Enjoyed it. I had seen this before but couldn't remember much about it (except the overall premise). Watching it again, I was once again pleasantly surprised at the story and the characters. Travolta delivers big-time as the villain while Denzel Washington plays his part...well...I suppose he played it as well as could be expected for the part of a soft-spoken, unassuming Transit Authority person who happened to wind up in the wrong place on the wrong day. There were some supporting actors - I felt that John Turturro also delivered on his part, even though he eventually kind of faded into the background - that did their part, but overall it was a dialogue/story between Denzel and Travolta, and they turned a mediocre plot into a very watchable movie. No, it wasn't the most riveting (although it had its moments) but I felt it was a very entertaining screen performance of a fairly simple story. I definitely think they could have shortened it a bit. Overall, it's very watchable, and certainly not (as so many are these days) a waste of your time. Loved the closing scene, too. :sunglasses:
Pretty mediocre in my opinion. Didn't offer much substance or quality.
I’m not the biggest fan of the original, and I think Scott improves a little bit on that film’s inconsistency of tone. Besides that, everything is dumbed down for modern audiences. Tacky, overly flashy editing; shouting instead of subtlety; less intricacy in regard to the plotting; a score overselling how cool everything is; no atmosphere, etc.. Really hated Travolta incredibly annoying performance, Denzel and Turturro are collecting a paycheck.
3/10
I liked it. Travolta played the bad guy really well.
The Taking of Pelham 123 is an engaging and thrilling movie with an interesting plot and great acting. The film centers around a hostage situation on a New York City subway train, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Denzel Washington delivers a fantastic performance as the subway dispatcher caught in the middle of the chaos, and John Travolta is also impressive as the ruthless hijacker. The two actors have great chemistry on screen, and their performances enhance an already strong script.
I was waiting for a plot twist that never happened. Watchable but not great.
While I miss the late Tony Scott. I disagree with him, that his remake is superior. When all it did is add more violence and cursing.
With Denzel less interesting than Walter Matheu was. It was far from Denzel’s best role when he is fat and boring. Will he survive the day, to bring his wife home a gallon of milk ? Who cares ?
Solid remake. Scott's usual frantic direction of a little misplaced here, but the drama is played up well. I liked some of the additions to the plot in this version...
This movie is so laughable. Granted, I made the mistake of watching this immediately after watching the original, but whew is this thing a stinker. An enjoyable stinker, I suppose. I mean, watching what John Travolta did in the Robert Shaw role is hysterical. Shaw was calm, cool and collected. He followed his own set of rules and never lost it. Meanwhile, Travolta comes on screen having already lost it, and is a whiny, pathetic, self righteous asshole from minute one. He's instantly in love with Denzel, too. Oh and he yells, "lick my bunghole, motherfuckerrrrr" at someone. Bunghole!?! Really???
:heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::heart: - Excellent performance by Denzel
10:heart:- Masterpiece :100:
9:heart:- Excellent
8:heart: - Amazing :ok_hand:
7:heart:- Great :sun_with_face:
6:heart: - Good :thumbsup:
5:heart: - Average :head_bandage:
4:heart: - Bad but watchable :octagonal_sign:
3:heart: - Bad :sob:
2:rage:- Awful :face_vomiting:
1:face_with_symbols_over_mouth: - Bull Shit
Having seen (and truly loved) 'Unstoppable', it's impossible not to see 'The Taking of Pelham 123' as a rather pale incarnation of that 2010 flick (which also has Tony Scott as director and Denzel Washington as lead!).
How strange that those two came together to make two very similar movies so close together. In the end, here, there is enough done to separate them, but early on especially I felt like I was watching the same film almost. For the record, that other release is so vastly better than this... so I'd recommend that more if you want a train-centric production from Scott and Washington.
With all that noted, this 2009 film is still a fairly enjoyable 1hr 40mins or so - despite some questionable editing choices. A big reason for my positive rating is the aforementioned Washington, who gives as good a performance as he always tends to give - which is why he is probably my favourite actor, him or Leonardo DiCaprio anyway.
John Travolta does well though, even if I kept getting 'Face/Off' vibes throughout. Here, he made me laugh a few times and the guy has some good dialogue/delivery of said dialogue. Even if that latter element is hit-and-miss elsewhere. The rest of the cast are alright-to-meh, nice to see James Gandolfini though.
It's, taking everything into account, all worth a watch, I'd say.
Run of the mill movie not very memorable
so much shaky cams ! not necessary at all.
Meh this movie seems to be a mediocre remake of a good old movie alas it's pretty good
John Travolta makes a good bad guy...yet again. Denzel Washington makes an, unusual for him, unconfident hero.
The Taking of Pelham 123 is a decent action thriller, but manages to fall well short of the original. What saves it in the end is the fact that Tony Scott and Denzel Washington has a special relationship that usually ends up in somewhat watchable movies.
Not as good as the original, but still good enough to watch when it comes up on the TV.
This Scott movie 'wants' to be diffrent. But it's not. It's nice to see Travolta again, but why is it so stereotyped.
Denzel and the whole cast is good, but it doesn't help if the plot is sometimes okay.
By the way: Tony Scott died a few weeks ago. Unstoppable and this movie are no good movies. BUT (!) Tony has made some really good stuff.
Besides my favourite Bevery Hills Cop Movie (Part 2) and Enemy of the State.
Total Rating: 5/10 for this movie, 8/10 for his best movies. Bye Tony.
Shout by chronicBlockedParent2013-01-05T06:01:56Z
Couldn't disagree with you more der_unglaub...
i loved this movie i thought it was awesome!! denzel & travolta nailed their roles playing their parts to perfection especially travolta he was spot on as the villain.
the story was great too tbh i loved the whole thing. i should mention i haven't had a chance to watch the first one yet but i will do at some stage. whether that makes a difference or not i dunno but i only rate a movie on it's own merits therefore i highly recommend this it's a great watch. i even bought the bluray the other day too.