The 2009 Remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123

“The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” movie, based on the book by John Godey, was a classic movie for Walter Matthau in 1974, as the ordinary man thrown into extra-ordinary circumstances. Matthau played a transport cop who had to stop a bunch of gunmen who had taken control of the New York City subway – demanding one million dollars and threatening to shoot once passenger each minute until their demands are met.

In the 2009 remake, Hollywood takes a great movie and casts it with ideal actors. John Travolta plays the mean hijacker who is clearly having fun with the role, Denzel Washington plays the disgraced train dispatcher, John Turtorro plays the hostage negotiator, whilst James Gandolfini turns up as the under-utilised role of the Mayor.

For me, the casting was slightly off – the actors were great but I would have swapped them around. Put Turtorro as Mayor, Washington as the hijacker, Travolta as the hostage negotiator and make Gandolfini the train dispatcher and you might have got something here. The trouble with the movie, as it stands, is that it’s hard to see Denzel Washington as the typical “everyman” – after all how many cop and detective roles has he played now? Also, the three other “hijackers” might as well have been extras for all they added to the remake movie.

As it is the movie is a fun romp which isn’t really what it’s supposed to be – it feels more like a Die Hard movie. You never really fear for the train passengers too much and you know that Washington is going to step up to the mark and take the bad guy down at the end of the movie. It’s enjoyable but it could have been so much better.