3:10 To Yuma (Russell Crowe, Christian Bale) – It’s Bad Bad Leroy Brown vs. Josey Wales. Leroy is played by Russell Crowe and Wales by Christian Bale (Clint Eastwood is way too old now). Crowe plays notorious robber and murderer Ben Wade, who is ruthless, cunning, manipulative, funny, and resourceful. His gang is equally murderous and downright scary. Tracked down after robbing a Pinkerton stage, Wade is taken prisoner and destined to be hung at the Yuma Prison, which is only a train ride away on, you guessed it, the 3:10 to Yuma. But just who is brave enough to take Wade to the train? There’s the Pinkerton executive and a couple of his henchman, most of whom don’t last the first half hour of the movie. Then, there’s quiet, understated, honorable, down-on-his-luck, family man rancher Dan Evans (Bale), whose own spread is endangered by the railroad and yet a different ruthless gang. In need of money to try to save the ranch, he agrees to join the escort party of Wade for $200, and he proves to be the bravest of the bunch. At its heart, this is a mano-a-mano confrontation between the audacious Wade and the silently driven Evans. The movie draws its strength from the two actors and surrounds itself with all the clichés of the Western genre. There’s lots of gunplay, perfect shooting, stunts, and blood. There’s the mandatory saloon scene; the ineffective marshals; the innocent civilians; the disenchanted son; and the loyal wife. I was impressed once again at Crowe’s ability to master an American accent although he and Evans’ son sound more out of the 21st century than the 19th. This movie is characterized as the best Western since Unforgiven but it’s not in that league. It’s good, like Silverado, but it’s not Academy Award-worthy. This is definitely worth the time and the money if you like Westerns.