REVIEW: Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)

Terrorists take to the subway, not to the skies, in Tony Scott’s The Taking of Pelham 123, a reimagining of the 1974 cult classic starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. Denzel Washington plays Walter Garber, a demoted New York City subway dispatcher, who faces off with Ryder (John Travolta), a reckless madman demanding a hefty ransom after he hijacks a subway car and holds its passengers hostage. Decked out in dark shades, a Fu Manchu mustache, and a matching don’t-fuck-with-me attitude, Travolta plays the ridiculously conspicuous villain with a hidden vendetta to the hilt. Pelham only manages to transcend its superficial trappings in the verbal sparring matches between Ryder and his MTA counterpart. Theft starts doubling as therapy as both men share past transgressions, drawing an unmistakable link between the two. Adrenaline junkies can expect the usual Tony Scott pyrotechnics in full force, but the film’s moral ambiguity and the teaming of Travolta and Washington are what’s truly incendiary. (Liesl Swanbeck)

Opens Nationwide Friday, June 12th