In theaters. Rated R, 112 minutes. Trailer.
Denzel Washington, John Travolta, Director Tony Scott, and writer Brian Helgeland have come together to produce my favorite film so far in 2009. I was very skeptical going in, but the film was consistently entertaining and even a little bit interesting. I should've known the script would be good (Helgeland wrote Doc/Lawyer fave LA Confidential, one of the best screenplays of the past 20 years), and apparently the original Pelham film from the 70's is decent, so there was a good foundation. Click below for more Pelham:
The film starts with Denzel as Garber, an up-from-his-bootstraps executive at the MTA (NY Subway) filling in as a lowly dispatcher as a result of an ongoing investigation into a possible bribe. Travolta (as Ryder) is shown menacingly walking the subway and then the two intersect after Travolta takes over the Pelham 123 train. The two bond as Ryder demands $10 million to release the hostages on the train - after the NYPD crisis negotiator (John Turturro, in a good, understated performance) gets rejected by Ryder, Garber is back in to work through the crisis. The rest of the plot plays out relatively predictably, but interestingly.
Along the way the outgoing Mayor of New York (James Gandolfini) gets involved, adding a subplot I enjoyed immensely. His character has lots of strengths and weaknesses and Helgeland imbues the character and his coterie of advisors with a world weariness and sense of humor that I identify with. Denzel is his predictably dependable working man with ethics, somewhat similar (but more understated) than his character in Inside Man. Travolta is perfect as a semi-interesting character that questions morality and discusses the ambiguity of society with Denzel.
Director Tony Scott balances the plot with the action perfectly. The film is perfectly suspenseful the whole time, with the predictable third act dragging just a little. He focuses on the redemption of Gandolfini, Travolta and Denzel, not high art, but interesting still. One false note was any scene with the hostages - I cringe when any hostage scene comes on in a movie because of the syrupy moments and forced heroism that completely turns me off.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 - B+
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3 comments:
B+ for me as well. Helgeland gets the hero award for the movie - he did an amazingly good job with the plotting (real-time for the most part) and the characterizations. There were also some great lines, my favorite being, "That's not love, that's marriage. Those are 2 different things." Helgeland also threw in some thoughts about God and fate which gave the film some depth I wasn't expecting.
Scott did what I expected him to do which is fine, but the script and actors are good enough that he could have held the camera still. I thought the "freeze-frames" (which told the time left) were unnecessary, until they nicely set up the freeze frame that closed the film, 80s-style.
2 biggest complaints: Why did Denzel's incompetent boss have to be a hunter? Why the cheap shot at Rudy Giuliani? Those are rhetorical, by the way.
I can see why the film isn't exactly lighting the box office up. It's about middle-aged regret and redemption, hardly the usual dumb summertime fare.
Also, did you notice Murray's unfairly abused assistant Greg (Frank Wood) as one of Gandolfini's assistants? I couldn't place him while watching it, but just did a name check.
Yes - it was great to see Greg returning fire for once. Also, watch for Walt Kowalski's eldest son as a police captain and the serial killer from Changeling as a hostage.
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