The Taking Of Pelham 123

Well, looks like its another game of "Let's Remake a Classic" as they finally get around to fucking with this one.
Ironically, I just re-watched the original with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw just a couple of weeks ago.
There are considerable differences between these two movies. The original was a slick, stylish film about the hijacking of a subway car - Pelham 123 in which Walter Matthau, the dispatch operator, exchanged a lot of slick dialogue with Robert Shaw, his real-life friend and co-star. Robert Shaw was the hijacker, seeking to get ransom money and would only talk to Walter Matthau. A lot of good dialogue was exchanged in that film.

Stepping into Matthau's role is Denzel Washington. Into Shaw's - John Travolta. A good pairing if you ask me. For some reason, I like Travolta much better as a bad guy. In this movie, he continues to impress as a bad guy.
Now if you think you're going to get a heads up on this film by going back and watching the old one, think again, mutha fucka! Not gonna happen. The old film was very textured in that it showed NY as it was in the 70s. Well, NY is very obviously a different place now. Times are different and people react differently to different things. Technology is different and they utilize all of that in this movie. Also, because the average moviegoer has the attention span of a gnat, its not laid out the same way the original was with a lot of clever back-n-forth between the two main characters. Oh, don't get me wrong, there's some - just not as much or in the same way as the original. In this flick, Denzel is not a cop. He doesn't play his normal, cooler than thou character. Travolta playas an arrogant and commanding fucker...almost like his normal bad guy roles, but he's not as clam in this and you never know when he's going to flip.

If you haven't seen the original (or the trailers), you may not know that this is a hijacking movie. In truth, this film is more than a hijacking movie. I think the idea was pretty decent and they don't reveal the full plot to the audience until late in the movie. John Turturro and Luiz Guzman give good performances, although John is playing a slightly watered down version of his role as the asshole agent in Transformers. James Gandolfini gives a good show at being the "I don't give a fuck" mayor who is trying as fast as he can to get to the end of his term and say "Fuck NY".
Okay, here's the quick rundown - John and a few henchmen orchestrate the hijacking of a subway car and ask for ransom. Most of the communication is between John and Denzel as Denzel is the current controller for that particular section. The movie explores a few options - "Is there more to it all than this?" "Are Denzel and John in on this together?" all the while keeping the audience interested by sparse action resulting in a few deaths here and there. Most of the movie plays out in the subway car and the controller's offices.
Now, since this is a modern movie, modern movie goers have far more expectations than the audiences of the 70s, so there are differences. I can't tell you what they are, but there are differences. While this movie lacks the style and slick lyricism of the original, it will hold your attention if you're one of the pop crowd of movie goers who gets "bored with too much talking" and want to see some shit get fucked up. Tony Scott is a good director and doesn't disappoint.

My criticism, ,however is that in my opinion, Tony brought Dave Chappelle's "Wrap It Up" box on the set with him for the end. Its like they said "Aight, let's finish this shit quick and NOW!" Part of the appeal of the original was the end with the sneeze and the look on Walter Matthau's face. This movie does NOT end that way. I think the end is my least favorite part of the movie. I still have to hand it to them for making what is otherwise a tired concept (hijackings are sooo 80s) into a watchable film. I think Tony went a little too Hollywood and underestimates the general audience's tolerance for great acting and good dialog. To be honest, this film had more action than it needed and that detracted slightly from the character interaction. I think Denzel held back nicely while Travolta was wilding out as he does sometimes.
I would say this joint is worth a matinee or if you're going on a date, even a night viewing. I've spent money on worse movies.
This movie teeters between being typical and exceptional, falling short of being a great remake but being far from being a shitty one. The Denzel/Travolta performance is worth it for me, but some people are going to dislike this movie no matter what I say. I'd fuck with it again if I had to. Ain't shit else worth fuckin' with that's opening on the 12th except for possibly the new Eddie Murphy joint - Imagine That. Unless you're gonna catch up on the shit you've already missed, what else you gonna fuck with? The Taking Of Pelham 123 is probably your best bet. If not, its damn sure a good rental when the DVD drops. Fuck with it.