The Taking of
Pelham 123 is a film packed with over-the-top macho performances—one angry
bad guy and an overly determined good guy. It almost forgets to entertain and
instead dives into what could be classified as a dick-measuring contest, filled
with so much noise and too little reason for it to exist. At some points, it
seems to drag, but that’s the idea of Tony Scott, the director, focusing on one
man trying to secure ransom for his hostages. This
is a remake of the original, released in 1974. I haven’t seen that one,
but at this moment, I’m looking forward to it, as the original is said to be
betrayed by this remake. Judging by what I have seen of this remake, the
original cannot be that bad.
John Travolta
and Denzel Washington’s performances lack the intensity needed to make their
points matter, and they seem to rely more on their looks than their acting to
convey the message.
The movie is based on a book of the same name by Morton Freedgood. The plot starts strong: our lead bad guy, a man who calls himself Ryder (John Travolta), along with his men, hijacks a train, Pelham 123, and takes the passengers hostage. A ransom call is made to the train dispatcher, Walter (Denzel Washington). Ryder demands $10 million in cash within sixty minutes, warning that for every minute past the deadline, he’ll execute a passenger.
As things
develop, Ryder imposes his will on the police when they try to take over the
negotiations by killing the motorman. He insists on continuing to communicate
with Walter. The happenings on the train are monitored by the officers, as one
of the laptops on the train is connected to the internet, allowing the control
room to see what’s happening.
There’s more
going on than just the hijacking, and we start to get an idea of that as the
movie progresses. We also learn about Walter’s past, discovering that he’s not
supposed to be working where he is because he’s under investigation for taking
a bribe.
The movie is
also the second-to-last directorial work by Tony Scott before his death. It was
both a commercial and critical failure, with many critics questioning the need
for a
remake of the 1974 classic. I
have no reason to recommend this movie to anyone, as there’s no real point to
its existence in the first place.
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