Tony Scott helms the remake of the 1974 film and Denzel Washington and John Travolta take the starring roles from Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. Some things about the ’74 version I liked better, but this redo is an enjoyable one.
Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) used to be an administrator at the New York transit authority but while an internal investigation goes on because of an accusation of taking a bribe he’s on the dispatcher desk. His day starts off rather monotonously, but as he’s about to get off his shift Pelham 123 suddenly stops still on the digital board.
The subway train has been hijacked by a group of armed men led by “Ryder” (John Travolta). The hijackers demand 10 million in cash in one hour or the passengers will be executed for each minute after the demanded timeframe.
The FBI gets involved and negotiator Camonetti (John Turturro) tries to take over Garber’s place on the microphone. However, Ryder has taken a shine to Garber and violently demands that he return.
The Mayor (James Gandolfini) is suffering from a divorce scandal and wants to get this hostage situation taken care of without further damaging his already damaged reputation. As the situation gets more intense, Garber finds that he’s pulled further into Ryder’s plans.
I’ll have to admit a certain fondness for the 1974 film, based on the novel by John Godey. How can you not admire a film that successfully makes an action hero out of Walter Matthau? It also featured a steely turn by Robert Shaw and a humdinger of a surprise ending for that character.
Director Tony Scott helms this remake and some of his signature style is on display. There’s lots of action and fiery performances, but there is also lots of slow motion. Some of the camera tricks kept taking me out of the movie, especially the slow mo.
Denzel Washington delivers another solid performance and is safer casting than Matthau. I did like John Travolta, but when all was said and done I still had fond memories of Robert Shaw. However, I usually like my villainy suave and English.
Travolta’s bad guy is closer to a prison thug than Shaw was. Of course, the character’s plotlines are much different in each film. Denzel is a tarnished hero with some wrongdoing in his background and Travolta has an axe to grind with New York yet his real reasons for the kidnapping of the train car is for other reasons than the 10 million.
The film is a fun ride, unless you’re a hostage on a kidnapped subway car. The performances of the leads are great, but I kept remembering Robert Shaw whenever Travolta was on the screen. That’s not saying that Travolta was bad just true confession time.
There are some stylized camera moves that look good on screen, but kept taking me out of the show so the subway brakes kept coming on a time or two. I still kept coming back to the movie though so I did end up glad that I paid the fare.
The Taking of Pelham 123 is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a pair of audio commentaries. One from director Tony Scott and the other from writer Brian Hegeland and producer Todd Black. The 30 minute “No Time to Lose” is a making of and the 16 minute “The Third Rail” looks at the New York underground transit system.
The 5 minute “From the Top Down” focuses on hair styles and interviews stylist Danny Moumdjian. The “Marketing Pelham” contains 7 minutes of trailers and there are also previews of other Sony products.
The Taking of Pelham 123 is remade for today’s audiences, but I give the slight edge to the gritty ’74 version. I did like what I saw in this remake, but too many times I felt like it was movie tricks for the sake of movie tricks. I thought the performances were strong from Washington and Travolta, but would’ve liked more reality, like I envisioned from the first film, than movie gloss.
The Taking of Pelham 123 is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Jan. 11th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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