Obviously one of the best westerns ever made

Rating: 10/10 (15 September 2007)

Even the biggest critic could realize the potential this film has. The only thing you have to do is look at the cast. Christian Bale, Russel Crowe, Ben Foster, Alan Tudyk, Peter Fonda: a better cast could not be asked for. Although you can assume the film will be good based on the cast, you should expect 3:10 to Yuma to be a good movie which it is. 3:10 to Yuma is probably the best modern day western film.
The cast delivers in this film. Christian Bale has a good performance as a good hearted rancher named Dan Evans. Russell Crowe delivers a terrific performance as Ben Waid, a dangerous and disturbed character. His character is an absolutely unstable and deceitful criminal. His character is just as dangerous psychotically as his character is physically aggressive. The best performance comes from Waid's right hand man, Ben Foster! Foster's character is just as dangerous a criminal as Crowe's character if not even more dangerous. Foster captures the anger and ferocity of his character in such a beautiful performance which makes his character dangerously scary. Peter Fonda who plays a bounty hunter and Logan Lerman who plays Bale's son, Will Evans, deliver two great performances as well. The casting of this movie was chosen perfectly and the performances were delivered just as well.
The story of the film is perfect. It is a very gripping story and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I was expecting more from the film in terms of gunfights but the film delivered in showing a brutal, violent, and vulgar West. The film took not only an approach of showing how violent criminals were back in the Old West but also showing how vulgar they were and just how mentally unstable they were. I absolutely loved the film for that. One of the central themes surrounding this film is morals. You will see this theme continually evolve more and more throughout the film. The ending is more than what I expected!! I did not expect the movie to end the way it did and put it simply, "The $hit hits the fan!"
The music of the film is terrific. It fits the tone of the film perfectly and adds to the tension of the film. The film is shot beautifully with what seems like little reliance of special effects which makes the film fantastic.
I know this film is a remake and I have never seen the original! But I can say this movie is absolutely fantastic. 3:10 to Yuma is a must see film whose brilliant acting is the pinnacle of the film. Westerns don't come around very often anymore and when they do, they come out in the form of 3:10 to Yuma; A True Masterpiece!