The Remaking Of Pelham 123

Remakes are everywhere these days and it looks like we’ll be seeing many more over the coming years. The Taking of Pelham 123 is a remake of a 1974 Walter Matthau/Robert Shaw thriller where a subway train is hijacked and the occupants are held for ransom. The gimmick? The criminals are all named after colors: Brown, Grey, Blue etc. Mattahu’s everyman must battle the criminals and try to save the hostages.

As the original plot has been pillaged in everything from Die Hard to Reservoir Dogs it was pretty obvious that a remake would appear later down the line (pun intended). Now Denzel Washington and John Travolta will face off in the remake being helmed by Top Gun pilot Tony Scott.

So how does it look?

Not too bad actually.

I’m the first to say that I hate remakes, but the pedigree behind the film is worthwhile. Director Tony Scott is a man who knows how to direct action and thrills and his team-ups with Denzel Washington have all been good – Crimson Tide, Man On Fire and Déjà Vu. Throw Travolta (sans toupees) into the mix as the villain and Pelham suddenly has a curiosity factor at the very least. There is also able support from the likes of James Gandolfini, John Turturro and the always reliable Luis Guzman so there are no worries about bad acting.

While The Taking of Pelham 123 may not bring a whole lot new to the hostage-thriller genre it does look like it will be a fun, old fashioned action film when it opens on June 12th, and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Source: Catch The Train