Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Theatrical Release Date: 2009 06 12 (USA) / 2009 07 24 (USA) / 2009 (USA)

UPC: 043396292253

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Profanity]

Summary: A New York City subway dispatcher draws on his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind who's hijacked a subway train in this remake of the 1974 thriller inspired by John Godey's best-selling book. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is drifting through his daily routine when he receives word that a heavily armed gang of four has hijacked a subway train and is holding all of the passengers hostage. Led by cunning master thief Ryder (John Travolta), the gunmen will begin executing everyone aboard should the authorities fail in delivering ten million dollars in the space of just one hour. With the tension in the tunnels rising, Walter races to save the hostages before the shootings start. But through it all, there's one part of Ryder's plan that Walter can't quite comprehend: even if the thieves do succeed in getting their money, how could they possibly get out of the tunnels undetected? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Format: Universal Media Disc

Release Date: 11/03/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Runtime: 106 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Jason Buchanan

If you're still longing for Walter Matthau's jowly mug to pop through that apartment door by the end of the third feature-length adaptation of Joseph Sargent's adaptation of John Godey's 1974 best-seller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, perhaps you've finally lost your sense of fun. Because, while director Tony Scott's brash and boisterous take on the material may lack that certain '70s quirkiness, it gets just about everything else exactly right. Sporting enough differences from that criminally under-seen classic to keep viewers rapt with tension from the opening scene, Scott's Pelham cleverly integrates technology into the story and keeps the action moving at a truly breathless pace. All the while, the movie keeps us completely engaged by focusing on the adversarial yet uniquely amiable relationship between the charismatic criminal mastermind who planned the clever crime and the defeated dispatcher who tries to reason with him. Surprisingly, in a summer full of action-packed blockbusters, this cracking remake may be the movie to beat for sheer popcorn-chomping thrills. New York City subway system dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), recently demoted due to charges of bribery, is observing his control screen when he notices an anomaly -- the Pelham 123 has come to a standstill between stops, and the driver is unresponsive. The train has been hijacked by a trigger-happy gang of criminals -- or is that terrorists? -- led by Ryder (John Travolta), who's just as quick to crack a joke as he is to execute a hostage with a hasty bullet between the eyes. Ryder wants ten million dollars in one hour, and for every minute the city doesn't deliver, he'll kill another hostage. The visuals here are vintage Scott, and though the hyper-stylized opening shots of a neck-tattooed Travolta and company getting into place for the big event to the tune of Jay-Z's "99 Problems" (replete with shots of Luis Guzman looking like the long-lost fourth member of Run-D.M.C.) may lead us to suspect that Scott is bordering on self-parody, once the action gets under way about 30 seconds later, there's no mistaking that we're in the hands of a true master. But Scott and cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler's deliciously garish visuals aren't the only factors that make The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 a compulsively satisfying bit of summer pulp; Brian Helgeland's screenplay is about as tight as it could get without being written in shorthand, and unexpectedly subdued performances by Washington and Travolta ensure that the not-so-subtle nuances of the characters they portray don't derail the film by shifting our focus away from the rising tensions underground. Of course, anyone who's seen Travolta chew scenery as a bad guy knows he has a penchant for going over the top and another mile up, but while he's certainly having a blast as the F-bomb-dropping, stock-ticker-obsessed Ryder, he still feels dialed back from the cartoonish criminal excess of Swordfish and Face/Off. His wild-eyed antics give the film some of its funniest, and most terrifying, moments. Likewise, Washington's restrained performance as the disgraced Garber allows us to forget we're watching an Oscar-winning Hollywood heavyweight and simply identify with the character -- a crucial factor in keeping us actively involved in the story. From the cast to the crew, everyone involved seems to be firing on all cylinders, though it's Helgeland whose contributions make this retread an unmitigated success. Considering what New York City has been through since Godey's original novel came out in the early '70s, the central concept of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 may be even more relevant now than it was 30 years ago. By taking some well-placed jabs at the media, and pondering the difference between terrorism and unrepentant crime-for-profit, Helgeland innovates within a familiar framework and turns it into something fresh, vital, and timely. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Jake Siciliano  Actor 
Gbenga Akinnagbe  Actor 
Katherine Sigismund  Actor 
Gary Basaraba  Actor 
Lee Shepherd  Actor 
Aunjanue Ellis  Actor 
J. Bernard Calloway  Actor 
Alexander Kaluzhsky  Actor 
Robert Vataj  Actor 
Tonye Patano  Actor 
Saidah Arrika Ekulona  Actor 
John Benjamin Hickey  Actor 
Anthony Annarumma  Actor 
Alice Kremelberg  Actor 
Todd Susman  Actor 
Jason Butler Harner  Actor 
Ramon Rodríguez  Actor 
Victor Gojcaj  Actor 
Victor Cruz  Actor 
Todd Black  Producer 
Brian Helgeland  Screenwriter 
Tony Scott  Director 
Tony Scott  Producer 
Steve Tisch  Producer 
Barry H. Waldman  Executive Producer 
Jason Blumenthal  Producer 
Harry Gregson-Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
Ryan Kavanaugh  Executive Producer 
Michael Costigan  Executive Producer 
Denzel Washington  Actor 
John Travolta  Actor 
James Gandolfini  Actor 
John Turturro  Actor 
Luis Guzman  Actor 
Michael Rispoli  Actor 

Country: USA