Of course the western is a universal genre — one of the best recent examples, “The Proposition,” comes from Australia — and it must be said that Mr. Crowe and Mr. Bale both do excellent work. They and a fine, all-American supporting cast, including Gretchen Mol, Ben Foster, Dallas Roberts and a surpassingly grizzled Peter Fonda, are the main reasons to see “3:10 to Yuma,” an unpredicted addition to the current western revival.

Directed by James Mangold from a script by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, “3:10 to Yuma” remakes a 1957 film of the same title (based on the same Elmore Leonard story), which starred Glenn Ford as the charming baddie and Van Heflin as the rancher who risks everything to escort him to a rendezvous with justice.

The original, directed by Delmer Daves, is a lean and satisfying specimen, a western more concerned with the psychology of its characters than with the mythology of the frontier. Mr. Mangold’s new version, though it expands the story and cranks up the brutality, does its best to honor the unpretentious spirit of the original.

Directed by James Mangold; written by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, based on a short story by Elmore Leonard; director of photography, Phedon Papamichael; edited by Michael McCusker; music by Marco Beltrami; production designer, Andrew Menzies; produced by Cathy Konrad; released by Lionsgate. Running time: 117 minutes.