By Tim McGroaty

“3:10″ to Yuma” is based on the short story by crime writing guru Elmore Leonard and is a remake of the 1957 film by the same name.

It’s directed by James Mangold, who most recently directed the Academy Award winning film “Walk the Line.” This time around, Mangold tackles a now-rare genre – the western.

Set in the late 1800s, “3:10 to Yuma” starts off with Russell Crowe as the notorious murderer and stagecoach robber Ben Wade, who is finally caught in a small town far away from any trains or prisons. Now all that is left for the town’s law enforcement to do is bring Wade to the nearest town and catch a prison-bound train to Yuma (the 3:10). The men hand-picked to take Wade on this trip are the town’s deputy who, a doctor and aging officer Byron McElroy (played brilliantly by Peter Fonda). Finally, there is the man responsible for Wade’s capture, farmer Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who also comes along on the trip that is expected to take two days on horseback.

The handcuffed Wade taunts the men and tries several times to escape while his gang follow the whole way, unnoticed by the captors, ready to do what is needed to get their crime boss out of the clutches of the law. On this trip to Yuma (one that takes up much more time than the 1957 version) there are attempted escapes, murders, and encounters with Indians. The movie runs like “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in reverse, with the bad guys chasing the good.

Crowe plays his role with calm and composure and is the perfect choice for deceitful murder Ben Wade, blending charm and mischief better than anyone. His performance works perfectly against Bales’ easygoing demeanor, whose temper gets shorter as the trip gets longer. Needless to say, the acting is brilliant. “3:10 to Yuma” is certainly another notch to Bales’ diversity and versatility and he proves that his role picks are rarely wrong.

Alongside these two is Charley Prince (Ben Foster) who almost steals the show-not an easy task when starring actors like Bale and Crow. Foster plays his character flawlessly and is by far the most hated and ruthless villain of them all. The audience can’t help but focus solely on him when he enters a scene.

There seem to be occasions where the door is left wide open for Wade to escape and he chooses to stay and be transported to Yuma. The film ends up being more about the friendship and mutual respect between killer and workingman than anything else. However, the circumstances that come from this friendship seem somewhat far-fetched.

Plot holes aside, the film is visually stunning and a great character piece that finds friendship even in the most unlikely of places.