The classic western holds as one of my favorite genres and I was all fired up and ready to dump all over this new adaptation 50 years (and a few months) hence the Glenn Ford/Van Heflin classic helmed by stalwart Delmer Daves - a stellar example if ever there was one. How dare they tread on this hallowed ground? Well, they did... and I'll get re-fitted for my fire-retardant suit to say it's the overachieving kin, the grandson standing on his patriarch's shoulders, of the original.

Both are based on an Elmore Leonard short story originally published in a 1953 issue of Dime Western magazine (visible on the bedside table in the opening scene of Mangold's film). A small-time rancher agrees to transport a captured outlaw while awaiting a train that will take him to jail in Yuma. It transposes to the rarely sought gem of 'psychological Western'. Desperate men in lean times - some holding to their principles - others brushing aside morality. At the crux of this plot is gaining respect and Christian Bale's Dan Evans and his straight-line ways have given him short shrift in that department. Where Russell Crowe's Ben Wade and his ruthless demeanor have men in his gang that would easily die at his command. The narrative holds the High Noon themes about nobility and justice against-all-odds exceptionally well and director Mangold can't seem to resist overplaying his hand a bit (after all, it's what the machismo-violent desirous public seems to always want) but in the end it's a big winner in my books. Power, courage and fast guns are how the western made its bread-and-butter and 3:10 to Yuma brings that all back with nostalgic, gritty, charm and detailed precision. This film is so good I'll wager it adds another benefit - it should encourage many to see out the stellar 57' original - not to compare but to quench the budding thirst of, hopefully, reviving this endangered species known as the 'Hollywood western'. Let's hope so - especially if they are this good.