3:10 to Yuma

First off this film is a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. Casting couldn't have been better for the main characters. The R rating and amount of violence was perfect for the tone of the film. The ending was exactly what the film needed. Not some soft, heroes win feeling most films carry nowadays. One of my favorite films.

Most of the time I hate remakes....but I give a big pass to most Western and War movie remakes. Mainly that's because, until M*A*S*H early war movies had soldiers that looked like they stepped out of the shower and put on a freshly laundered uniform...you know, instead of the realities of life in combat zones. And the same goes with Westerns, the cowpokes may be riding the range...yet they look like they had the time to shower, shave, style their hair, and press their clothes. None of that really sat right with me...at all. The remake righted that wrong. And it did it without killing the wonderful Elmore Leonard story the movie was based on and let's be honest, he really has the best ideas for crime and western stories the world has ever seen.

This is the best Western of the 21st Century so far (for mine, just edging out Django Unchained). Building on the classic movie from 1957, James Mangold's remake adds in much needed scenes to fill plot holes and build nuanced characters that were sorely lacking in the original. Our hero now, is a man struggling to keep his farm and the respect of his family whilst the "antagonist" (I stretch the use of the word here) is almost tired of his way of life and his "family." Adding in the concept of children to these two was smart thinking on the part of the writers and this really deepens Bale and Crowe's characters. Speaking of which, both give perfectly nuanced performances here and you can watch their characters grow in response to each other as the movie progresses. Both "sons" (Lerman and Foster) fit into their roles of the naive teen becoming a man, and the unhinged "son" idolising his "father" respectively. The rest of the cast have been perfectly chosen. The cinematography is stunning at times, but unlike most Westerns, this does emphasize the country - it is more of a silent character here. But when it is shown, it is just gorgeous...seriously, I hadnt seen snow in Westerns until this - but it just looks brilliant. The score drips with the memories of older, more famous Westerns, but Beltrami makes this one unique. Sound design is also great, even using the heartbeat-like rhythm of the idling train's engine in the final scene. Everything else is perfect - the lighting, editing, costumes, set design...this does not look like an independently made film that the major studios didnt want to touch. The people who worked on this, really wanted to. And that's also probably why its so good. THIS is how to remake a movie. Enjoy.