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Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, The

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 34 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 67 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Crime | Drama | Suspense/Thriller
Written by: Brian Helgeland
Directed by: Tony Scott
Release Date:
Theatrical: June 12, 2009
DVD: November 3, 2009
Running Time: 106 minutes, Color
Origin: USA | UK
Summary
RATING: R for violence and pervasive language
Starring Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, Michael Rispoli, and James Gandolfini
In The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, New York City subway dispatcher, Walter Garber's, day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train’s passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there’s one riddle Garber can't solve: even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape? (Sony Pictures)
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Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
TV Guide Jason Buchanan
While director Tony Scott's brash and boisterous take on the material may lack that certain '70s quirkiness, it gets just about everything else exactly right.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Scott gets into the zip and rush of urban energy with an enthusiasm bordering on hilarity.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
More than anything a fascinating portrait of how much New York has changed in 35 years, the film delivers the goods in excitement and big-star charisma.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
A fast and relentless hostage thriller that never stops.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
Even at a distance from each other (Washington/Travolta), they conduct a tag-team master class in old-style movie star technique, barreling through every cliché and nugget of corn the script has to offer with verve and conviction. Even when you don't really believe them, they're always a lot of fun to watch.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Crisp supporting turns by John Turturro (as a hostage negotiator) and James Gandolfini (as the mayor) combine with plenty of vehicular mayhem to make this a superior diversion.
Read Full Review >New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott
Tony Scott pushes all the right buttons, crafting a worthy -- and in many ways, a superior -- update.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
The new "Pelham," although no classic, is a lot of fun if you're in the right mood.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Has all the usual virtues of a good action suspense drama, but it lacks that extra something - that context, that vital interchange - that made the original "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" such a memorable experience in 1974.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
The new Pelham takes the chilling original premise and modifies it for an era steeped in technology, making for an energetic and engrossing adaptation.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Gripping and compelling, and doesn't make us wish we had checked our brains at the theater entrance.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
So professionally done you rarely have the luxury of taking your eyes off the screen.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
The film is thus more of a technical showcase than a human drama. It's diverting enough until it gets dumb, but so strong from the start is the certainty that dumb is on the way that you can't get too vexed when it finally arrives.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Whereas the original, directed by Joseph Sargent, was essentially a well-oiled B movie, the new incarnation, directed by Tony ("Enemy of the State") Scott, is bristling with high-tech gimcrackery and over-the-top camera flourishes.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
The movie is slick, predictable and, thanks mainly to Washington's canny underplaying, fairly diverting.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
By itself, the new "Pelham" is a solid, suspenseful tale all over again, so long as it stays in the subway tunnels and airless offices of the transit department.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Washington offers another of his rock-steady performances, playing a career civil servant with a couple of secrets of his own, but confident, diligent, ready to go the distance for the city he loves.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
There's not much wrong with Tony Scott's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, except that there's not much really right about it.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
If Hollywood is going to remake a '70s movie, it might as well be Pelham, and it ought to work as competently as this one. But wouldn't it be nice, once in a while, for Hollywood to turn contemporary traumas into vigorous movies instead of hijacking the anxieties of the past?
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
Curiously, despite the ever-energetic Tony Scott at the throttle, the sleek new edition isn't as transporting as it should have been.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Yet most of the film's energy is generated by flamboyant cinematography and music-video cutting, and much of that energy is false.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
Any chance to generate atmosphere or sustained comedy and melodrama goes down the tubes, often literally.
Read Full Review >Slate John Swansburg
It's easy to imagine why Pelham's producers wouldn't want Scott's professional but dull picture to be compared with the 1974 classic.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
An efficiently engineered piece of studio product, enjoyable enough at times, but with an unmistakable assembly-line quality.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
Watching this Pelham--a money job from its conception--you can believe that there's no other motivation on Earth.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jim Ridley
Scott's redo comes up short in almost every regard against the '74 model--against David Shire's knuckled-brass score, against its mugs' gallery of '70s New York character actors, against Peter Stone's serrated script, and certainly against its wordless punchline.
Read Full Review >Empire Kim Newman
Pelham One was first class. Pelham Two stuck to the schedule. Pelham Three needs a bus pass.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Philip Kennicott
If a few decent actors play their roles and defend their turf, it doesn't matter how preposterous the whole proposition is.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Anthony Lane
Can a director be arrested for the attempted hijack of our emotions?
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Tony Scott’s bracingly awful remake/desecration of the classic ‘70s thriller.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Loud, abrasive, and featuring performances seemingly calibrated to be heard over the cacophonous roar of Travolta's mad, bad overacting.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.1 (out of 10) based on 67 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
YS H gave it an8:
Electric performances from Washington and Travolta - the tension arcs and crackles! Good performance too from Turturro. The story has some great plot twists and the camera work looks slick. Well worth a watch.
Chris P. gave it a9:
Denzel was really good one more time.I just love his movies. the movie has a lot of action and and a powerful plot.of course also mentionable must be the amazing song of jigga "99 problems"!!!
Evin C gave it a5:
Most of the action in this film just seems unnecessary. It is slightly captivating. John Travolta is just too much. Give it up for James Gandolfini being the goofy mayor. He was the best.
Jonny W gave it a10:
A film that has it all, a rich and powerful storyline, believable and likable characters, and perhaps less importantly a great soundtrack and sense of humor.
Joel S gave it a4:
It's not a bad film, its just been done so many times before. Denzel is the same, Travolta's not bad as the villain, but films like this need to be smarter these days. This isn't 1985. We are over Die Hard and Speed-type movies. Films like Inside Man, which are more intelligent and creative need to be the prototype for dodgy-yet interesting-action movies in the 21st century.
Josh W gave it a10:
A great movie! well acted with a very clever plot and a fantastic finale!!!
Riel C gave it a10:
This is one of my favorite movies!!! The critics got it all wrong. They said all of the 4 X-Men movies sucked, and they were all good weren't they?? They also said the movie Taken sucked. That was one of my favorite movies... Anyway, The Taking of Pelham 123 is an excellent movie. There is major suspense, and you always think you know what will happen, but then the movie just takes a different turn. This movie has a supreme story, and everything is just perfect.
