The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)

Director:

Tony Scott

Writers (WGA):

Brian Helgeland (screenplay)
John Godey (novel)

Release Date:

12 June 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.

Plot Keywords:

Hostage | Train | Hijack | Subway Train | Subway

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Walter Garber
John Travolta	...	Ryder
Luis Guzmán	...	Phil Ramos
Victor Gojcaj	...	Bashkim
John Turturro	...	Camonetti
Michael Rispoli	...	John Johnson
Ramon Rodriguez	...	Delgado
James Gandolfini	...	Mayor
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Deputy Mayor LaSalle
Alex Kaluzhsky	...	George
Gbenga Akinnagbe	...	Wallace
Katherine Sigismund	...	Mom
Jake Richard Siciliano	...	8-Year-Old Boy (as Jake Siciliano)
Jason Butler Harner	...	Mr. Thomas
Gary Basaraba	...	Jerry Pollard (Motorman)

Also Known As:

The Taking of Pelham 123 (UK) (promotional title) (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and pervasive language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44271) | UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | South Africa:16LV | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/12 | Denmark:15 | Netherlands:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:R16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Mexico:B15 | Japan:R | Argentina:16 | Iceland:16 | Taiwan:R-12 | Australia:MA | India:A | Germany:16 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

Ryder is the name that John Travolta says Garber should call him. In the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Ryder is the real name of Robert Shaw's character, Mr. Blue.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the first scene, when we see Garber talking through the microphone the very first time, he presses the red button. From that time on, we see the characters pressing the blue one to use the microphone.

Quotes:

Ryder: Garber! When you put your socks on this morning, did you ever think...? Turn around, let them frisk you. I was worried about you... I thought maybe you'd get lost but then I remembered you were a motorman, so... these tunnels don't change much, do they?
Walter Garber: Just the people in 'em.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Funklab Bass Problem

Skip this and see the remarkable original Pelham instead.

When placed side-by-side to the original 1974 classic slow-burning thriller, Tony Scott's remake looks like Danny Devito did in Twins: inferior in every way. Where Joseph Sargent's direction was subtle, Scott opts to shove everything down your throat; where Peter Stone's screenplay from 25 years ago was clever, Brian Helgeland tries too hard to make it hip and cool; and where Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw proved an unlikely but memorable pairing as good guy / bad guy, Washington and Travolta share next to no chemistry. So rather than sentencing this film to death by comparison (which it does deserve mind you) how does it go as a stand-alone picture? Tony Scott is essentially a glorified Michael Bay. Everything is done fast and loud, regardless if the film calls for it or not. Where this has worked for Top Gun or Crimson Tide it fails here. Scott has infused so much needless action with rapid edits and whiplashing camera movements that it proves to be distracting. Even an innocuous conversation between the Mayor and an adviser has a circling camera catching the scene, such is the constant motion Scott feels compelled to instil. It doesn't stop at the eyes though. Every chance possible our ears are assaulted with unnecessary sounds which are poorly matched to what we see on screen (at one point a helicopter sounds like an F1 car.) Occasionally a film calls for coarse language – some movies can even use excessive language to great effect (Reservoir Dogs or Boondock Saints for example) – however almost every time the F-bomb is dropped in Brian Helgeland's script, and it happens a hell of a lot, it is simply not required. 99% of the colourful language comes from Travolta's crim, but instead of emphasising emotion it purely makes him look stupid. Couple this with plot holes galore and this screenplay from the Oscar winner who wrote L.A. Confidential and Mystic River leaves a lot to be desired.

Thank goodness for Denzel. Incapable of delivering a bad performance, Scott's go-to man (this is their fourth collaboration) salvages this run-of-the-mill action / thriller with his nuanced performance and sheer charisma. As Garber (first name Walter as a nod to Matthau who played his 1974 counterpart), Washington finds a nice balance between your every day worker and someone able to step up in this extreme situation. Travolta doesn't succeed as the foul-mouthed psycho Ryder at all, his go-for-broke portrayal is laughable and ensures we can never take him seriously. Supporting players Gandolfini and Turturro are solid but don't have much to do.

Don't waste your money seeing this on the big screen, wait the six months and rent it on DVD. Better yet, skip this and see the remarkable original Pelham instead.