The Taking of Pelham 123 is just one of many 21st updates of classic movies from decades ago. It takes the original's core idea and morphs it into a modern day, real-time thriller about issues that have been on everybody's minds since 9/11. This modern telling of the original film's tale is an "in the moment, forget the logic" movie that brings two of Hollywood's most recognisable actors and pits them head to head for the first time. The result is an entertaining if forgettable film - sometimes that's good enough.
Based on the novel, as well as an original 1974 movie, both by the same name, Pelham 123 follows an ordinary train dispatcher, Walter Garber, who gets caught up in an extraordinary set of circumstances. While on duty he gets a call from an aggressive criminal who has hijacked a city train full of hostages. He demands $10 million and gives Walter, and the city of New York, one hour to get the money or he starts killing the hostages one by one.
An important thing for a thriller of this nature is that the pace has to always be brisk, with every action having an immediate impact on the next. If not the film loses its edge and doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat. Pelham 123 thankfully is successful at at least that aspect. Since the movie takes place in real time (not too dissimilar in nature to the TV series 24), there's no time for resting or collection of thought. Time is very much of the essence, and the movie importantly manages to convey that rather well.
Even the film's set up doesn't waste any time... it doesn't have any. As soon as the movie starts we see John Travolta's train hijacker ("Ryder" as he self-apoints himself) making his way to the New York underground and taking the train conductor hostage at gunpoint. Soon enough he makes the first call to the Train Control Centre of which Denzel Washington's Walker Garber is the unlucky answerer. The conditions of the negotiation are given and so the game starts. That's just the start of the screws tightening, and as the movie goes on they only get tighter and tighter.
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