The Taking of Pelham 123

Reviewed by:
Eric Alt

Directed by: Tony Scott

The Skinny: In this remake of the 1974 film, Denzel Washington plays a haggard MTA worker whose day is ruined when a gang of crooks—led by John Travolta—decided to hijack a New York subway train. The plot soon gets thick enough to include the city's preening mayor (James Gandolfini) and an NYPD hostage negotiator (John Turturro).

The Good: It all pretty much begins and ends with Denzel. Even in his efforts to play an everyman who just wants to be left alone, he commands the room. So much so, in fact, that he basically overpowers everyone else, which renders the movie slick and well-produced, but…

The Bad: …ultimately lacking. It's not a bad movie per se, but for a heist film it's surprisingly lacking in any tension. Or action. For example: the trailer hints at some kind of climactic car chase that never actually materializes. All those crashing cop cars you see? That's just part of an utterly pointless sequence in which the NYPD tries to rush the ransom money to the station and hits everything they can along the way. So it's not a car chase, it's just shitty driving. And Travolta is in full-on "I'm a bad guy, so I'll shriek constantly" mode, and he's terrible. Watching him try and intimidate Denzel is laughable, even with Denzel sporting a paunch.

Relationship Tip: Ladies, if you're having a conversation via web cam with your boyfriend while he is lying face down on a subway car floor being held hostage by machine gun-toting crooks and he doesn't immediately say "I love you" when you say "I love you"? Deal breaker! Lock it down!

Theater, DVD or TNT in Five Years: It's a rental, but you're probably better off with the original.

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