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'3:10 To Yuma [2007]' starring Russell Crowe and directed by James Mangold. (StaEAN 5060052413680)

Never let it be said that the Western is dead. Because every time its last rites are read, another filmmaker moves in and produces another fine entry to an enduring genre that’ll simply never go away. In this case, the film is 3:10 To Yuma, and the filmmaker is James Mangold, straight off his Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line.

3:10 To Yuma is, however, a far different beast, bringing together two of the most magnetic male leads in modern day cinema. On the one hand, there’s Christian Bale as the law-enforcing Sheriff, and he’s facing off against Russell Crowe’s killer. Unsurprisingly, it’s the conflict and sparks between these two that ignite the film, and turn it into a film well worth seeking out.

For what director Mangold realises is that the trick with 3:10 To Yuma (named after the prison train that Bale’s character seeks to put Crowe’s on) is to give his two stars room to work, and injecting plenty of action and excitement into the mix. The end result, while not a top-notch Western, turns out to be a real cut above most of the current multiplex fodder. Even if Westerns aren’t usually your thing, it’s well worth giving this one a try. --Jon Foster

I have to start by saying that I enjoyed this film way more than I expected to. Not being a fan of Westerns or Russell Crowe, I wasn't expecting great things, but this film surprised me by keeping my entertained and completely 'in' the film the whole way through. The scenery and direction is superb, the acting is mainly good, the story, although implausible at times, was fun and interesting enough to keep me watching and the overall package makes for two hours of film viewing that is not too heavy and with plenty of fights and action sequences to boot. The actor who plays 'Charlie' is especially good and Crowe even managed to endear himself to me this time. For fans of the genre you may either love this or be disappointed depending on your take, but for everyone else this is a good film, with enough on offer to make for enjoyable viewing. A solid four stars.

This movie is a complete waste of time what were the people who made this movie thinking,remake a bad movie.... Bad idea.I love westerns but this was a total waste of time. I could of made a better western with my webcam and a cap gun. Total trash--- EPIC FAIL

The release of 3:10 to Yuma, coinciding with that of 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford', got some critics excited about the re-birth of the Western. While two films from Hollywood in one year hardly signifies a renaissance, Ed Harris' 2008 Western 'Appaloosa' certainly suggests there is life left in the genre. Perhaps more significantly, films such as 'No Country For Old Men' and 'There Will Be Blood' - while not belonging archetypally to the genre - hinted at the ways in which the frontier myths could be further explored beyond the cowboy paradigm.

Directed by James Mangold, following his decent Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic 'Walk The Line', '3:10 to Yuma' is a glossy, hi-octane Hollywood action flick. Those expecting a subtler revision of the Western genre in the mould of 'Jesse James' or Clint Eastwood's peerless 'Unforgiven' might be disappointed. Both those films explore the notion of myth and deconstruct the traditional glamourisation of violence in the genre, but 3:10 ignores the revisionism of the latter-day Western, ratcheting up the action and the body count. While those films showed the harsh realities of life in the American West, and the debilitating effects of violence on the human body, 3:10 sees characters recover swiftly from bullet wounds to continue their horseback pursuits.

On paper the cast looks like an exciting proposition, but Russel Crowe severely hams it up as the outlaw baddie, and Christian Bale's earnest civil-war-vet-trying-to-do-the-right-thing is sadly dull. 3:10's gun-slinging blood-thirstiness might appeal to fans of Sam Peckinpah more than those of, say, Sergio Leone or John Ford: it is neither grittily realistic nor Golden-age romantic. A remake of a 1957 film of the same name, originally based on 1953 Western short story by Elmore Leonard, there are few surprises in a film that adds little of fresh import or imagination to the genre.

This is a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. Fortunately I saw the original last year, which is a minor classic itself. In general I don't like remakes, however this is well done and Russell Crowe again shows that when he wants to, he can be a terrific actor. Rather surprisingly I thought his performance overshadowed Christian Bale's, who is generally considered a better actor.

The story that Peter Ustinov used to tell of an actor he was working with is never more true than here. Ustinov was in the background in a shot, and the star of the movie turned to him and said "what are you doing?". Ustinov said "I'm doing nothing". The star said "Oh no your not I'M DOING NOTHING". That sort of sums of Russell Crowes performance. He doesn't do a lot, but his not doing a lot is actually very good!

The plot has been told over and over here so to keep it short, Ben Wade (Crowe) is a notorious criminal who has to be put on the 3:10 train to Yuma (where there is a prison). Dan Evans (Bale) is a struggling farmer who being desparate for money volunteers to help, knowing that Wades gang will be on their tail.

The major difference between this film and the original is the inclusion of Dan Evans son as a major character. I didn't think this did any harm, and in places it worked very well.

The single DVD has a few extras on it which are pretty good (commentary/deleted scenes). On the DVD case it says its the best western since Unforgiven. Whilst writing this review I was trying to think of any other westerns since Unforgiven and couldn't remember any... So if I've seen any they obviously didn't have a big impact. This film is by no means perfect but I have no problem recommending it.

Visually beautiful, brilliant performance from Crowe, but overdose on schmalz at times and going beyond suspension of disbelief at others. Ultimately a pleasing piece of entertainment without much gravitas.