The Taking of Pelham 123

Rated R for language and violence
Reviewed by Karl Scott

One thing you have to give Hollywood credit for is that when they find a story they
like, they stick with it. The Taking of Pelham 123 first showed up as a theatrical movie
in 1974 with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. In 1998 it returned as a made for TV
movie with Edward James Olmos and Vincent D'Onofrio in the leading roles. I have never seen either of those two versions. This was probably for the best as I was able to view the current version with Denzel Washington and John Travolta without advance knowledge of the plot or being in the position of having to compare all the twists and turns. This version is pretty good summer thriller filmmaking.

All three versions are based on a novel by John Godey (1912-2006) who also penned a couple of other novels and several Disneyland TV episodes. His real name was Morton Freedgood. His other couple of novels were also made into movies but never remade with the regularity of The Taking of Pelham 123.

The story concerns the highjacking of a NYC subway train that is held for ransom while a cat and mouse game transpires between Washington (playing the subway representative) and Travolta (the evil genius bad guy). Travolta gets to ham it up and act crazy. Crazy like a fox. Washington gets to act out the part of a guy caught in the middle and in way over his head.

Their dialogue keeps things flowing during the long negotiating periods when the train is stopped and nothing much is going on except when Travolta gets riled up and shoots somebody.

Throughout the story a few facts are revealed that cast suspicion on Washington and always lets us know Travolta has more going on than meets the eye.

Every now and then Director Tony Scott stages a few high-speed car crashes and seems obsessed with using arty camera work to tell the audience something. The story is good enough that he could have easily avoided all the tricks and just filmed the movie as a straightforward crime and hostage tale, which is what it really is.

Eventually the finale takes place and it seems to be a typical TV crime show episode ending except with more graphic violence. After the cleverness of the dialogue and the vocal duels between Washington and Travolta it seems a tad disappointing.

A fourth version of the story is said to be in the works but will be more honestly titled "The Remaking of the Taking of Pelham 123-4."
Rated 2.75 out of 4 subway tokens.