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As 3:10 to Yuma begins, two familiar archetypes of the Western genre are given parallel stories. Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a somber Civil War soldier turned rancher with mounting debt, a family to feed and only one good leg. The Southern Pacific Railroad Company wants his land for their tracks, and even burn down his barn to show that they mean business. Meanwhile, charismatic bandit Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his gang violently rob a stagecoach carrying the very same railroad’s money for the twentysomething-th time, despite the best efforts of the hired security force led by Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda).

But these stories do not stay separate for long; when Evans goes into town to protest the destruction of his barn, he semi-unwittingly helps the railroad folks capture Wade (his gang has already wisely departed after divvying up their shares). And after overhearing the powers that be say that they need more men to shepherd the criminal to the titular train headed off to prison, Evans offers his assistance for 200 dollars - money he hopes to use to save his ranch. But Wade’s gang, at the behest of his unsettlingly devoted underling Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), are hell bent on tracking down these escorts and taking back their boss by the bloodiest means necessary.

As is par for the course with these two powerful screen presences, once Bale and Crowe get a hold of their respective characters it is impossible to imagine anyone else portraying them. The two own their roles completely, infusing them with their own personalities. Crowe’s character in particular is a dense creation, not content to be merely the dastardly villain; he’s a thief and a murderer, sure, but also an artist and astute reader of people. Even when paired with these dominant talents, Peter Fonda manages to turn in a particularly badass performance as the badass aging bounty hunter Byron McElroy. But while Ben Foster does better than I expected after seeing his mopey portrayal of Angel in last summer’s X3, he still seems to struggle to make his mark amidst this exceptional company.

Genre hopping director James Mangold (CopLand, Identity, Walk the Line) does not set out to reinvent the Western with his latest film; quite the contrary, as ‘Yuma’ is an homage to the John Wayne era from start to finish. The film has all the touchstones of the genre; there’s a sparse musical score, a fight with some Indians, even a good old fashioned stand-off. But while ‘Yuma’ is predictable in all the big ways, it sublimely subverts expectations in many small ones. Significant choices and little touches make this film stand out from its forebears, and the style is infinitely more ‘in your face’ - urgent and tense in a bolder way than the formulaically shot Westerns of the 40s and 50s ever managed to be.

But still, ultimately one must like those same Westerns - and old movies in general - to be able to really enjoy 3:10 to Yuma. The look of the characters and their world is authentic to the standards of the genre more than it is to historical accuracy. And there’s a tidiness to the film’s end, with unexpected acts of heroism and last minute revelations about key characters aplenty, which will be hard for modern moviegoers to stomach. Mangold’s ‘Yuma’ continues the grand thematic tradition of the Western by being set at the time when the idealized (if not barbaric) ‘Wild West’ was giving way to a new era of progress. We see modernity creeping in around the edges of a world where everybody knows how to ride a horse, law and order is an oft overlooked concept, and all real men sport facial hair. And in many ways, it is the same with the film itself; 3:10 to Yuma is slavishly loyal to the Westerns of days gone by, but still cannot escape being influenced by the modern world it was created in.

Grade: B+

- Jeff Latta