Film Review: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Posted by: – Jun 12, 2009

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is a film that has two sides. On one hand, it is a very well performed thriller. Denzel Washington and John Travolta, two proven actors, keep the tension high and the audience on the edge of their seats as they converse over the radio. On the other hand, the film is a ridiculous action movie with frantically cut car chase sequences and collisions that send automobiles literally flying through the air. You have to take the bad with the good, of course, so if you are able to ignore the absurdity, you will enjoy yourself.

The film focuses mainly on Denzel Washington as Walter Garber. He is a transit worker who sits in a giant control room in Grand Central Station and tells all the subway trains when to go, when to stop, and when to change rails. His job is to keep everything running smoothly and on schedule. When the titular train suddenly stops in the middle of a tunnel, Garber gets on his radio to find out why. We, as the viewers, already know why. A man named Ryder, played by John Travolta, has hijacked the train with three other goons. He informs Garber that if 10 million dollars is not brought to him within one hour, he will begin executing passengers. It is up to Garber, under the advice of NYPD hostage negotiators, to keep Ryder talking and learn as much about him as possible.

It is those scenes of the film that are excellent. The two characters have a fast paced discussion over the transit radio in which Garber attempts to distract Ryder from his deadline in order to buy the police more time to formulate a plan of action. Washington and Travolta are both incredibly capable actors. They have great chemistry, which is difficult seeing as how they are never actually on camera with each other in the early acts of the film. They play off each other so well that I have to wonder if both actors were present for the filming of all the scenes, Travolta standing off camera and delivering his lines for Denzel Washington’s scenes, and vice versa.

Unfortunately, interspersed with the excellent radio debate scenes are sequences in which a police motorcade attempts to race to the location of the train with the money Ryder demanded. The mayor ordered that they be there with the money on time in case no other solution was found. For these scenes several police cars and motorcycles rush through the streets of New York while heavy metal music plays. Cars collide and fly through the air and roll off bridges. Motorcycles run into parked cars and the drivers cartwheel onto the street. At one point, when it seems like all of this excitement is going to keep the motorcade from reaching their destination on time, the mayor asks in frustration, “Why didn’t they just take a helicopter?” Good question. Nobody answers.

As the trailer for the film informs you (so don’t accuse me of spoiling it), Ryder eventually demands that Garber personally deliver the money to the train. Once Garber leaves the office, the good scenes are finished. The film degenerates into car chases, gunfights, and an out of control subway train. It is all fairly typical action movie material. After delivering the money, Garber summons his courage and takes it upon himself to make sure Ryder cannot escape with it. Naturally, it culminates in a final standoff between the two, and we all know how that must end.

I suppose a movie like this does not need to have an unpredictable ending. Everyone has likely seen countless movies comparable to this one before. It is not a matter of actually going somewhere new, it is a matter of enjoying the ride to the same old place. By that standard, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is a marginal success.

By Gareth Mussen