Liked the solid first hour better than the final half hour where the plot made less sense, took the easy predictable way-out, and Scott's meaningless directing became more and more tiresome. Travolta and Washington were fine. Not a surprise, since they have been practicing these roles hundred times before. C+

(it's around B/B+ before the last act)

NOTE: Haven't seen the original one

See the original JURing the dialogue alone is worth it. As for this I will delve almost into levels of Yoshue contempt. Ill see it but I know inside it will be terrible.

If you don't compare this deeply dumbed-down version to the terrific original, it's mostly passable before falling apart in the third act, as these things often do.

But, yeah, another major failure for that asshole Tony Scott.

Quality summer entertainment. Tony Scott delivers the action and suspense goods -- this is a fast-paced, stylish ride, full of macho confrontations, metal-crunching crashes, and twists and turns. A fair amount of it is absurd (the car and motorcycle melee which ensues when the NYPD tries to deliver ten million dollars is hilarious), but it's never dull or unpleasant.

Fair warning, though: the unique, borderline-psychedelic style Scott used in films such as Man on Fire and Domino (a frenzied blend of freeze frames, slow motion, tints, etc.) is very much present here. If you hated it then, you will continue to do so. If you don't mind it or even dig it, as I do, you will be fine -- satisfied.

Denzel Washington gives a dedicated performance, but John Travolta steals the film. He devours the scenery and seems to be having the absolute time of his life playing this over-the-top villain, who is as flamboyant as he is brutal. James Gandolfini's supporting turn as a Rudy Giuliani-esque mayor is also memorable.

Overall, obviously don't expect Academy Award-caliber material here, but for a couple zany summer thrills? Tony Scott's updated "Pelham" delivers.

B+

Ya, I enjoyed it.

Didn't blow me away or anything, but it's a solid, two-hour action flick with some good performances. Plus, I do love Scott's style of film-making a lot, so that helped.

***

Watching the original right now - it is worth a watch!

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
User Rating:7.7/10 7,350 votes

Cast (Cast overview, first billed only)
Walter Matthau ... Lt. Garber
Robert Shaw ... Blue
Martin Balsam ... Green
Hector Elizondo ... Grey
Earl Hindman ... Brown

I'm interested in checking out the original now. Walter Matthau as Garber?

last post, sorry to interrupt but I had to answer this.....



yup, he did it all in his younger days: drama and comedy! (based on IMDB ratings)

(8.09) - Fail-Safe (1964)
(8.08) - A Face in the Crowd (1957)
(8.00) - JFK (1991)
(8.00) - Charade (1963)
(7.69) - The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
(7.69) - The Odd Couple (1968)
(7.67) - Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
(7.55) - Mirage (1965)
(7.48) - Charley Varrick (1973)
(7.45) - How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1992) (V)
(7.39) - The Fortune Cookie (1966)
(7.36) - Bigger Than Life (1956)
(7.27) - A New Leaf (1971)
(7.19) - The Front Page (1974)
(7.09) - The Incident (1990) (TV)
(7.09) - The Sunshine Boys (1975)
(7.09) - Hopscotch (1980)
(7.07) - Il piccolo diavolo (1988)
(7.00) - The Bad News Bears (1976)
(6.90) - Hello, Dolly! (1969)

mindless fun with a couple of talented actors. Tony Scott's chaotic style worked well with this kind of story.

B

agree, and I liked the Travolta ending.

While sub-par to Man on Fire or Deja-Vu, it's still worth watchable. And I couldn't help but adore those NY skyline shots.

B

You should coin this phrase, not even joking.

You already quoting it would make it useless.

Whoa! What a misfire for Tony Scott - - this turkey is dreadful!!!

As stodgy and old-school as the original film is, it still held true threat and true surprises. This remake doesn't hold a candle to it. Garbage. I haven't seen a film this lazy since... _____________ (you fill in the blank). John Travolta also reaches a late career low with a really shoddy performance - - even freakin' Denzil Washington, Acting God, struggles with the dog's breakfast of a script thrown at him here... Yow!

