Brady Movado Tom

I was expecting 3:10 to Yuma to be good, even before I went to see it. After all, how can you really go wrong with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in a western? But it turns out I was wrong. It wasn't good. It was brilliant!

In fact, it is one of the best movies I have seen in years -- I'd say it's the best movie I have been to see since Master & Commander, another Russell Crowe movie that I dearly loved. Russell Crowe is just excellent as outlaw Ben Wade, providing him with charisma, menace and charm. Christian Bale, of course, is his usual incredible, intense self and they both have that crackling sparkly energy that Crowe had with Guy Pearce in L.A. Confidential. The rest of the supporting cast is also excellent, especially Ben Foster playing Wades second in command, Charlie Prince. Foster virtually steals every scene hes in.

Russell Crowe needs to play the charming, menacing bad guy a lot more often because he is perfect -- especially since they have him dashingly dressed almost entirely in black with black leather gloves, a jaunty cap, perfect facial hair, perfect smirk, a black horse even! The second time I went to see the movie, I paid more attention to the visuals just to see how they present Ben Wade and it turns out I was correct in my previous recollection -- he is the only character dressed entirely in black in the entire movie. Visually, it makes him stand out significantly because both the scenery and the clothing worn by other characters are drab and neutral in color and tone.

One of the other great things about this movie is that it is serious, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. There's lots of great one liners and really satisfyingly vicious murders. Midway through the movie, the pacing can be a bit slow here and there, but overall the film proceeds with a deft elegance. There arent a lot of westerns I find myself able to watch over and over again, but 3:10 to Yuma is going on my buy list as soon as it hits DVD.

For more on Russell Crowe, visit Emma's Russell Crowe page. Love Westerns? Read Emma's Open Range review

You can also see clips and reviews for 3:10 to Yuma at: http://www.squidoo.com/310toyuma/