I've been looking forward to seeing this movie since I first heard about it. I am a big fan of GOOD westerns. I always liked the original from the 50's. Saw it yesterday with my wife and I was trying to explain to her why I was dissappointed.
Good actors. Beautiful photography. A good basic story line with two major characters, and some interesting minor characters.
The good guy, Christian Bale, is a civil war vet who has a wife and two boys trying to scratch out a living on a mortgaged ranch. He has lost a leg in the war and was compensated $199.37. Opening scenes show him with a severe limp. The balance of the movie he fights and rides, etc. with no visible problem, he even wears boots on both feet (must have had really good prosthetics in those days).
Early in the film, an old bounty hunter, Peter Fonda, is shot point blank with a Colt .45 right in the guts. He almost bleeds to death, the town vet. removes the bullet (including the old "clink" in the pan cliche). The next day he insists on accompanying the small group of men escorting the captured bad guy to where he will be put on the train to Yuma state prison. He never shows any incapacitation from his injury.
The bad guy, Russell Crowe, walks into the local saloon. The owner/barkeep (think Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke)of the saloon in this 5 building town, is a drop dead gorgeous woman with perfect skin, hair and teeth. In what is presented as real time, he has her naked and deeply in love with him in about two hours.
During the couple of days they trek towards the rendezvous with the train, the handcuffed Crowe manages to kill two of his 6 man escort and get the drop on the rest of them TWICE.
By the end of the movie, which was the most illogical part of the film, I was already out of the movie and was just watching for stupid directing.
What a screwed up opportunity. The director is the basic problem. Too bad. could have been good. But I'm glad it is doing well at the box office because this encourages more studios to do westerns. Maybe someone will make a good one.