3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Be honest: you’ll be rooting for the outlaw well before the first act is over, and James Mangold seems to be too. Russell Crowe plays Ben Wade as the most charming man in the Arizona Territory, polite, well read and completely dangerous, and he makes everyone around him look like they’re reading off cards. Christian Bale is the other half of the duel. His Dan Evans is broke, limping and desperate for his son to look at him with respect, and every scene between the two men crackles. Ben Foster nearly steals the movie as Wade’s right-hand man, a gunman with a scary amount of devotion to his boss. The middle of the trip gets busy, with detours that feel like the plot stalling. The final stretch asks you to believe a change of heart the rest of the movie never earned. Critics gave it 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 7.5 because the two leads are electric and the ending blinks first. $8,226 says you hear a train horn this week and catch yourself siding with the outlaw.

What works: Russell Crowe’s charming menace, Christian Bale’s wounded pride, and Ben Foster’s loyal, unhinged sidekick.

What doesn’t: The middle of the journey stalls with detours, and the last few minutes ask for a change of heart the movie hasn’t earned.

Who it’s for: Western fans who like their gunfights served with a lot of tense, quiet talking between enemies.