3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Director: James Mangold

Cast: Russell Crowe as Ben Wade, Christian Bale as Dan Evans, Logan Lerman as William Evans, Dallas Roberts as Grayson Butterfield, Ben Foster as Charlie Prince, Peter Fonda as Byron McElroy, Vinessa Shaw as Emma Nelson, Alan Tudyk as Doc Potter, Luce Rains as Marshal Weathers, Gretchen Mol as Alice Evans, Lennie Loftin as Glen Hollander, Rio Alexander as Campos, Johnny Whitworth as Darden, Shawn Howell as Jackson (as Shawn D. Howell), Pat Ricotti as Jorgensen

Christian Bale (Dan Evans) holds the screen as an honest rancher who
volunteers for two hundred dollars to be part of a doomed group of
guards to take the enigmatic bandit and killer Ben Wade (Russell Crowe)
to a train, the 3:10, leaving Bisbee, Arizona for Yuma prison to trial…

Beaten down by an old Civil War injury, and unable to protect his farm
and his family from Wade's ruthless gang and humiliated by his teenage
son (Logan Lerman) who makes no efforts to hide his disappointment in
his impoverished father, and who doesn't try to hide the fact that he
admires the charismatic criminal, Dan finds a great quantity of reasons
to undertake the perilous trip to Contention City to fight back like a
real man and regain his son's respect… The story concentrates on Evans
whose unknown destiny tries to paint to his son an unforgettable
picture turning up poignant and endearing…

Wade—leader of a murderous band of robbers—had great respect for Dan
throughout the film and develops a kind of understanding and
appreciation for him… Their short scenes in the hotel room celebrate
the virtues of two opposite men who stand up for what they believe
stopping on issues in relation with family, dignity, virtue, and
admirable integrity… The best scenes are those in which Wade teases
Dan: "Your conscience is sensitive, Dan. It's not my favorite part of
you."

Crowe's interpretation of a gifted cold-blooded smooth-talking bad man
is one of the most compelling parts of the film… Bale is splendid as
the struggling, crippled rancher, misunderstood by his whole family…
The two actors comfortably inhabit this stunning western…

It is nice to see that there are still good westerns being made lately…
And James Mangold's "3:10 to Yuma," a remake of Delmer Daves' 1957
picture, is one of them… It is a Western with realistic violence, great
action sequences, breathtaking photography, and an inevitable final
shoot-out…