The Taking of Pelham 123

[MidnightSensi]

Transformers wasn't for us, so we settled on "The Taking of Pelham 123." Denzel, Travolta, Gandolfini, "sneaky sneaky" guy from Mr. Deeds/the Big Lewbowski crazy guy ... can't be all that bad.

And it wasn't. I liked it more than Taken, the last action movie I saw. Much better acting, better script, and not so far fetched you can't forgive it for being an action movie. Travolta and Denzel made the movie, making you more interested in their characters than the movie would otherwise allow.

For an action flick it provides enough of a backbone for the action to seem worthwhile, something I think Tony Scott's newer films do a pretty good job of. I'm actually one of the few people who think Scott has gotten better, rather than worse (I think Top Gun was garbage).

My girlfriend didn't like the movie as much as I did and said "they added too much sugar to make the medicine go down." It has the new-age editing, which neither one of us are a fan of, but it bothered her more this time. It flashes, sparkles, pulses.

Overall, its worth a rental.

 

[Gov]

As far as I am concerned, John Turturro's performance was the best and was the most believable. Washington was his usual self always good. Travolta not so good
The original was a much better film overall.

 

[skizzerflake]

I liked it but only in the sense that it wasn't as bad as I expected. I didn't have high hopes for Travolta but he was OK. It was tense enough and moved along quickly so I enjoyed it more than some action movies. It's not much of a coincidence that Comcast has the old 1974 version as an on-demand choice. There were minor plot differences, but the new one didn't really add or detract very much.

 

[Lordoftherings]

What was John Travolta best movie performance? "Pulp Fiction"? (Certainly not "Saturday Night Fever"?)

And about John Turturro? "The Big Lebowski"? (Even if it was just a short appearance?)

And Denzel Washington? (There's a few of them where he excels; "Man on Fire",
"Training Day"...)

And finally, James Gandolfini? (This guy could be very scary and convincing.)

 

[Mog]

Well you are forgetting about John Travolta in "Look Who's Talking" just kidding.

I really liked John Turturro in "Rounders", he didn't have a big part but it was well played.

As for the Great Denzel how can you go wrong? My favorite besides "Man on Fire" was "Glory".

 

[MidnightSensi]

As far as I am concerned, John Turturro's performance was the best and was the most believable. Washington was his usual self always good. Travolta not so good
The original was a much better film overall.

Travolta isn't the best villan, in my opinion. He is a good 'bad guy,' like in Pulp Fiction, but not a good villan (Broken Arrow, Pelham).

What was John Travolta best movie performance? "Pulp Fiction"? (Certainly not "Saturday Night Fever"?)

And about John Turturro? "The Big Lebowski"? (Even if it was just a short appearance?)

And Denzel Washington? (There's a few of them where he excels; "Man on Fire",
"Training Day"...)

And finally, James Gandolfini? (This guy could be very scary and convincing.)

I'd say Pulp Fiction for Travolta.

Denzel has had a lot of good ones. Training Day, Man on Fire, The Hurricane, John Q (thought that movie was pretty underrated)....

Training Day is probably my favorite though. He is so convincing in that.

Almost makes me wonder if they should have swapped the roles in Pelham, and had Denzel been Ryder and Travolta be Gerber. I know that wouldn't be true to the original, but, Travolta is better at being a nice guy in my opinion, and while Denzel is good at both, Denzel can portray a dark side that is pretty intimidating.

 

[Lordoftherings]

About Travolta in "Swordfish"?

 

[Gov]

I know I will probably get flamed for this, but Travolta's shining moment was "Saturday Night Fever" hands down. He nailed his part to perfection and his dancing was incredible.
His second best was "Pulp Fiction"

 

[Lordoftherings]

^ You're right about getting nailed. Gork!

 

[speakerman39]

Finally got to this film yesterday on DVD. Hence, found the movie to be quite good. Some of the cussing was a bit over the top and unnecessary imho. Denzel was great. John Travolta shows being a good bad guy is cool, if not, fun. In short, I would have to give this film a solid C+ at best.



Cheers,

Phil

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, but I do have to admit..........my expectations bar was set VERY low.


With that said, it easily surpassed those expectations and YES...I really enjoyed it.

I give it 3.75 stars...good popcorn fun, IMO.