‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ is Conventional, Forgettable, and Unnecessary
-----With John Travolta and Denzel Washington starring in a film together, you’re bound to get some good results. Unfortunately, the original ‘Pelham 123’ didn’t really need a remake seeing as there’s very little effects work, and the story isn’t worthy of resurfacing in the public’s eye. And while I didn’t see the original, it was probably better than this one simply because it was original.
-----‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ follows, oddly enough, the taking of New York subway train, Pelham 123. Walter Garber, an ordinary man working as a dispatcher for the trains finds himself forced to negotiate with the armed men who have taken over a train car with live hostages as their “commodities.”
-----Denzel Washington plays a role he’s become very comfortable in, as the common man forced into extraordinary situations. Certainly not playing the tough guy here, Washington gives a quality performance as dispatcher Walter Garber. John Travolta plays the leader of the hijackers, known only as Ryder. If that name sounds a little bit cheesy to you, then you pretty much get Travolta’s character. It’s not that Travolta doesn’t give it his all, but his characters motivations are unjustified and even goofy at times. His supposed brilliance is also made a fallacy thanks to a script full of holes. He yells and curses and the whole time I never really took him that serious, even when he turned lethal. That’s how it is with most of the film, which never shows that it’s capable of building consistent, or even legitimate, tension. Travolta and Washington are obviously the reason the movie was made, and they do most of the work. The only other notable supporting players are John Turturro, in a role he also seems to be getting quite used to as head of the FBI unit, and James Gandolfini, as the snobbish Mayor. Turturro turns in his usual quality performance, but has very little to do. Gandolfini isn’t bad either as the semi-corrupt Mayor whose recent affair has cost him the little respect he had.
-----With ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ it’s not so much that anything about the movie was dreadful, just that nothing was exceptionally good. The plot is your run of the mill heist story, with no real twists and nothing new to bring to the table. It starts as you’d expect, goes along as you’d expect, and finishes as you’d expect. Rarely do I condemn a movie for being formulaic, but this movie is conventional to the point of not even being worth your time. It’s never too dull and hardly something you’ll immediately dislike, but when push comes to shove, you could be watching a number of better heist movies. There are just too many superior films that follow the same construct, and they completely invalidate any good reason to see this one. I see absolutely no justification for watching this dutiful exercise in heist movie craft, when you could be watching classics like ‘The Negotiator,’ ‘Inside Man,’ or even the original ‘Speed.’
-----Director Tony Scott is part of the problem. Taking a queue from his brother, Tony Scott has made a movie that isn’t bad, but is as forgettable and unnecessary as Ridley Scott’s CIA thriller ‘Body of Lies.’ Not to mention playing with motion blur far too often. At one point Washington and Turturro are in a helicopter together, and Turturro comments on how beautiful the city looks from up there. Scott has made it a point however, to use a motion blur on the background for a stylized look, so all you can see is the helicopter, followed by a blur of buildings behind it. Not to mention the opening credits which seem to stretch on for about 10 minutes across more blurred shots of the city.
-----‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ is agreeably not an action movie, and is supposed to rely on its drama and character development. This too, is a problem. The transformation of Washington’s character is nonexistent. This isn’t due to any sort of poor acting effort on his part, but rather is the fault of a script that doesn’t even attempt to change him. Sure we get to know him as he’s put through these extreme circumstances, but there’s no intriguing transformation from pencil pusher to man of action. The movie seems to convey that it wants you to think there’s a change taking place, but that’s just not the case. A better example of a common man’s transformation in the face of adversity is 2004’s ‘Collateral.’ That film had intriguing dialogue between the common man protagonist played by Jamie Foxx, and the criminal antagonist Tom Cruise. And while I’m not saying that ‘Collateral’ was a masterpiece by any means, at least there was some drama there, and at least the protagonist went through a believable transformation when forced into extreme circumstances. ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ on the other hand, is just more of the same, and a movie that could be summed up for anyone in about three minutes.
-----Technically the film has nothing to boast. I already mentioned my distaste for the motion blur used on occasion by Director Tony Scott, but there were other problems too. Motion blur aside, most of the cinematography is murky and reliant on quick shots for intensity. This is a weak and tiresome technique, and it actually detracts from the film. The musical score is also bland, coming off more like a ‘Law & Order’ episode than anything else. There’re also some contemporary tracks that are apparently supposed to show us how tough Travolta’s character is. Unfortunately, all they do is seem out of place, as they distract from the film.
-----In conclusion, ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ is not a terrible movie. It is, however, a pointless one. So conventional in its every aspect, the film is adequate entertainment at best, and inferior to so many films of the same genre that it’s not even worth renting. Granted, you won’t be bored throughout the film, but you may find your mind wandering during what are supposed to be the film’s climactic sequences. The performances range from solid to silly at times, and the third act has a number of holes due to the weak script and mediocre execution. The hijacker’s master plan that’s supposed to intrigue us gets less interesting by the second, until finally it’s downright laughable in its conclusion. The movie doesn’t work as a character study or a drama, and especially not as a quality heist film. Ultimately, there are far too many superior films in this ancient genre to constitute spending time and money on ‘The Taking of Pelham 123.'
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