Hola all. Massawyrm here.

This. Movie. Kicks. Ass. Clearly this one is going to be the crowd favorite and will no doubt find its way onto a vast number of best of… lists come December. Christian Bale is a rancher getting the short end of the stick in local politics. He's pitted against the meanest, orneriest bastard this side of the Colorado Rockies, a murderer and cutthroat played by Russell Crowe. When Ben Wade (Crowe) finally gets the irons put around his leg, it's up to Bale and a company of pinkertons to escort him to the 3:10 prison train to Yuma. Of course Wade's gang and a number of the kin of Wade's victims might have something to say about that.

The result is an incredibly badass movie that plays by all the classic rules of the western. It's a movie about honor and dignity in the face of evil, about what it is to be a real man in a world that prizes fame over quiet righteousness. Christian Bale once again excels as the films complicated hero, a dedicated rancher caught up in railroad real estate while trying to deal with a failing ranch and a disability from the war. Bale gives it every ounce of talent he has and creates another, rich, detailed character without which the film would fall into cliché rather than archetype.

Opposite him is Crowe giving us a turn we haven't seen out of him in over a decade as a villain who simply sweats badass out of every pore. Anyone who feels that Crowe's lost his edge or his range need look no further than this to see that he is still one of the most powerful leading men in the world. There's a coldness to him, a true villainy. This is a guy you want to similarly admire and never take your eyes off of for a goddamned second. Given the chance, he will kill you. He's charismatic, cunning and can do more chained at the hands and feet than most can with full freedom of movement.

And when these two archetypes meet, the sparks are undeniable. There's a genuine friction – both an admiration and a natural hatred between the two that neither seems to be able to put a finger on, each in some way possessing what the other can only wish for. Make no mistake about it. As much as we're coming into Oscar season, this is an action film. These two rich characters are put on the trail, pitted against Wade's gang, natives and a slew of kin of all the folks Wade has slaughtered in his days. It's a mission film with enough gunfights, narrow escapes, blood, filth and rich dialog to go head to head with the spaghettiest of westerns.

But at its heart it gets right what so many westerns these days do not. A western is not just the sum of its action. It is the sum of its character, its Soul. A western is only as strong as its good guys, only as riveting as its bad guys. It is the conflict between these two that makes for a classic. And remake or no, this has classic written all over it.

This is how you remake a film.

When you get a film as good as the classic, the only thing you can do is try to tell the same story without telling the same exact story. Here the film leaves the hotel room and takes place mostly on the trail, most of the action happening between the arrest and that final showdown in Yuma. This is the film this season that most everyone is going to find themselves agreeing on.

This is a film you're going to want to call your dad up to invite him along to. It just screams afternoon with pops. In fact, if you have no active issues with your father, call him up right now and order tickets to see it. This is that bonding movie, a movie rife with themes of fatherhood, but dripping with enough machismo that you won't feel like to have to hug and cry afterward. Smart, heartfelt and a true masterpiece of the genre, 3:10 to Yuma comes with the highest of recommendations. If you don't actively hate westerns, then you have zero reason to skip this movie. It's just one of the best damned movies you're going to see this year.

Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.

Massawyrm

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