The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 217
Fresh: 110 | Rotten: 107
Despite a strong cast, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 suffers under the excesses of Tony Scott's frantic direction, and fails to measure up to the 1974 original.
Average Rating: 5.5/10
Critic Reviews: 44
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 22
Despite a strong cast, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 suffers under the excesses of Tony Scott's frantic direction, and fails to measure up to the 1974 original.
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Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 617,031
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Movie Info
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
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Cast
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Denzel Washington
Walter Garber -
John Travolta
Ryder -
James Gandolfini
Mayor -
John Turturro
Camonetti -
Luis Guzman
Phil Ramos -
Michael Rispoli
John Johnson -
Gary Basaraba
Jerry Pollard (Motorman -
Todd Susman
Supervisor -
John Benjamin Hickey
Deputy Mayor LaSalle -
Aunjanue Ellis
Therese (Garber's Wife) -
Lee Shepherd
Dr. Weiss -
Saidah Arrika Ekulona
Dispatcher One -
Jason Butler Harner
Mr. Thomas -
J. Bernard Calloway
Officer Moran/NYPD Liai... -
Gbenga Akinnagbe
Wallace -
Tonye Patano
Regina (Conductor) -
Ramon Rodriguez
Delgado -
Alexander Kaluzhsky
George -
-
Alice Kremelberg
George's Girlfriend -
Victor Gojcaj
Bashkin -
Robert Vataj
Emri -
Jake Richard Siciliano
8-Year-Old Boy -
Anthony Annarumma
'Q' Train Motorman -
Víctor Cruz
Maintainer Three
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The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Trailer & Photos
All Critics (219) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (111) | Rotten (108) | DVD (6)
'The Taking of Pelham 123' is not a bad film: it's ponderous and shallow, but always watchable. But what it crucially fails to do, especially in the light of its illustrious predecessor, is justify its own existence.
Top CriticCan a director be arrested for the attempted hijack of our emotions?
Washington demonstrates his really remarkable ability to make us forget he's a movie star and completely believe he's a flawed but noble civil servant.
I was really disappointed by this.
Whereas the original, directed by Joseph Sargent, was essentially a well-oiled B movie, the new incarnation, directed by Tony Scott, is bristling with high-tech gimcrackery and over-the-top camera flourishes.
Set in a nightmare New York City, the subway hostage thriller batters our nerves like a tom-tom.
A professionally mounted genre exercise which tries to please both thriller and social drama crowds, and suffers mightily as a result.
You're so busy enjoying the sound and picture quality that you're inclined to forgive the film's missteps.
Thunderous, metallic, ominous, screeching sound effects add to the sensory perception that you're watching a megaton monster barreling toward a dramatic showdown.
Veteran directorial fireball-hurler Tony Scott (Deja Vu, Top Gun) messes it up, as usual.
This sort of thing by design devolves into two guys talking on a phone, which if it's got any chance of working requires strong actors to bring their characters to life. Which is probably where Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 succeeds best.
A valiant effort, but ultimately Pelham feels like little more than Washington's latest star vehicle, bound for Netflix after a short summer run.
The fourth (and least effective) collaboration between Denzel Washington and Tony Scott...
In the post 9-11 New York City, it's a patently ludicrous suggestion that four machine-gun toting, sinister looking individuals can walk freely about the most heavily-guarded subway system in the world.
When logic subsides, as alas it does, it is the sheer force of Washington's intensity and Travolta's élan that keeps the film on, ahem, track
All restless shots and relentless cuts, ticking clocks and roving maps, a stream of shouting and shooting and speed-ramping and slow-motion and little real excitement.
This is either bad writing, bad direction, bad acting or a combination of the three.
The movie might leave audiences feeling a lot like hostages themselves, at the hands of the director. Who seems to have a bit of a contact high with all the grating noise, grit and funk of runaway trains. Somebody needed to put the brakes on this guy too.
Audience Reviews for The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Ryder: She was an ass model.
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- Ryder: You're my god damn hero.
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- Phil Ramos: I can't get it out of my head. I'm gonna die today.
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- Ryder: Life is simple now. They just have to do what I say.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
June 19, 2009:
Submit to the RT Show and Earn a Cool $100Time for the weekly update, folks. As always, thanks to everyone who has submitted reviews and...
June 15, 2009:
Watch RT on Current TVThis week, The Rotten Tomatoes Show will be looking at the movies that opened over the weekend, with...
June 12, 2009:
Comparing the Takings of Pelham 1 2 3Now that Tony Scott's "The Taking of Pelham 123" is in theaters, we're free to compare it with the...
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Foreign Titles
- L'attaque du métro 123 (FR)
- Asalto al tren Pelham 1 2 3 (ES)
