For the last time, The Taking of Pelham 123 is not based on a true story.
It is, however, based on an older movie.
Which is based on a book.
So does this suspenseful rehash of a rehash keep you on the train? Or are there too many stops to the point of you saying "I need to get off" ?
Well, if you haven't heard of this star driving blockbuster starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, Pelham tells the story of Garber (Washington), a subway train dispatcher who, one day, has to talk with a criminal codenamed Ryder (Travolta) as he demands $10,000,000 from the city of New York. He gives the city an hour to come up with the money, and if he doesn't receive it within that timeframe, he promises to kill one hostage for every minute over.
That's basically the extent of the premise for this film. At first glance, you'd think "Oh, okay, thrill ride action movie for the Summer," and at its core that's what Pelham is. However, there lies an interesting relationship between the two main characters, Garber and Ryder, and by the end, you realize that they're not just coincidentally put together in the situation. Beneath it all lies a moral and profound look on society as a whole.
Without spoiling anything, that's as far as I'll go. As for the movie in its entirety, Pelham surprised me by surpassing my expectations.
But not by much.
Pelham, despite what I mentioned earlier about its thought-provoking subtext, is still just a suspenseful cash-in blockbuster using big names to attract audiences. Travolta is a hit-or-miss character in Pelham. At times, I loved his anger and propensity to be over-the-top and ruthless. Other times, however, I felt like he was overdoing it and just having too much fun and leisure with the role. Washington does an outstanding job, though, as the lovable protagonist that you root for from square one.
From the beginning, the movie ropes you in and doesn't let go till the very end. Literally, the entire movie is one, big, suspenseful ride and it truly feels like a subway train gone out of control. There really is no lull at any point, and given the objective and target audience of the film, this is a very good thing. The direction was handled extremely well by Tony Scott and, as with most action films, its clearly evident that shooting this kind of movie takes a behemoth amount of talent, precision, and expertise, especially within the constrained confines of a subway tunnel and a subway cart itself. Editing, along with the spot-on direction, is also well done. Kudos to a technically proficient post-production!
So acting is great, direction is fantastic, and the editing is just swell. What could go wrong? Well, pretty much everything else, especially the writing. Dialogue and continuity is handled moderately well, and considering the story is taken from two previous sources, the overall package feels a bit shallow. Now, I do realize that action movies generally don't have the smartest scripts, but other than the fun interaction between Garber and Ryder, it really has nothing going for it. I was really hoping, and expecting, to get a little more attached to the individual hostages and maybe have a tad bit more backstory. Instead, what we get is the cuteness of a mother and her young son, a boy chatting via webcam to his girlfriend, a man who is racistly mistaken for something but is redeemed soon after, and another man who "has to take a piss" as mild comic relief. Otherwise, I didn't care for anyone being in real danger except for the fact that they're heralded as innocent hostages. This is a huge hole in the design of the film, considering, just like Ryder, their the only leverage it really has to your interest. This is even more disappointing because the intro to the film shows them all separately, almost profiled and center framed, as if they were all key characters too.
So, all in all, "The Taking of Pelham 123" is almost exactly what you're expecting it to be: fun Summer fare to throw your $8 at. Its certainly decent and I'd rate it above average just for how well it kept me zoned in at the screen. However, exciting directing and the powers of Travolta and Washington aren't enough to redeem it completely as an uninspired two-person-powered train ride to oblivion. In conclusion, I just wish there was more to like than what I saw visually, but hey, you might walk away rethinking a few little things from the main characters. Then again, you might not, then you'll be left shaken and throttled like a bad roller coaster.
6.5/10
-Kyle Shelton
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