Movie Review: The Taking of Pelham 123

Director Tony Scott has become infamous for creating movies that reflect style over substance. His editor must have a hell of a time putting together his movies. Scott is notorious for making films that involve multiple cuts in one scene, very fast moving clips, and he really seems to enjoy putting words on the screen for no apparent reason. If you have seen Man on Fire, Deja Vu, or Domino, you know what I am talking about. These movies run a thin line between a music video on an acid trip and a film actually trying to tell a story. The only one of his films where his stylistic approach to storytelling seems to work is with Man on Fire. It is a revenge tale and doesn’t try to be anything more than that. Scott’s latest project, The Taking of Pelham 123, had the potential to be a passable hijack thriller, but this talented cast including Washington, John Travolta and James Gandolfini is wasted on a lackluster script.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is a remake of a 1974 film by the same name which starred Walter Matthau in the Denzel Washington role. In the remake, Washington takes on the role of Walter Garber, a civil service employee who manages the progress of trains for the New York City MTA. His day at work is disrupted when one of the trains he monitors is hijacked by a group of gunmen led by John Travolta. Travolta, who goes by the name Ryder, begins communicating with Garber, informing him of his demands. Ryder has hostages and is threatening to kill them if the ten million dollars he demanded is not delivered to him within one hour. The plot sounds pretty ordinary, and as far as hijack movies go, this is as ordinary as it gets.

The formula for this movie is simple: group of bad guys hijack subway train. Lead bad guy demands ransom for hostages. Reluctant hero saves the day. So, with such a simple formula that we have seen in so many movies before, how is it possible to screw this up? I am still trying to figure that out myself. The trailer for the movie wants you to wonder how these guys will get out of the subway. They are trapped down there with the hostages so a getaway will be a challenge. I was hoping for an interesting twist on how they would escape, but the trailer ruins this aspect of the film, as we see Travolta escaping in a taxi. There getaway is nothing more than an exit. Once again, it fails to thrill the audience. The movie’s first act is by far its’ strongest. It introduces the characters, sets up the premise, and dives us right into the action. It is what transpires the rest of the movie where Pelham 123 really takes a nose dive. The movie is so predictable that it is an insult to the audience to sit there and try to be entertained. Washington and Travolta are completely wasted in their roles. Washington does what he can with his role as an MTA lackey. Some back story about why he is working that job is attempted to be told. But it is a pointless character profile which never makes us care about who this man is. Travolta is completely miscast as the role of the “psychotic” gunmen who spends the majority of the film talking to Garber over a two way radio. Travolta’s character Ryder is not convincing, even with his neck tattoo, weird facial hair, and frequent use of the word mother f***er.

The talented cast is wasted in this film where any other actor could have taken these roles and the film would have been no better or no worse. I am not sure what the deal is with Denzel Washington and Tony Scott. Maybe Washington owes him money and he is paying off debt by headlining in his movies. Whatever the case may be, Washington needs to pick some different projects. Go watch Washington in Spike Lee’s Inside Man. That is a good heist/hijack film. The Taking of Pelham 123 had all the makings of a thriller, but it misses the one important factor in all of this. It has no thrills.

Fanboyz Grade: C