The Taking of Pelham 123 [Blu-ray] [2010] [Region ]

The Taking of Pelham 123 gradually accelerates its tension before applying the emergency brakes. New York City. The bustling heart of American bureaucracy, capitalism and greed. An urban beat sprawling the towering skyscrapers, harnessing corporations that generate the commodity of wealth. Money never sleeps. Scott’s remake of the ‘74 classic, that many critics deem “perfect”, embodies the synergetic life moulded by the city. It gives, and it takes. A duality that manifests itself between the connection of the story’s protagonist and antagonist. Two opposing ideologies, both tempted by the greed that New York veils itself in. When the villainous “Ryder” holds a subway carriage full of civilians hostage, only a dispatcher is allowed to negotiate. Placing the lives of many in his hands.Pelham is a game of morality. A game of chess. To reveal the darkened shadows that are suppressed within. The Catholic Ryder ensnaring the seemingly innocent Garber to strategically break down his guard, to form a bond between negotiator and hostage architect. One minute at a time. Whilst Garber calms his temper before any erratic actions are performed, leaving a solemn burden on his conscience. The communicative connection between both characters is often palpable, with each sentence meticulously thought out before spoken. Garber swarmed by police officials and hostage negotiators to say one thing and then the other, conflicted in what move to play next. Scott reassuringly plays out this thriller with a heavy compunction. Each action that is taken, has a consequence.The sole problem with this remake is that it’s so efficient in tackling the plot, that it lacks any thrills to be had. That may seem like a double entendre, but self-efficiency can be a fundamental issue for a thriller. Every character is on autopilot. They do and say everything according to plan so seamlessly, that any edge is prevented. Absolutely safe to watch as a feature, but never involves you indirectly. Scott’s frantic directing style, including the choppy frame cuts and exhausting panoramic panning, is unable to alleviate the safety measures that are inadvertently in place. Mass annoyances rather than cohesive stylistic choices. He does however generate an urban aesthetic that relishes in that New York air.Infuriatingly the tension that is gradually built up in the second two acts, grinds to an immediate halt during the conclusive escape. Action set pieces distract rather than involve. The generic hostages seemingly have no life and, rather ironically, act as one-dimensional commodities that have limited investable power. So when these entities are whisked away on a runaway train, you unfortunately don’t care. Another irritant is the blatant disregard of the NYPD, as they are portrayed to be absolutely useless. Traversing ten million dollars across the city, and they can’t even do that without wrecking several vehicles and themselves. Just another plot convenience to add to the growing list that infests this thriller. And don’t get me started on that laptop that had no connection, then randomly did. Had no battery life...then randomly did. Careless plot details like these can really bring a cohesive story down a level or two.For everything Pelham executes correctly, such as the two main characters (including performances) and urban aesthetic, it seemingly fails on other aspects. Much like public transport, the idea and execution are efficient if irrefutably unreliable.

John Travolta and Denzel Washington are on opposing sides of this gritty hijack movie, set on the New York subway, each playing their roles expertly. The only negative is that the language used throughout the film may be too much for some.

I read the book on holiday recently, so decided to purchase the DVD. I was very disappointed in the changes made to the book: the alteration of the career of one of the two lead characters, the almost total downplaying of the secondary criminals in the gang, the glossing over of some the interactions in the subway carriage. Nor did I appreciate the blurring camerawork. So I then purchased the earlier DVD version, which was much more faithful to the book.

Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Luis Guzmán and John Turturro star together in Tony Scott's big budget remake of the 1974 original which is one of the best heist movies ever made. There are numerous differences between the two, most notably the ending, and the updated soundtrack. Gone are the jazzy tracks and in comes Jay Z's 99 Problems, which is a surprisingly fitting tune to start the movie with considering the day Washington's Garber is about to endure. For the most part, the cast in the original are slightly better, though I do think Gandolfini plays a better mayor than Lee Wallace. Unfortunately, the dark underlying humour that was in the original has all but gone from the remake. Still, it is an enjoyable enough update that is worth watching. 3.5/5

Must admit, I prefer DW in his martial arts roles but he played an amazing roll here and JT was his usual first class performance nothing less great film

A New York City subway dispatcher draws on his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind who's hijacked a subway train...Not bad remake of the 1974 thriller inspired by John Godey's best seller. It was hard to tell whether this remake was going to be good. I personally thought it was a big mistake, as the original was a much loved exhilarating film, which captured the tension perfectly to keep you on the edge of your seat. When this one came out, I realized it was not the same; and not as good. Director Tony Scott was trying too hard to keep the audience attracted. The main change in this film was the modernization, such as the man on the train streaming images to his girlfriend.The 1974 film was a marvel of economy and concise realism. The 2009 version, perhaps like New York itself, is flashier and far less gritty. The camerawork is busier, the effects are expensive, the colours louder. The soundtrack, a bastard mix of rocky techno and crude drum 'n' bass, recalls a car advertisement from 1996.Overall, I would recommend the earlier version of this film, as it is just so brilliant and original. Terror these days comes in the form of viruses or hijacked aeroplanes. John Travolta in a goatee just won't cut it.

The story is simple - bad guy John Travolta and pals hijack a train in the subway and hold the city to ransom - do they get the money - yes they do - do they get to spend the money - buy the DVD and find out. I remember watching the original of this story and maybe that is why I was a bit let down with this version.I think that I was expecting more. If you haven't seen the original then this is a good movie. Denzel Washington and John Travolta play their parts well and it is a good movie to kill a couple of hours with on a rainy night.

Had seen the original which was good but this is better, more action and suspense