This is the best Western of the 21st Century so far (for mine, just edging out Django Unchained).
Building on the classic movie from 1957, James Mangold's remake adds in much needed scenes to fill plot holes and build nuanced characters that were sorely lacking in the original.
Our hero now, is a man struggling to keep his farm and the respect of his family whilst the "antagonist" (I stretch the use of the word here) is almost tired of his way of life and his "family." Adding in the concept of children to these two was smart thinking on the part of the writers and this really deepens Bale and Crowe's characters.
Speaking of which, both give perfectly nuanced performances here and you can watch their characters grow in response to each other as the movie progresses. Both "sons" (Lerman and Foster) fit into their roles of the naive teen becoming a man, and the unhinged "son" idolising his "father" respectively. The rest of the cast have been perfectly chosen.
The cinematography is stunning at times, but unlike most Westerns, this does emphasize the country - it is more of a silent character here. But when it is shown, it is just gorgeous...seriously, I hadnt seen snow in Westerns until this - but it just looks brilliant.
The score drips with the memories of older, more famous Westerns, but Beltrami makes this one unique. Sound design is also great, even using the heartbeat-like rhythm of the idling train's engine in the final scene.
Everything else is perfect - the lighting, editing, costumes, set design...this does not look like an independently made film that the major studios didnt want to touch. The people who worked on this, really wanted to. And that's also probably why its so good.
THIS is how to remake a movie. Enjoy.