3:10 to Yuma is a thought provoking, gut wrenching but fun story driven by it’s character development. It stars the ever hunky Christian Bale (Go Newsies!), Russle Crowe (didn’t throw a phone in this movie), Logan Lerman (kid in The Number 23), Ben Foster (the winged creature in the last X-Men) and last but certainly not least Peter Fonda (who I totally thought was in the 1957 version but wasn’t).

Some say this remake is better than the classic 3:10 to Yuma, and although I’ve never seen the first this movie impressed me so much I believe them.

3:10 to Yuma is a story about a small-time one legged rancher Dan Evens, Bale, that agrees to hold a captured outlaw Ben Wade, Crowe who’s awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma, to hang for his horrible robbery and murder crimes. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher. While I admit it had it’s boring parts this movie had what all Westerns need. Loads of gunfights, hostage situations, dirty ranchers, kids that have surprising will and skill, outlaws and a deeper struggle.

This movie made you feel what the characters were feeling. While traveling the range you felt a little bored and hot, when they get attacked by Apaches you get scared, when the Evens struggles with the ultimate question of should he just let the outlaw go and save his own skin as well as his sons, you feel that struggle, when the crazy gun fights ensue you feel the rush of adrenaline. If I go much further I’ll spoil the movie so I’ll just say, as a person who hates Westerns, this one got me.

3:10 to Yuma gets 4/5 LJ stars