Red Fox Media - Video Production - Website Design - Birmingham, AL

Guest Review By Troy Wagner

The Taking of Pelham 123 is a wrong-place-wrong-time hostage thriller involving public transportation. Think Speed mixed with Inside Man. It’s a formula that, for most, should be familiar. And that’s the movie’s biggest problem - it all feels familiar.

Remakes have been the Hollywood house special for a while now. This isn’t news to anyone. The Taking of Pelham 123 follows the trend. It’s based on the 1974 movie of the same name,which in turn, was based on a novel published in 1973. And in 1998 we were treated to a made-for-TV-movie version.

It exclusively tells the story of New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), whose normal day at work is made a little more complicated when a subway train, Pelham 123, is hijacked by four men. The head man, Ryder (John Travolta), demands ten million dollars in one hour, after which he will, surprise surprise, start killing hostages. Garber becomes the middleman between the gunmen and authorities, of which include a hostage negotiator named Camonetti (John Turturro) and the conveniently unnamed mayor of New York himself (played by Tony Soprano…no wait, I mean James Gandolfini).

The pacing of the story can best be described as “boiling water.” From the get-go, the tension steadily increases, leading to the inevitable confrontation. The film is most enjoyable during these tense moments of conflict and violence, but these moments do little to balance out the overall slow pacing of the film.

The performances are competent, with Denzel Washington doing the most with what he is given, becoming the likable, flawed everyman stuck in a hostage stand-off. John Travolta, unfortunately, seems to have lost his action movie edge. I felt as though I should feel sympathy for his character, but Travolta’s performace made it difficult. He hams up the “tough guy” routine so much that I could have served it for Christmas dinner. There’s an inconsistency in his portrayal, shifting quickly from the smooth criminal to the F-bomb-laden frenziness of a guy on the edge. The supporting cast is solid, but ultimately forgettable.

Pelham 123 also seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. Mix equal parts drama, action, and comedy, let bake for 106 minutes, and you get one confusing little package. The banter between Garber and Ryder becomes outright philosophical at points, questioning religion and morals, which feels about as out of place as it sounds. This is made all the more disorienting when the comically inept police force join in the fray. They’re on screen for no other reason than to offer director Tony Scott more ways to insert outrageous and unrealistic car wrecks and carnage.

The Taking of Pelham 123 isn’t awful, but it’s not particularly engaging either. There are scenes when I felt completely in the moment, but there were simply too many flaws to overlook. This movie doesn’t rank at the top of the “Worst Remakes” list, but don’t expect any Oscar material.

You can follow Troy Wagner on Twitter at Twitter.com/WhatATroy

It’s dark, disturbing, and violent, and paints a bleak picture of the human race. It’s a superhero film driven not by wall-to-wall action, but by the flawed and dysfunctional psyches of the few who don the masks to save humankind from themselves. This is Watchmen, the film based on the infamous graphic novel
of the same name. It’s a somber story that attempts (and succeeds) to tear down previous preconceptions about superheroes and the type of people they are.

The year is 1985. the US has won the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon is still in office. And the Cold War is at its height. The Soviets and the Americans are on the brink of total destruction via nuclear war. Cynicism rules the day and costumed vigilantes are a thing of the past. Members of the group, known as the Watchmen, can only reminisce about days gone by, as they try to lead normal lives. But the status quo changes when one of their own - The Comedian - is brutally murdered. That leads another of the Watchmen, Rorschach, to find out why The Comedian was killed. This leads ultimately to a much larger plot that threatens the lives of millions.

The challenge of weaving twelve volumes of comic books into a single film was no doubt a daunting task, because it’s important for the unfamiliar viewer to understand these characters, their history, and their world. Otherwise, the story can’t engage the audience. The incredible opening credit sequence was a tool used by the filmmakers to condense some back story and yet provide important exposition at the same time. This was done beautifully.

The trade off is that when you must rely on so many flashbacks to orient your audience, you also run the risk of bogging down the pace of the film. This is exactly what happened with Watchmen. There were so many flashbacks and so much backstory that there didn’t seem to be a solid enough story arc to propel the film forward. There was no momentum. The flashbacks were offset with lengthy, dialogue-laden scenes from the present where Watchmen characters like the diestic Dr. Manhatten contemplated the human race, their nature, and their fate. Other characters like Nite Owl and Silk Spectre would digress into discussions about the “good ‘ole days” of Watchmen crime fighting. And woven into all of those elements was Rorscach’s investigation into The Comedian’s death.

Visually, the film is incredible. There are wonderful special effects from beginning to end. The fight scenes are intense and bloody, and makes The Dark Knight looks like a church picnic. Director Zach Snyder definitely had a strong vision for this film and he communicates this nicely. Watchmen is not a typical superhero movie where everything is black and white and flawless costumed heroes adhere to a high moralistic standard. These “heroes” cross the line. They’re violent. They’re disturbed. They have emotional and psychological issues. They struggle to know the truth about right versus wrong, which leaves everything in a messy gray. For its commentary on humankind and our plight, the film succeeds. However, it fails in its pacing and the overall story arc.

4 out of 10