I live in New York, about thirty miles outside of New York City, on Long Island. During the 9/11 attacks, I can remember watching the television and realizing that what was happening was not too far from my house. Five days later, I was shooting a film on a local beach where, in the far distance, you could still see the flames and smoke from the disaster that recently had just taken place. The city and the island heavily rely on public transportation, and we even have had a few mishaps in which people have gone on shooting sprees and have killed or taken commuters hostage. After 9/11, there always has been a concern that the transit system would be an ideal target for an attack. The Taking of Pelham 123 exploits how such a thing can happen by telling not only a unique and suspenseful story, but also one that makes you think from both sides of the fence as to who the real villain is.
The Taking of Pelham 123 is a remake of a 1974 film with a similar plot, but with a different motive. It was also remade for television in 1998. The story takes place in modern day New York City. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is a subway dispatcher who has been accused of taking bribes when he held a higher-ranking job with the MTA and has been demoted to the job of dispatcher pending his trial. During Walter’s shift, the subway train, Pelham 123, has stopped dead in its tracks. A radio call comes in from a man only known as Ryder (John Travolta) who claims that he has hijacked the train with a gang of his thugs and demands that the city of New York give him ten million dollars in one hour or he will start killing a passenger for every minute that they are late. Walter is the only one to whom he will talk, and over the course of an hour, they get to know each other. When the armored car carrying the money gets into a bad car crash, Ryder demands that Walter deliver the money to the train. Walter agrees to do so for the sake of the people onboard as a way of redeeming himself. However, Walter finds that there is more involved with this hijacking than he thought.
One would think that, when an idea is rehashed for the third time in thirty-five years, it must be a great idea for a film. The truth is that the idea is still as fresh and exciting as the original film was, although the stories are a bit different. I honestly love the script. It has not only a very well developed storyline, but has great characters. Some of the dialogue is a bit silly, especially with John Travolta is swearing like a sailor, but overall, the script is very well put together.
The acting in the film is good. No matter the film in which you see him, Denzel Washington always gives it his all. In this film, it is all the same. The guy always gives 100% and that’s the reason he is one of the best actors in Hollywood today. Travolta also is very good. Besides his role in Battlefield Earth, I tend to like him better when he plays villains in films than when he plays the good guy. The supporting cast is great as well. The film also has some great production value that works to give the film its dramatic effects and thrilling scenes.
The Blu-ray disc comes with a few features, including commentary with Director Tony Scott and separate commentary track with writer Brian Helgeland and producer Todd Black. There are also a few featurettes, such as No Time to Lose: The Making of Pelham 123, The Third Rail: New York Underground, Marketing Pelham and From the Top Down: Stylizing Character. The Blu-ray disc also comes with a digital copy of the film and is a BD-Live disc where you can go beyond the movie with a Blu-ray player with an internet connection and download exclusive content pertaining to the film and other promotions Sony has to offer.
The remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 is a very good film. It is full of some very intense scenes and some great action sequences. The film also incorporates social issues that Americans deal with today in a post 9/11 world. It a great thriller and well worth watching.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
