By Sara Pintilie/reporter

A Western seems like an odd choice to help kick off the fall film season, but 3:10 to Yuma shows the audience Westerns are not dead and well-crafted, big-budget movies are still being made.

The film intertwines the narratives of down-on-his-luck rancher Dan Evans (American Psycho’s Christian Bale) and the infamous robber Ben Wade (A Beautiful Mind’s Russell Crowe).

Wade, freshly rich from a robbery, visits the little town of Bisby and manages to get himself captured.

The sheriff arranges for Wade to be transported by train to Yuma for his trial, but the station is in another town.

Evans, strapped for cash, volunteers to escort Wade to the train.

Along with Evans, the sheriff, a bounty hunter, the doctor (A Knight’s Tale’s Alan Tudyk) and Butterfield, the man overseeing the railroad construction, join in the ride.

Though it seems like a simple task, Wade’s outfit is right on Evans and company’s tail.

Wade’s second in command, the manic Charlie Prince (Xmen III’s Ben Foster) is now leading the gang with all determination to free Wade.

3:10 to Yuma doesn’t reinvent the Western genre; instead, it pays homage to the classics with an entertaining flair.

The film has elements of these Westerns but the one I saw the most parallelism to is Stagecoach. Both movies have characters whose initial judgment toward someone and changes during their journey.

I don’t want to give anything away, but that idea is almost the essence of 3:10 to Yuma. First impressions are not always right.

The pace of the movie is well done, and the dynamics between all the players do a good job showing their character’s complexities.

The characters are well thought out, and I love the relationships among Bale’s hero, Crowe’s anti-hero and Foster’s villain.

The opening sequence is brilliant; it has a very Hitchcockian feel to it. Not in the sense of suspense, but as in Rear Window, the opening scene explains everything prudent about the character without actually explaining it.

The action in this flick is there and pretty prominent during the last half, but it is never overbearing.

The heart of the movie is in the characters and not the action like a good film should be.

Quite some time ago, I declared Bale my favorite actor, and he does not disappoint in this flick.

He gives 183 percent in everything he does and always disappears into his characters. In 3:10 to Yuma, he gets Evans’ every quirk down pat, even to the “hitch in his step” as Wade calls it.

The audience begins to sympathize or even become frustrated with his character’s actions.

Crowe has never been one of my favorites, but I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. He seems perfect for the role and portrays the Jesse James-esque character with ease and a bit of a swagger.

The supporting cast builds a solid foundation for the leading men. I always enjoy watching Tudyk, and Evans’ son (The Number 23’s Logan Lerman) held his own against the seasoned actors.

3:10 to Yuma is the best movie I have seen in recent weeks and is one of my favorites of the year.