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Reviews Counted:201
Fresh:104
Rotten:97
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Despite a strong cast, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 suffers under the excesses of Tony Scott's frantic direction, and fails to measure up to the 1974 original.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Aug 27, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $65,452,312
Synopsis: In The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway... [More]
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman
Director: Tony Scott
Even the city of New York, the true principal player in this tale, fails to come to life, meaning this film might as well have been set in Chicago or London or any other metropolis with a sprawling subway system.
I'm probably not the first to say it's a train wreck. Starts out good enough, shows ability to the 1/2way mark, but the last 30 mins are just a scripting mess.
the main question that you need to ask yourself in determining whether you'll like The Taking of Pelham 123 is whether you believe that John Travolta can be a badass
It's not the most exciting movie I've ever seen, but it is a solid thriller with good performances and a workman-like construction from Tony Scott.
your typical middle of the road, summer action/thriller
Whereas the original, directed by Joseph Sargent, was essentially a well-oiled B movie, the new incarnation, directed by Tony Scott, is bristling with high-tech gimcrackery and over-the-top camera flourishes.
Director Tony Scott is smart enough to focus most of the movie where it should be, on Travolta and Washington.
Surprisingly, in a summer full of action-packed blockbusters, this cracking remake may be the movie to beat for sheer popcorn-chomping thrills.
Set in a nightmare New York City, the subway hostage thriller batters our nerves like a tom-tom.
The film does what a good hostage negotiator does: It distracts us from what's going wrong and pulls us into the story.
Top CriticWhile the original film offers superior thrills, Scott's Pelham functions just fine as diverting entertainment.
The new Pelham, although no classic, is a lot of fun if you're in the right mood.
We've been waiting too long for a sharp little urban thriller with a couple of tense scenes and one fine, bold performance. Given the time, we'll grab this express train, happily.
A moderately admired, moderately durable thriller-with-comedy about the hijacking of a New York City subway train.
Pelham 1 2 3 ultimately plays as too old-school and low- tech to compete with the summer's other big action films.
You don’t go to a movie by Tony Scott looking for subtlety and subtext. But give him a good story and Scott delivers.
Enough of a pressure cooker -- with sufficient psychological crackle -- to recommend.
Pelham simply runs out of track, devolving into a series of bad action movie clichés and meaningless skyscraper footage.
Helgeland's story is so formulaic and the characters so stock that we're just sitting there waiting for these guys to perform like circus animals.
Most disappointing is the new film's reluctance to even attempt to match the ingenuity of the original movie's celebrated one-two punch ending.
August 27, 2009:
10 Hair-raising Moments With John Travolta
Travolta's brutal butch hair -- or lack thereof, handlebar moustache aside -- in this week's remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 got us nostalgic for ol' dimple chin's former... More...
June 19, 2009:
Submit to the RT Show and Earn a Cool $100
Time for the weekly update, folks. As always, thanks to everyone who has submitted reviews and helped contribute to the show. Every week, we continue to bring you a lively,... More...
June 15, 2009:
Watch RT on Current TV
This week, The Rotten Tomatoes Show will be looking at the movies that opened over the weekend, with help from you (the Rotten Tomatoes community), the Current TV community, and... More...
June 13, 2009:
Denzel and Travolta co-star in remake of classic hostage drama. 
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