CommentsXp Best movie ever!

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

tommitchell-97461 3:10 to Yuma is a very good western film. It is high on themes and high on chase sequences and shootouts. The story concerns a small-time rancher who agrees to escort a captured outlaw to court in Yuma. Both the principal actors Christian Bale and Russell Crowe play off each other really well and in the end they have mutual respect for one another. Ben Foster, Peter Fonda and Gretchen Mol are good support. James Mangold has a unique style- all his films the character development trumps action and 3:10 to Yuma has just that. Of course the action- especially the last 30 minutes is amazing.

Evan Wessman (CinematicInceptions) This is a great example of how good a traditional raw plot can be. The characters in this movie and the structure of the story are very straightforward and easy to dissect, but it delivers really solid movie. By doing basic things very well, 3:10 to Yuma sets itself apart from all the generic and formulaic movies that display all the typical story tropes by doing all of them very well. This story features a simple through-line: get Ben Wade onto the 3:10 train to Yuma to bring him to justice and allow Dan Evans to preserve his farm. The characters are not extreme in any way, but they are treated with a lot of respect by the writer and that makes them better than most. Plus they get all get really good performances, which never hurts.Although Ben Wade is definitely the antagonist and Dan Evans is definitely the protagonist, the movie feels a lot like a two-hander. Typically movies are about the defining time of a person's life in which they change forever, and that is definitely the case for Dan, but not for Ben. Bringing Ben to justice is the one thing that Dan has ever done that he can feel proud of and Ben almost becomes his ally in this, whether he is actually helping Dan reach his goal or resisting him. In fact, Dan needs the task of getting Ben to the train station to be difficult, because if it is not difficult, then it gives Dan no chance to prove himself. This is actually sort of true of all movies, or at least many, but it is more pronounced here. The events of the movie are not exactly a defining point in Ben's life, but more of a point where everything he has done to that point comes to a head and he is sort of okay with the fact that his life of crime is probably over. He doesn't want to go to prison, but he doesn't seem to really want his band to rescue him that much either. What I loved about his character was the way that he was always able to sort of be in control of the situation and give the sense that "I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me." And for better or worse, Ben lives up to this badass line better than the Watchman who actually said it.One concept that is intrinsic to Westerns and is very on display here is frontier justice. The fact that the law has a very loose grip on the land means that justice is really in the hands of anyone who wants to enact it. Both of our main characters, and even Dan's son William to an extent, use this to their advantage. Ben and his gang obviously use the loose justice system to run rampant and commit crimes. Dan uses it as a way of doing something noble that matters, as does William. And throughout the movie, there are hints that the justice that Ben is being brought to is not frontier justice in which someone actually pays for his crimes. The railroad companies and such that Ben has robbed from are just removing a threat to their business. I only mention this because I think it adds to the characters, particularly Ben, and makes them easier to root for because they are sort of rebelling against the system in some ways.I would definitely recommend watching this because it's just an all-around solid movie. A lot of times, people say that aspiring screenwriters should study Tarantino movies or Wes Anderson movies or other movies that do unconventional or strikingly different things to help them find their voice or maybe show them how to break the "rules". But I really think this is a better movie to study as a writer: A movie that does nothing fancy but does everything right. I think every writer has a simple story like this in them and if they care enough about it, they can make it as good as this movie is. Overall Rating: 8.1/10.

redpepper987 I'll start by saying there was some good action scenes. The directing could have been better. The plot was decent. I did like Christian Bale and Russel Crowe's characters. Bale's character is a misunderstood father who is struggling to support his family. Russel's character is cold, dangerous, and charming.Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) had plenty of opportunities to escape throughout the movie. At the end of the movie, he even had a few more chances to escape. His gang certainly could have freed him. Instead, they stood there and watched - I mean Dan (Christian Bale) had his back toward his gang. Wasted shot.In my opinion, after Ben shot all of the members of his gang when they shot Dan to death, he developed a change of heart. He liked Dan.

coasterswitch The best part of this western is Russel Crowe. He steals the movie from everyone else. Crowe's performance is enigmatic as he makes it cool to be an outlaw. From his mannerisms to his outfit he personifies a cool bad guy. He also makes his bad guy character intelligent too. Apart from Crowe; here is a terrific story. At the end of the day its about telling a story. This story is paced well and linear. The movie also provides a realness in its use of gun play and explosions. One cannot critique this movie without mentioning the performance of Ben Foster. He plays a more deranged bad guy than Crowe and without the charm but he does so in a mesmerizing fashion. 3:10 To Yuma is a great example of how a great Western can be and illustrates that they still can be made well today. I encourage everyone to see this movie. If you have never seen a Western this movie will make you a fan of the Western genre!