3:10 to Yuma

Crime, Drama, Western

Russell Crowe	Ben Wade
Christian Bale	Dan Evans
Peter Fonda	Byron McElroy
Gretchen Mol	Alice Evans
Dallas Roberts	Grayson Butterfield
Logan Lerman	William Evans
Ben Foster	Charlie Prince
Vinessa Shaw	Emmy Nelson
Alan Tudyk	Doc Potter
Luce Rains	Marshal Weathers
Lennie Loftin	Glen Hollander
Rio Alexander	Campos
Johnny Whitworth	Tommy Darden
Shawn Howell	Jackson
Pat Ricotti	Jorgensen
Ramon Frank	Kinter
Deryle J. Lujan	Nez
James 'Scotty' Augare	Nez
Brian Duffy	Sutherland
Jason Rodriguez	Tighe

Director	James Mangold
Producer	Stuart M. Besser; Dixie J. Capp; Cathy Konrad
Writer	Halsted Welles; Michael Brandt; Derek Haas

Never let it be said that the Western is dead. Because every time its last rites are read, another filmmaker moves in and produces another fine entry to an enduring genre that'll simply never go away. In this case, the film is 3:10 To Yuma, and the filmmaker is James Mangold, straight off his Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line.

3:10 To Yuma is, however, a far different beast, bringing together two of the most magnetic male leads in modern day cinema. On the one hand, there's Christian Bale as the law-enforcing Sheriff, and he's facing off against Russell Crowe's killer. Unsurprisingly, it's the conflict and sparks between these two that ignite the film, and turn it into a film well worth seeking out.

For what director Mangold realises is that the trick with 3:10 To Yuma (named after the prison train that Bale's character seeks to put Crowe's on) is to give his two stars room to work, and injecting plenty of action and excitement into the mix. The end result, while not a top-notch Western, turns out to be a real cut above most of the current multiplex fodder. Even if Westerns aren't usually your thing, it's well worth giving this one a try. --Jon Foster