The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Denzel Washington is brilliant as Walter Garber in the remake of the 1974 thriller, “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.” As in the original, which featured big names like Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, director Tony Scott cast a solid ensemble, headlined by Washington and John Travolta.

Brian Helgeland updated the script to fit toady’s environment and technology in a story about four men hijacking a New York City subway car and holding its passengers for a hefty ransom. Helgeland also updated the ransom amount from $1 million to $10 million - these days, $1 million just can’t get you anywhere.

The drive behind the hijackers, led by Travolta’s character, Ryder (with a “Y”), is simple on its face. However, it also plays a role in the crisis Garber, a subway dispatcher that is in over his head, and the NYPD must diffuse before it’s too late.

Washington expertly plays a flawed family man, with a reserved, almost timid New York sound, struggling to handle a situation that is well above his pay grade. Scott and Helgeland emphasize the battle of wills between Ryder and Garber, trenched together in a ticking time bomb scenario. Simply put, Ryder will kill one passenger for every minute past the hour deadline of the ransom.

Travolta attacks his role from an odd psychological place, revving up Ryder’s mad-at-the-world persona with comical outbursts of contempt for NYC and human life generally that miss the mark of a vengeful thug. Through their interaction over the dispatch, the stars of the film blur the line between good and evil as Ryder forces Garber to open his own closet of skeletons, revealing the scarred humanity in both characters.

Scott’s fourth collaboration with Washington is a well-paced drama that doesn’t attempt to make, or be, a social statement. Ryder’s character makes it clear that he isn’t a terrorist, a proclamation that this film isn’t supposed to be anything more than what it is in post-9/11 New York. The fact that Ryder was a greedy Wall Street suit before turning to a life of pure crime – oxymoronic, I know – hints at the economic meltdown of 2008, however, remains unrelated. “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” is your classic money heist.

A lack of captivating action sequences and face-to-face interaction between the two stars slows the film at times. However, a strong supporting cast – John Turturro as NYPD investigator Camonetti and James Gandolfini as the maligned mayor – make this retooling of the gritty 1974 classic a fresh alternative to the adolescence of most other films this summer.

Written by: Brian Donnelly

Reviewers Rating: 8.5
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