The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
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The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Brisk but gritty thriller that pits a New York subway dispatcher (Denzel Washington) against a psychopath (John Travolta) whose small gang (including Luis Guzman) has hijacked the titular train, taking its passengers hostage. Performances by the leads and supporting cast -- James Gandolfini as the mayor and John Turturro as a police negotiator among them -- are assured, but director Tony Scott's adaptation of John Godey's bestseller, previously filmed in 1974, treats its villain's Catholic upbringing ambiguously and has interludes of gory violence and relentlessly coarse language throughout. Brief but intense violence, pervasive rough and crude language, occasional use of profanity. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) 2009
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (Full Review)
Coming on the heels of an FBI report that again ranked New York the safest big city in the country, a remake of the 1974 film "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" (Columbia/MGM) -- about the hijacking of a Gotham subway train -- may seem an anachronism.
The earlier screen version of novelist John Godey's best-seller, after all, was emblematic of the metropolis at its financial and social nadir
.
Perhaps that's why the updated version repeatedly references terrorism. But that's a label its all-American villain, known as Ryder (John Travolta), rejects with disgust. A psychopath with (it develops) a grudge against the city's bureaucracy, Ryder leads a small gang that includes Phil Ramos (Luis Guzman), a disgruntled former transit worker.
With Ramos' guidance, they seize the titular Lexington Avenue line train -- named for its Bronx destination and departure time -- and demand a $10 million ransom for its passengers, to be paid within an hour. For each minute over that limit, one of the hapless straphangers will be killed.
A cross section of urban types, these include a mother and her young son, an African-American Army vet and a teen skateboarder who's busy tele-flirting with his girlfriend via the Internet when the takeover occurs.
Above ground in the Rail Control Center, train dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is on the receiving end of Ryder's ultimatum. As they communicate over the intercom, Ryder takes an eccentric shine to Garber, whom Ryder assumes is merely a dutiful functionary.
But, as Ryder eventually discovers, Garber is actually a high-ranking transit official temporarily demoted while under investigation for bribery. Brian Helgeland's script uses this development to pit the pair in a psychological duel while also exploring various shades of guilt and decency.
The thuggish-looking Ryder, who sports a handlebar mustache and a dark woolen cap, was raised Catholic, a fact which still influences him, though at times in a skewed way.
Thus he compares talking to Garber from the dimly lit confines of the subway conductor's cubicle to being in the confessional, and uses the doctrine of original sin to assert that "no one is innocent," including his hostages. "We all owe God a debt," he repeatedly says.
Later, when faced with a moral choice, Ryder pauses to pray -- apparently sincerely -- and ultimately makes the right decision.
Ryder's overall personality, we learn, is just as erratic as his attitude toward faith. Though now seemingly capable of anything, his history, like Garber's, is morally checkered.
Washington's understatement and Travolta's wild-man dramatics successfully complement each other, and their mental sparring makes for an intriguing contest. James Gandolfini shows his range in the role of the unnamed mayor, who shares nothing with his Tony Soprano persona except a sardonic wit. John Turturro is equally assured as police negotiator Lt. Jack Cambria.
But be warned: Director Tony Scott's briskly suspenseful thriller is gritty, with interludes of gory violence such as the graphically portrayed shooting deaths of two police officers. And coarse language is relentless throughout.
The film contains brief but intense violence, pervasive rough and crude language and occasional use of profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.