiven'.
Bottom Line: If you're a fan of Westerns and/or Action films with honest plot and characterization, then you MUST watch this movie. It has all the ingredients and then-some of a fine Western. Although not as epic as my all-time favorite 'Once Upon a Time in The West', it's definitely up there with other greats made within the last 20 years like 'Unforgiven' and 'Tombstone'.