Movie Summary of The Taking Of Pelham 123 by Michael The Moviegoer.
THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 = *1/2
“A Classic Gets Derailed”
The 70s is starting to look like the decade-of-choice from which to find movies to remake. After the recent dreadful remake of “The Heartbreak Kid”, we now have an equally dreadful remake of the 1974 New York train-hijacking thriller “The Taking Of Pelham 123”. The new version, directed by Tony Scott (“Top Gun”) is released on the 25th anniversary of the original. Yet the remake starts off on the wrong track with the decision to make a number of changes. Those changes result in implausible subplots that ultimately derail it.
John Travolta steps into Robert Shaw’s shoes as the lead hijacker while Denzel Washington fills in for Walter Matthau as a transit official. A New York city subway train is hijacked and the passengers are held for 10 million dollars ransom. In the 1974 version the ransom was only 1 million dollars, making me think of “Austin Powers”.
To update this new version, subplots have been added that include the internet and the NY Stock Exchange. Turns out the motive for the hijacking is now more of a decoy. News of a terrorist act on the NY subway system sends stock prices plummeting and the price of gold soaring. Travolta, who has invested in gold, watches the internet (from a subway tunnel which shouldn’t have wireless signal) and sees that his net worth has climbed to 307 million dollars. So what does he need the 10 million dollars in ransom for? It’s just ridiculous.
I remember when I was a small child, whenever we would come home from seeing a movie we would act out some of the scenes. Funny how seeing Travolta and Washington play these roles reminded me of that!
If you’re a fan of the original as I am, most likely you will not like this new one. Even the end is changed. Nobody sneezes in this version!
It’s frightening to think that if this remake is successful, Hollywood might start looking to the 70s for more films to remake and ruin. It won’t be long before they start remaking “Jaws”, “Dog Day Afternoon” and “The Godfather”.
DVD Watch: Skip the new version and check out the 1974 original “Taking Of Pelham One Two Three”. Made in an era when movies were photographed instead of being designed on a computer. It may not look as high-tech slick as the new version, but it’s a much more explosive edge-of-your-seat thrill ride. With a much better ending.
Michael The Moviegoer
