3:10 to Yuma (2007)

3:10 to Yuma is a drama first and a western second which gives it an appeal to a wide audience. It follows Dan Evans, a not-so-successful rancher played earnestly by Christian Bale, as part of a group taking Rusell Crowe's notorious criminal Ben Wade to the jail train. The focus here isn't on ranchers versus farmers or who can sling a gun the fastest, which makes it all the more refreshing.

The good guys and the bad guys aren't as polarized as your typical western either. And it is that shared humanity, those attempts to make a life out in the early Western US, that give this film depth. Ben Foster gives a particularly creepy performance as Ben's incredibly devoted number two, Charlie Prince. And it being a western, of course there is violence. But this film did a good job of it not seeming gratuitous regardless of how graphic, as it provides the harsh reality of the characters' situation.

I can't speak for the 1957 original, but with the exception of some out of place CGI pulling you out of the story for a few minutes, this film's increasingly frenetic pace with keep you glued through the end.

Rating: 4/5
Recommended for: Adults who enjoy rooting for a character no matter what obstacles come his way.