'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3'
It is fitting that the latest treatment of Joseph Sargent's 1974 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is filled with everything that the summer movie season has become: flashy, over-stylized and pale imitations of a past work. Yes, Tony Scott's updated The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 captures the claustrophobic fright of the original but made with the pain-staking decision to make it perfectly obvious and prevalent that this film takes place in tech-heavy 2009. Complete with web cams, Bluetooth earpieces, an insatiable gossip-hungry mainstream media and an all-mighty WI-FI connection, Mr. Scott's Pelham also makes its most telling change yet: the bad guy worked on Wall Street which is now the epitome of evil.
Denzel Washington (American Gangster) plays Walter Garber, a former NYC Transit big-wig busted down to a dispatch job in New York City's Railway Control Center. Garber is tasked with making sure the trains run safely and on time through the monitoring of a large screen highlighting each train's position in the subway tunnels. It's a rather ho-hum job but Garber, being the solid guy that he is, owns it. Little did he know that when he was putting on his socks in the morning, his world was about to take the express train...to trouble.
Underneath the city, a group of men with assault weapons and a fabo plan, take over a subway car containing more than a dozen hostages. Led by "Ryder" (a nod to the original film and played by John Travolta), the organized thugs demand a cool $10 million to be delivered in one hour. Miss the deadline and one hostage will be killed for every minute that the City is late with the cash. He means it. He's not bluffing. Communicating only through dispatch, the menacing Ryder barks out a parade of demands that Garber, who by chance is the one on the other end of the call, is forced to negotiate with, ultimately leading to the modest city worker delivering the money himself.
Once the camera stops moving long enough to spot a discernible image of our characters, we notice that John Travolta and Denzel Washington are actually starring in this. Good thing, because without them and their charm, Scott's Pelham 1 2 3 would plummet into flames. Instead, it's a slow burn. Mr. Travolta, who really hasn't been this fun since Face/Off, is on the verge of bringing depth to his character but is grounded by his character's unbelievable background and agenda. Thanks to a story focused largely on under-developed characters with desires on paper only, the convenience of the plot advances are staggering. New York City's exiting mayor (James Gandolfini), seen as fairly inept throughout the film, is the one who makes a key investigative discovery. Even Garber makes an awkward transition from civil service worker to ballsy stud.
Fans of Tony Scott's approach to film will thoroughly enjoy Pelham 1 2 3 for its lavish effects, erratic cinematography and excitement for over-the-top violence. For inconsequential summer features, audiences could do worse than this but for viewers looking for an up-scaled version of the original, you may find that your money has run out.
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman
Directed by Tony Scott
Rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for intense violence and pervasive language.
Opens in Denver today.
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