Long gone are the days where you’ll see John Travolta donning flares and swinging his hips to music from the 50s as he once did for his role as Danny Zuko. Replace flares with shotguns, and ‘Blue Moon’ with a hell of a lot of swearing, and you’ll have your expectations set for the new film The Taking of Pelham 123.

Starting out with a fast-paced MTV style montage of downtown Manhattan, we immediately start to feel the earthy, grungy, high-action vibe created by director Tony Scott (responsible for hits such as Top Gun, Deja Vu and Man on Fire). John Travolta plays Ryder, a stereotypical baddie with a funny moustache to match. Together with his team of half-competent crooks, they manage to hijack a subway train, and, despite claiming they aren’t terrorists, terrify the crap out of everyone. Denzel Washington plays his usual hero role, this time as an unlucky subway controller working for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He begins just another day in the office as usual, but, in a sort of wrong place at the wrong time scenario, finds himself landed with having to communicate with Ryder’s ransom demands for money, and lots of it. The team of controllers and cops then have one hour to get the money to Ryder without him shooting the place up.

 

  

This film is a remake of the 1974 original, which was based on a novel by John Godey, therefore Scott hasn’t really had too much to play around with. Despite this, it’s clear he’s tried to make it his own using hefty car crashes, brutal fight scenes and the use of a countdown clock, which forces a sense of impending doom upon the storyline. The distinctive use of contemporary technology such as wireless internet connections and webcams also creates a strong differentiation between the remake and the original.

The duration of this film is mostly a tense adventure, and there’s a lot of unpredictability. It’s definitely nice to have a villain who carries out his threats rather than dancing around the subject. The connection generated between corrupt Ryder and everyman Garber is also enjoyable to watch as a break between the action scenes, and as the relationship between them thickens, so does the incredible tension as we empathise with the terrified hostages whose lives are in the hands of a madman. Yes, there are a couple of unbelievable and cheap moments, but the overall picture is a gorgeously gritty thrill-seeker’s fancy, including a few dry gags that scored laughs from the audience, possibly Tony Scott reminding us he isn’t all about the car chases and gunshots.

The Taking of Pelham 123 basically does exactly what it says on the tin – a lot of thrills, a lot of action, and a deranged killer who we believe is capable of anything. In basic terms, if you love films like Keanu Reeves’ Speed, which has similar elements, you’ll definitely love this.

In fact, if you simply love action, you’ll love this.

Words > Steph Moule

Film reviewed at Odeon Colchester
Now showing at Odeon Colchester at these times (times correct until 4th August - click banner to go to Odeon's site for further details):
Mon - Thu: 13:30 16:15 18:45 21:15