...and I thought Tony Scott had grabbed the directorial reins. After his stellar work in recent films like Man On Fire, Domino and Deja Vu to see him fly off the rails like this is really shocking. This remake shoulda been a gimme. But now, he had to go fancy it all up with fake intensity and mod tech and of course, the crazy ass editing... Hoo boy! What a mess.

This has gotta be a lock on my Ten Worst Films of 2009 list - - at least I pray it will be - - please God, don't let their be ten worse films than Pelham 1 2 3...


out of

B.
Not very good. Decent, then I suppose.
The constant blur and freeze frames were annoying.
There were too many plot holes from a probably thoughtless script.
I thought it would be a smart thriller but this is really quite mediocre. Travolta takes directions from Washington?
That's kind of lame. They all die? That's even lamer.
Humour was really bland as well.
Travolta's performance and a few good scenes save this film from getting a B-.
But that's not saying real much since I don't rewatch anything I grade B and below.

Definately better than I expected but I usually love Scott's movies. Travolta is pretty awesome as the villian and Washington is pretty solid. The ending let me down a bit but everything that came before they left the train was very entertaining. B+

Definitely would win the average award if the Academy ever gave out one. It's exactly what you would expect from a movie like this, nothing better, nothing worse. Like others said, Denzel and Travola have done these roles a thousand times, so they're pretty good. It needed a lot more fun twists like Inside Man.

B

It's a solid thriller with strong performances from both Travolta and Washington. The suspense is there and the film never reaches a struggle throughout. However the sudden change in the third act is a little bit much and brings the story in a little bit of a confusing light. In the end though, its a solid thriller that will most likely get played endlessly on TNT. **1/2

i enjoyed it like i do most denzel films. someone needs to inform scott thought that he could hold the camera still for more than 2 seconds. that'd be nice.

B+

B

Acting was great, ut the movie was average, nothing bad, nothing great

TAKING OF PELHAM 123

I caught this via netflix.

I enjoyed the movie. It's classic Denzel work here. He seems to the same type of character mannerisms etc in everything he does now but it's something that works for him and makes his film's better than average. I though John Travolta's character was over the top but very menacing and unpredictable as a killer. A very loco man yet with smarts to make money. Gold being 80k an ounce preposterous. I also liked the glasses worn by Denzel in the flick and would like to find a pair just like them.

Grade - B

I wanted to punch Tony Scott in the ponch when I saw not one, not two, but three police vehicles crash into innocent people while driving to the subway with the ransom money.

The editing style would be worthy of being considered "montage" or "expiremtal" if it weren't so poorly awful. It's very disjucntive but being combined with a dull script and poor direction it simply looks outrageous. A terrible film with lazy performances by the talented lead actors. Although Washington was better here than in the dreadful "Book of Eli"

B-


I think before I start off with my review it must be noted that I have never seen the original and thus won't be able to compare the two. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) looked pretty solid in commercials. It promised a mostly old school two-men face-off action thriller with two great leads and a gifted director. What it turned out to be is a slightly above average effort that is still one of the worse Tony Scott/Denzel Washington's collaborations to date - and clearly below their most recent work, Unstoppable.

The premise is simply. Thugs have hijacked a subway car. They want money. Travolta's villain negotiates with Denzel Washington's "nobody". It was nice that Washington was not playing a cop for a change, though the challenges in the role were not much different from that. As usual, Washington delivers a solid performance, though it never looks like he had to put much effort into it. Exposing his characters illegal deeds from te past was a pretty nice touch, though. I certainly expected more of Travolta's chief villain, however, He hams it up to the nth degree with a lot of screaming and craziness, but it never comes across as anything other than bad overacting. The rest of the cast which consists of names like Luis Guzmán, John Turturro and James Gandolfini doesn't get anything worthwhile to do or to say here. I liked the exchanges between Travolta and Washington at first, but they became tiresome after a while. In the same way, the initial tension of the film just kind of disappeared towards the end. I didn't even care much about whether Travolta would get away or not and I still consider the very ending to be rather lame and anti-climatic. So the dispatcher with no shooting experience kills the hijacker...hmm, okay.

Overall, I'd put it on the same level as Déjà Vu, but below Crimson Tide, Unstoppable and Man on Fire.