The point that I recreated the costume of the new Charlie Prince right down to the buttons on his jacket and the Pinkerton pocket watch he takes early in the film may expose my bias.
The original is a great film, no doubt. I actually watched it after I saw the 2007 version, somehow expecting the 1957 to be unable to keep up. I found that they're two distinctly different films- I would say the '57 film is more of a theatrical piece that centers on the actions of two men, whereas the '07 edition is about the journey to Contention itself, so the characters have a little more room to shine (such as Doc Potter and Charlie). These films may share the same origin, but they wound up being two completely different takes on their source material.
I know a lot of people gripe about the ending of the '07 film, but I never saw a problem with it. We see little hints throughout the film that Wade takes an interest in Dan early on, and you can see that he actually cares about him enough to try and convince Dan to go home and not risk his life for the greedy railroad. Ben even had several chances to kill Dan and escape throughout the journey, but relents each time.
On the flip side, he doesn't always seem as keen about his own gang of bloodthirsty "animals", as he calls them. Remember, Ben is introduced in this film as being aloof from his gang, opting to be by himself to sketch a hawk. He doesn't even participate in the robbery itself until it seems like the stagecoach is going to get away. He even seems to convey a sense of hatred towards them as he explains why he shot Tommy during the stagecoach robbery.
So, it didn't shock me when he decided to take down this gang he doesn't seem to care much for after they gunned down a guy he genuinely seemed to like. As for getting on the train after the deed is done, he can probably escape at will and then disappear from his outlaw life afterwards, as he wished to do so with the bartender he seduces early in the movie. He did call for his horse immediately after getting on the train, and it gallops alongside it during the final shot, so this is very likely what had happened. Ben more than likely also did this to force Butterfield to fulfill his deal with Dan (to give Alice $1,000 and to keep the land baron from taking the ranch). Note that we get a clear shot of Butterfield watching Ben get on the train.
Is the '07 film completely realistic or even plausible? Nope! But it is a throwback to the glory days of Westerns, which often dealt strongly with morality and consequence, but with modern action and pacing. I wish more films like this were being made today, but we'll probably only get one good Western every few years now, thanks to modern audiences not being able to accept them at as fast a pace as in the '50s and '60s. So for now, its about quality over quantity. If we get more films like the 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit remakes, it won't be so bad.
I like both films; I just prefer the '07 edition over the '57 take.
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