Movie 11: The Taking of Pelham 123

Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is a subway dispatcher in NY who’s life is a bit of a mess, but today was going fine. Fine until Ryder (John Travolta) and his crew hijack a train, uncouple the first car and hold the passengers hostage for $10 million. Garber is the controller for this train so gets stuck in the middle as Ryder will only talk to him and not the cops.

So a standard thriller type thing. And a remake to boot. I haven’t seen the original with Walter Matthau so I can’t compare. It’s getting a bit sad that I say that every time something is a remake isn’t it? Honestly I watch movies in foreign with the words you have to read and that. And old ones where everyone dresses badly and sometimes its not in colour like! It just so happens I haven’t seen the couple that have cropped up in the first eleven.

That’s a football reference isn’t it? Not sure, I’m barely a boy.

My viewing of this movie may have suffered a little as I had lunch, took a shower and went off to do the shopping at various points (I hit pause though). I don’t think it made much of a difference though. Denzel plays a realistic subway guy, JT plays that charismatic criminal type he plays a lot at the moment (see Swordfish for example) and the supporting cast are all good too. Regardless of the little dig, James Gandolfini appears to be playing Gullianiburg and combing the last two mayors of New York. All well and good.

And this is essentially a character piece. Decent thrillers and quite clever plot though nothing new (even ignoring the remake factor) or all that surprising. A big part of the movie is really just Denzel and JT’s characters interacting, probably the best bit, over the radio. Which is where my biggest beef with the movie comes from. Director Tony Scott needs to lay off the coffee and pixie sticks, or stop using a 3 year old who ran out of Ritalin as a DP. SOMETHING. The camera doesn’t HAVE to move all the bloody time! There no need to spin around the mayor and his aides talking about whether to take a car or the train! The ONLY reason for doing that is to make your audience feel like they’re on the waltzers or in a washing machine. FUCKING STOP IT!

So you know, okay movie with a hyperactive camera that detracts from it. Take note directors, there is nothing wrong with pointing a camera at actors and leaving it for 30 seconds. If you do that it means that when you move it it sticks out more and MEANS something.

Next up: Where The Wild Things Are