Crowe and Bale are fantastic in this movie. They played off each other very well. Every review I've read notes that they are two of the best actors of our time, and that's absolutely true. Crowe plays the charming criminal, Ben Wade, to perfection, and I found him quite sexy even though he's not typically my cup of tea. Bale was great as the family man who is trying to save his family from starving and losing their land to the railroads. Of course my feelings about his sex appeal are no secret to my Vox hood.
The rest of the cast was great as well. Ben Foster was so good as Charlie Prince that I didn't even realize who he was. I had to look him up on IMDB, and I thought, "Oh, it was THAT guy?!" Alan Tudyk was great as the kind hearted Doc Potter.
The scenery was beautiful as expected. That is one thing I've always liked about westerns. My suggestion is to go see this movie even if you're not sure about it. It actually makes me want to check out more of the genre. I see Unforgiven in my near future.
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Bookishly Fabulous 
The Unforgiven is one of the greatest westerns ever. And even though I'm not a real fan of John Wayne, The Shootist is by far his best western ever.
I'll actually caution against seeing Unforgiven, especially without more exposure to the genre first. It's very definitely a commentary on Eastwood's "Man With No Name" roles, and while I think it's pretty enjoyable on its own, I think you get more out of it if you're thinking about those earlier films. That being said, the last time I watched it, I actually didn't like it much because it seemed like it was sort of too clumsy of a reversal of so many of the tropes found in the earlier movies. Because of the huge difference of opinion between the first and the second viewing of the movie, I think it's worth a third look, to see what I think now.My suggestions are probably the same sort of things you'd hear from anyone, but I'll give them anyway:A Fistful of Dollars & The Magnificent Seven – These are the two Western retellings of Kurasawa movies, so once you're wowed by them, you've got an instant in for getting into samurai flicksThe Good, The Bad, and The Ugly & Once Upon The Time In The West – The two Sergio Leone epics. The first gets all the publicity, but the second has stellar performances by Jason Robards, Eli Wallach, and Charles Bronson, and, I think, is a more nuanced story.Tombstone – Val Kilmer's Doc Holiday is to die for.I'm sure I could scrape up a few more suggestions, if you want to have a greater breadth of exposure to the genre.
I second the nomination for Tombstone and I will throw in one for the other western I liked (Shane). High Noon is also fun, but Tombstone and Shane are my favorites. (My favorites of the three I liked.)
Tombstone is seriously awesome. It's really funny–especially Doc Holiday.
What's 3:10 to Yuma about?
Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions. I will put them in my queue.
Thanks for the recommendations! Ben Wade is an Outlaw who is captured in Bisbee and must be transported to the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison, where he will have a federal trial and be hanged. The movie is about the journey to Contention, where the train station is, and the ensuing struggle to get Wade on the train. Charlie Prince is Wade's right hand man, and he is doing everything he can to free Wade before he gets on the train. Bale's character is a poor rancher who is volunteering to help for $200.
I'm glad to read your review. I have somewhat resisted seeing this film because I'm not really a fan of westerns. I think I'll give it a try now.