Grade: C | Genre: Drama Summary: ultimately it is disappointing as well as ironic that a thriller, with a train as its setting, ends up being so very pedestrian. The Taking of Pelham 123, adapted from John Godey's novel and a remake of the original 1974 classic, follows Walter Garber (played by Denzel Washington), a subway dispatcher in New York City, who gets entangled in a hostage crisis. When the train gets hijacked underground by the mysterious villain Ryder (played by John Travolta) and his thugs (which include Luis Guzman), Garber unwittingly finds himself the unwilling liaison to the authorities for the bad guys. Ryder demands a $10 million ransom from the city in one hour or else he will start killing the 18 people he is holding as hostages.

Ryder takes a liking to Garber. He discovers that Garber is being investigated for bribery. The authorities (led by hostage negotiator John Turturro) and Garber's Boss (played by Michael Rispoli) find the rapport rather curious. The scandal-ridden, rich mayor (played by James Gandolfini), who is counting the days until he can finally leave office, gets dragged into the affair. Ryder's agenda and true identity become ever clearer with each small bit of personal information that he shares with Garber. The question is, even if Ryder does get the money, how is he intending to escape from a subway full of cops?

The performances are fairly strong, but they can be summed up by Swordfish Travolta vs. Inside Man Washington. Washington plays another NYC official, with a tainted record and looming investigation weighing on his mind, who matches wits with an intriguing, hostage-taking villain whose agenda is bigger than it first appears. It's basically the same role Washington had in Inside Man, with the only real difference being his character in Inside Man was a smooth operator, whereas the character Garber is more of an overweight every man. Travolta doesn't ham it up quite as much as he did in Swordfish, and does manage some subtle personal introspection, but the cool, villainous Robert Shaw in the original was much more chilling.

The remake is an improvement over the original in a few aspects. It does flesh out the relationship between the villain and hero more, and offers a more diverse and interesting sociological portrayal of New York City, which parallels the changes in the Big Apple from 1974 to now. Ryder and Garber's bantering about sin and religion does add an interesting dimension, but ultimately is feels like an unnecessary way for the villain to reveal too much personal information that will be used against him later. The hero and villain are actually separated throughout much of the film, so most of the interaction between them is chatter. In order to make up for this, energetic but pointless police escorts of the ransom money as they make their way through the city are sandwiched in between the scenes. When one of the characters asks why they didn't use a helicopter instead, it's a sad commentary on the set piece.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is pleasing and diverting enough, and acceptable summer entertainment. However, ultimately it is disappointing as well as ironic that a thriller, with a train as its setting, ends up being so very pedestrian.

Release Date: June 12, 2009