Director: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta & James Gandolfini
A unsatisfying remake of a 70s classic that manages to entertain as much as it does on the back of the likeability of its star Denzel Washington and an occasionally tense first hour.
In the world of remake-heavy Hollywood, it was only a matter of time that the highly regarded 1974 thriller, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which starred Walter Matthau as a transit cop having to deal with a hostage situation on a subway train lead by Robert Shaw’s hijacker. Now renamed The Taking of Pelham 123, the remake now sees Denzel Washington taking on the Matthau role with John Travolta leading the hijackers. While director Tony Scott, known for being more flash than substance, at the helm of the remake there was cause for concern that the remake might feel hollow though Scott was also responsible for the tense thriller Crimson Tide in 1995 (which also starred Washington). Unfortunately The Taking of Pelham 123 does more resemble Scott’s more recent output rather than that of Crimson Tide.
Victor Garber (Washington) is a New York Subway controller under investigation for accepting bribes who, upon being reassigned to subway dispatcher, takes the call when subway train Pelham 123 is hijacked by a group of men lead by an individual named Ryder (Travolta) who is demanding $10,000,000 within the hour or he’ll execute his hostages. Unwilling to deal with anyone else, Ryder forces Garber to handle his demands as the city try to gather the ransom, learn the hijacker’s identities, their motives and secure the safety of the hostages.
Immediately dispelling hopes of a more restrained thriller, Scott begins the film with his usual flash and fast moving camera shots and cuts with a booming hip hop style soundtrack announcing the villain’s arrival to the storyline. The film does slow down a little at that point to introduce Denzel Washington’s character, his environment and his situation and it is these moments in the subway control room that engage most. With the interactions between Garber and Ryder mostly confined to conversations over a radio mike for the first half of the film, these sequences from Garber’s perspective at least are quite enjoyable helped by a confident and likeable performance from Denzel Washington. In fact, it is the conversations and arguments in The Taking of Pelham 123 which most satisfy and offer more thrills and tensions than Scott’s attempts to in inject action sequences and explosions into the film such as a police car crash midway into the film or the foot chase at the film’s finale. These sequences are only enjoyable though from Garber’s perspective. From the other side, within the subway car with Travolta’s Ryder, they are less effective with Travolta’s Ryder a somewhat OTT demander inserting expletives into his conversations with Garber that come off poorly through Travolta who also relies too much on raising the volume to appear threatening. So, while occasionally there are moments that are enjoyable and gripping in the first half of the film, they are often upset by Scott’s reliance on loud explosions and louder characters.
One strength The Taking of Pelham 123 does have is in the casting of Denzel Washington in the role formerly played by Walter Matthau. Whilst not giving his best or a particularly memorable performance, Washington is nonetheless enjoyable and convincing in the role of Garber. His calm and likeability make him immediately sympathetic when compared to the louder, more egocentric, characters within the film. John Travolta though entertains less successfully. Whether it is on Scott’s insistence or Travolta’s, his Ryder is frequently portrayed as too loud and course as opposed to demonstrating the level of control or intelligence that his character requires given his plan and how he pulls it off. With a frequent lack of restraint, Travolta’s Ryder compares poorly in comparison to Washington’s Garber. With Ryder’s henchmen, the subway passengers and many of Garber’s fellow subway workers filled with unmemorable faces and characters, The Taking of Pelham 123 relies too much on Washington’s charisma to entertain. Even John Turturro and James Gandolfini as a hostage negotiator and the mayor barely merit attention.
Overall, The Taking of Pelham 123 remake is inferior to its predecessor and despite some occasionally tense and engaging sequences within the first hour and an enjoyable performance from Denzel Washington, Tony Scott’s reliance upon flashy camera work, action sequences and John Travolta means the film disappoints more than it entertains.
Rating: 2/5
