Directed by: Tony Scott
Written By: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, & Luis Guzmán
Runtime: 106 min
Rating: R
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Tony Scott seems to be working his way to the bottom of the barrel. His career started out with disposable but iconic hits like Top Gun and Days of Thunder, followed by character driven summer blockbusters True Romance, Crimson Tide, and Spy Game. For some reason, however, Scott has since adopted a style of filmmaking best suited for the worst kinds of ADD-afflicted adolescents. His style — if shaking the camera, blurring shots, mixing film stocks, and self-reflexive title cards can be considered a style — seems to be all consuming, bordering on the horrific. If you don’t believe me, just check out Scott’s pièce de résistance Domino, a film so full of style that it’s nauseating. With two misfires in a row (the aforementioned Domino and Déjà Vu), Scott takes a stab at updating The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 — for some reason the remake includes the numbers and not the words One Two Three used in the influential original.

The story involves the hijacking of a New York City subway train by Wall Street baddie Ryder (John Travolta), who brings New York to a standstill as he negotiates the terms of his ransom through the subway dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington). Basically a low-rent version of Die Hard in a subway car, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, is a colossal bore, suffering the worst fate of a supposed summer blockbuster: apathy. Without enough action or sustained suspense, Scott relies on the relationship between Ryder and Garber to carry much of the film. Unfortunately, the relationship, which is more like a prolonged telephone conversation, covers the same clichéd territory we’ve seen countless times in better, more thrilling hostage films. The only interesting part of the film is Washington’s portrayal of Garber as an employee who is not the mensch he appears to be. Suspected of taking bribes for city contracts, Garber is the one wild card in the Pelham, and thankfully, Washington succeeds is making the audience sympathize with a man who by all rights should be out of a job and facing prosecution. John Turturro, as an FBI negotiator, is effective and understated — miles away from his embarrassing turn in Transformers; so goes for James Gandolfini as the mayor. Gandolfini is particularly noteworthy because of the job he’s done transforming himself from a Soprano back to a standout character actor (and part of the Tony Scott team of players).

It’s too bad, then, that Travolta’s Ryder is such a disappointing character. Part of the charm of this kind of film is watching the interaction between the madman and the negotiator. Travolta plays Ryder in broad strokes — more of a caricature than a character. This style of acting is consistent with Scott’s ever-present, hyperkinetic camera, which zooms, swirls and blurs the action consistently. It’s not as distracting — or ugly — as Domino but it’s pretty damn close. Take the crucial moment when Ryder and his goons take the subway train hostage. Scott shoots the action in series of close-ups, long lenses, and whip pans, that it’s near impossible to figure out how exactly the hijacking take place. There’s simply nothing but confusion. If Scott continues down this garish approach to filmmaking, confusion on the part of his audience will be the least of his worries.

Richard X
© Cinephile Magazine, 2009