Like most Tony Scott films, there’s nearly as much visual action in the opening credits of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 as there is physical action in the rest of the movie.  Scott’s camera moves quickly and often, and the rapid editing is flared by flashes of light.  It’s what used to be referred to as the MTV-style, and Scott is the master.  The result has the audience dizzy by the end of the opening credit sequence… a feeling perhaps shared by the film’s transit worker protagonist when men with guns hijack one of his subway trains.

Denzel Washington plays the transit employee as just a typical guy who showed up for what he thought would be just another typical day at work.  Shortly after the subway train of the title makes an unscheduled stop, Washington’s Walter Garber is contacted by a man who calls himself “Ryder.”  Ryder informs Garber that he has a train car full of hostages and unless he gets ten million dollars in one hour, he will begin shooting a hostage every minute until he gets his money.

When a professional hostage negotiator attempts to relieve Garber, Ryder shows them exactly what he is prepared to do and Garber is the only one that may be able to keep things from getting out of hand.  Meanwhile, suspicion arises among law enforcement when they learn that Garber has recently been demoted while he is under investigation for possibly accepting a bribe.  Was it not a coincidence that Garber was there when Ryder called?  Is he working with the hijackers?  Well, anyone who has watched a Denzel Washington movie in the last twenty years should know the answer to that one.

The movie is a remake of the 1974 classic of the same name (although that film used letters instead of numbers in its title), starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.  Whereas Matthau’s character was an actual transit cop, Washington’s is a simple civil servant, making his heroism a little more fantastic.  He plays the role similar to Matthau (he even has a similar fashion sense), whereas John Travolta’s aggressive performance as Ryder is the complete opposite of Shaw’s laid-back Mr. Blue.  A little Travolta hamming can go a long way, but it doesn’t hurt the overall entertainment value of the movie.

Although the plot runs fairly similar to the original, the remake added some modern spins to the story.  Whereas the original film was generally just about a heist, Scott’s film brings up the issue of terrorism and even touches a bit on the modern economy.  It also develops more of a backstory for its villain.  Modern technology is also introduced, but I found it to be a bit of a stretch that a hostage can carry on a video chat with his girlfriend without the hijackers noticing that there was a strange woman staring at them from a laptop in the corner.

Perhaps the best addition by Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgeland is their effort to create more of a back-and-forth between their two main characters.  There is little more interesting in movies than a battle of words and wits between two big stars.

The action picks up at the end and although Garber turning into a bit of an action hero could be a little farfetched, it’s a tribute to the star power of Denzel Washington that you just go along for the ride.

There’s no flashy special effects and it is certainly not for kids, but The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 still deserves a spot in the blockbuster season as a thriller that manages to keep the audience on the edge of their seats from the dizzying opening credits to the necessary conclusion.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is rated R for “violence and pervasive language.”  Although there are a few people getting shot, the violence isn’t too extreme.  The language is enough to push the movie into R territory, however.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Jeff attended a promotional screening of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.