This is a remake of the 1957 Delmer Daves directed film staring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, and is an excellent film with 2 powerhouse performances, and amazing supporting cast, though I can’t actually compare it to the original as I haven’t seen it yet. How can you really go wrong with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale who could be the two most powerful actors in Hollywood today playing off of each other. And it is just a good western, gritty with great characters, and the prerequisite shootout at the end. Sure it has some western conceits at the end, but it doesn’t take away from the power of the film. This is a great film, and a really must see.

Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is an outlaw in the American west, with his gang of cutthroats he is constantly robbing stagecoaches of railroad money. He rules the gang with an iron fist, and his right hand man Charlie Prince (Ben Foster, in one of his better roles, as I never really liked him in Six Feet Under) is fiercely loyal. And Ben is more than just an outlaw, he is also an artist, always sketching. Meanwhile Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a rancher living a hard life in Arizona with his family, his wife Alice (Gretchen Mol) and his 2 sons the sick youngest son Mark (Benjamin Evans) and his 14 year old brother who rails against his father William (Logan Lerman). Dan was a sharpshooter in a Northern Militia that was brought into the Civil war to defend Washington D.C. and lost a good part of one of his legs. He is heavily in debt, and will soon lose his land, and in fact the landowner has stopped up the river, and even comes out and burns their barn, with them only having a week to go. And Dan and his sons go out to get his cattle, but they run into Wade and his gang. Wade and his gang is out using Dan’s cattle in order to stop a stagecoach protected by Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda) and his Pinkertons. This is an armored stage coach, and even has a gattling gun, but Wade use the cattle to take it down. They take the coach, though Wade leaves Byron, who he knows alive, but kills one of his own gang who doesn’t check one of the pinkertons in the coach, and gets taken, so Wade shoots them both. That is when they see the Evans, and they don’t kill them, but take their horses, and promise to release them on their way to Bisby. Evans and his sons find Byron, and walk towards their horses and the town to get Byron some help.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Wade and his gang head back to town, and trick Marshal Weathers (Luce Rains) into heading out to get the gang, when they are in town, and they get a drink, split up the loot, and Wade stays to sleep with the woman barkeep Emmy Nelson (Vinessa Shaw) who he knows as a singer from back East. Wade stays too long, drawing Emmy, and the Marshal returns to town.

Dan meanwhile has met up and returned with the Marshal to get Byron help at the local Doctor, Potter (the great Alan Tudyk from Firefly) who is actually more of a vet, but does get the bullet out, and get the bad ass Byron back on his feet. Dan then goes to the landowner and tries to get an extension by giving him his wife’s jewelry, but he doesn’t accept, and he loses it and follows him into the saloon with his rifle, but ends up running into Wade. He gets some money from Wade for his dead cattle and for his time, and gives enough time for the Marshall to take Wade, and then he makes a deal with the railroad man Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts) to get $200 if he helps to get Wade onto the 3:10 train to Yuma prison.

The Marshall and them make a switch, making it look like Wade is in the coach with the Marshall, but they take Wade to Dan’s house, where they have dinner with him, and he manages to charm Emmy a bit, but in the night they set out. William sneaks out after them.

The first night Wade kills one of the men who was tormenting him with a fork he stole from the Evans, and Byron beats the living hell out of him, but he just laughs, and sings the song the guy was singing about being hung.

Charlie leads the men after the coach, and manage to catch up just before it gets to the fort, and kill the Marshall, and burn the man inside alive, but find out that Wade is going to be sent on the 3:10 to Yuma, 80 miles away, so they quickly head out.

When they see Wade’s men coming, Dan tells them of a shortcut through nasty Indian Territory, which they take. On the way Byron gives shit to Wade, and he kills him, and throws him off a cliff, and almost gets away, but William shows up and holds him at gunpoint. Then that night they are attacked by Indians, and Wade takes a gun and kills the 3 Indians. Dan throws the keys, and Wade knocks him out (again showing mercy against those he likes or respects at least), and takes the horses.

Wade gets to an area where they are blasting for the train to go through, but gets caught by the guys their whom Wade had killed one of their brother, so they torture him. Dan, William, Potter and Butterfield show up to get him, but they won’t give them up, and a fight ensues, with the doctor being shot, and they getting away because Wade grabbed some dynamite., and they blasted the passage, and head to the town of Consumption where the train station is, and they get a room, and Butterfield goes to pay off thew local Marshal Will Doane (Sean HEnnigan) and his men.

MEanwhile Charlie gets to the train dig, and kills the men who have Wade’s gun, and head for the town. Charlie surrounds the hotel, and offers $200 to anyone who kills any of Wade’s captors, and the whole town steps. The Marshal and his men walk out to give up, and are killed.

Wade tries to pay off Dan with $1000 which would make him rich, but he can’t because people would know. Butterfield comes back and he is going to give up, so Dan gets him to take his son, and they will give his wife $1000 if he gets Wade to the train, and make sure William gets back.

Dan then takes Wade out, and a huge fight ensues, but the random gunmen are shooting like crazy at anyone and Charlie ends up taking some of them out.

Dan finally admits to Wade he lost his leg to his own men, so he wants to be a hero for his son, and Wade agrees to help him, even when he could have gotten away, and goes with him to the train. Dan also tells Wade they live their because their youngest son is sick and needs the desert air or he will die, and Wade tells Dan that he has been to Yuma twice before and escaped.

William follows behind, but can’t stop Charlie from shooting his father. Wade is pissed, and when he gets his gun back he kills Charlie and all his followers, and gets back on the train, ensuring that William and Emmy will get their money. Wade gives himself up, but whistles for his horse, which runs after the train, he will escape.

•••••

Wow, a damn good western. Powerful performances, great gunfights, and a great story. I must see the original!!