Rooting For The Common Man

I had never seen the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 mostly because, as people are well aware, I do not care for remakes.  However, because of the cast and the director involved I was actually looking forward to watching it.  I enjoyed the movie very much, and I have very little complaints about it.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is the story of a New York City subway that gets hijacked, and the dispatcher who gets thrust into the middle of the chaos.  Personally, I think this is a very good movie.  It is probably the most violent film of Tony Scott's career, even though there is not much action in it.  There is slow-motion used in some places that really does not call for it, but other than that I think this film is very good.

What can you say about Denzel Washington that has not been said already?  The man is a titan of the silver screen, and is one of the greatest actors to ever live.  He plays Walter Garber in the movie.  I love his character in the movie because, like John McClane in the original Die Hard, Walter Garber is an ordinary man who gets thrust into an extraordinary situation.  He has no idea the kind of situation he has gotten into which makes you cheer for him even more.  This is probably the most wholesome performance of Denzel's career.

I have always been a fan of John Travolta.  I think it is a shame he has had such a up-and-down career because I believe he is a truly great actor.  In this movie Travolta plays Ryder, thus continuing his successful string of playing villains.  There is a lethalness to Ryder, probably more so than any other villain Travolta has played.  His performance in the movie is so completely over the top that you really believe he has gone completely bonkers.  I was very much looking forward to watching him in the movie, and I was not let down at all.

I have always said that Tony Scott was one of my favorite directors.  He was one of the best at filming action, and I was incredibly sad when he passed away.  It is ironic that he was so good at making action movies because this movie does not have much at all.  This movie shows what people are like in very tense situations and Scott does that very effectively, particularly in the scenes where Garber and Ryder are communicating to each other.  This movie has more drama in it than action, which was a pleasant surprise coming from such an established action movie director.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is a movie that knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.  This movie is driven by great performances that make you care about the characters.  If you are a fan of thrillers, you will definitely enjoy this movie.