I just came back from watching 3:10 to Yuma, originally written by Elmore Leonard, adapted into a screenplay, and then made into a movie in 1957, and then remade once again as a movie for wide release next week. If you love watching westerns, Christian Bale or Russell Crowe, go see this movie, otherwise save your $10 for a better movie. I've seen far worse westerns, and while I find the macho behavior in westerns doesn't require great acting skill, Crowe and Bale do what they do best -- Crowe is charming and charismatic, while Bale spends most of his time brooding and speaking in gravelly overtones.
As a western, they throw in every possible period reference possible; stagecoach robberies, a barn burning, an indian attack, railroads, marshalls, and of course, a no holds barred shoot out. There's plenty of action, and the pacing of the movie reflects a more modern audience's limited attention span a bit more.
Verdict: Good if you like Westerns, too contrived otherwise.
(Talk of plotlines and why the movie is bad in the extended -- might be spoilerish)
Part of the problem with the movie is the very basic plotline that we've seen a dozen times before; the infamous "Escort the Princess" plotline (made famous by Star Wars and Musa), except in this case, the Princess happens to be Russell Crowe, who isn't a princess, but rather an outlaw and prisoner. This is one of the plotlines that has labeled many as bad movies, and one I feel should be avoided at all costs (there's only so much that can happen on a journey, and by the time the princess gets delivered, the princess is usually no longer significant).
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