"The Taking of Pelham 123" Movie Review By Marty Meltz

"The Taking of Pelham 123" (my 0-10 rating: 7)
Director: Tony Scott
Screenplay: Brian Helgeland, re-make of the 1974 film based on the novel by John Godey
Cast: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, James Gandolfini, Luis Guzman
Time: 1 hr., 46 min.
Rating: R (violence, considerable vulgarity)

Yeah, right -- loud, bombarding your senses, brute force entertainment -- but it works.

You're used to this by now, right? Brash, breathtaking action suspense with spectacular dynamics in every department, making the national critics call it trash, but god, can you ever love it? You came and paid your good money to be entertained intelligently, and wow, you got it! "The Taking of Pelham 123" is astute, concentrated stuff by actionmeister director Tony Scott which steamrolls objections by the application of professional competence, updating an older film and lining it with modern thrills. The story is of reliable countdown volatility and it cares not whether you want to call it a re-make of the 1974 classic starring Robert Shaw or a re-do of the original novel. Whatever, the new New York is there in bold portrayal and the canny casting of John Travolta vs. Denzel Washington is powerful. Steaming but not overcooked images bombard the screen with an unerring cold calculation in gripping you down to the gut.

True, the subway thriller does lack the dark humor of the '74 original, Like when the subway dispatcher, assessing the perils of the hostage passengers, observed, "What do they expect for their 35 cents, to live forever?"

The film dives right into the fun.

Seizing the Manhattan Lexington Line subway train is swarthy assaulter Ryder (John Travolta) who heads up a gang of four who demand $10 million ransom after they seize the lead #123 car of the Manhattan downtown train out of suburban Pelham. They're cold-blooded and ruthless as the gunmen down a plainclothes cop and take 18 terrified passengers hostage at gunpoint. You've got 60 minutes to deliver the cash, they advise the controllers at headquarters, or we'll start more killings. Later, it'll be learned that Ryder's more clever motive, however, is to set off a stock market crash with him invested smartly in gold.

But hey, radio dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) objects, I'm just a little guy in the city's operation, apprising the nasty villain that he, Garber, is in no position to round up those kind of funds. Interestingly (and different from the original film starring the late great Robert Shaw as Ryder's character), Walter and Ryder begin sharing personal stuff with each other, some of it yielding some useful info about the assailant, and one item revealing a very dark and cruel instance in his past life. A considerable fleshing out of the characters develops.

Ryder, we now understand, is a former Wall Street ace con man of the highest order, now just finished with serving nine years for embezzling money from a city pension fund. This guy is an icy killer who can and now does kill innocents.

And now, with the deadly deadline approaching, Garber's position is taken over by a professional hostage negotiator (John Turturro) as cops swarm over the subway route and the mayor (James Gandolfini) is all over the place.

And now, another murder. Things are getting very tense.

And now Ryder hurls the subway car loose into a high velocity charge toward Coney Island. The sleek and steamlined modern cars, graffiti-free and soaring, carry us along in an emotional speed every bit as compelling as a Star Trek ship moving at warp speed.

Garber, under the natural calm control of Denzel Washington, exhibits the unshakeable plain-guy heroism but in this case one having a flaw in his record pointing to his humanness.

Director Scott is not now and never was a manager of female stars or their roles. They're almost superfluous here, with Garber's Queens-based wife (Aunjanue Ellis) answering the phone here and there and the girlfriend of one hostage checking in on an online video chat.

In this re-make, the transit system's central control HQ is totally high-tech as the local authorities wind themselves tightly in high anxiety. The final touch is tops, as Garber exits his sterile office and hits the street action. Travolta will be denounced critically for over-acting but I'll buy it. His exchanges with Garber modulate enough.

Let the critics have their lofty perches as they decry and disparage from their cocktail party points of view. Darn, I liked this movie. It's New York, thrills, desperate characters and a gripper.

Marty Meltz, for 30 years the film reviewer for the statewide Award-winning Maine Sunday Telegram whose column was terminated 12-31-07 in budget cuts, writes his right-to-the-point reviews on his website http://www.martymoviereviews.com