Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

It was entertaining.  It held my attention.  But it could have been so much better.

That's my quickie review of the 2009 version of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.  I haven't seen the original, but from what I've read, it is considered "a classic" in the genre.  I can only imagine that movie being far more intense, far more riveting, and giving far more thrills than today's version does.

Denzel Washington plays Walter Garber, working for the New York subway system, in the traffic control center.  It was an ordinary day, right up until 1:59 when a group of hijackers takes over the titular train.  The group is led by a man known only as Ryder, played by John Travolta.  Ryder holds 19 passengers hostage in the first car, and tells Garber his demands: 10 million dollars, delivered to him in one hour. 

For the rest of the movie, Garber and Ryder speak to each other over the train's radio system, while the hostage negotiation team and the mayor (James Gandolfini) try to figure out what to do.  Having decided to give Ryder the money, they must figure out how to get the money to him, within the deadline.

So we see lots of scenes where police cars drive frantically through the city, hitting other vehicles and causing general mayhem on the roads.  And we have scenes taking place on the train, where Ryder seems a bit manic.  At times he comes off as a raving madman just itching to kill the passengers for any perceived infraction of his demands.  Other times he's downright jovial, chatting with Garber, and comparing their lives.

We discover that Garber has a secret of his own, one that could affect his career with the city.  And, eventually we learn who Ryder is, and what is real motivation is.

So, the story is fine.  It held my attention, and entertained me for two hours.

But it also disappointed me, on quite a few levels.

There were so many times when something was shown, or some detail introduced, and in the end I said "So what?"  Like the fact that one of the hostages had a laptop, and therefore, a connection with the outside world.  It could have been a major part of the storyline, but it wasn't.  Then there was Garber's "big secret".  Again, it was revealed to us, and later I said "So what?".  It just didn't add a whole lot to the story.  The mayor's marital situation is another detail that's tossed in, but didn't make any difference.  And on and on.  Details given, that had no effect on the ultimate storyline.

I also didn't like the fact that there were actually four bad guys, but we only really see two of them.  Obviously, Travolta gets the most screen time.  Then there's Luis Guzman playing one of his partners.  We get to know him a little bit, and understand his motivations.  But the other two bad guys barely get five minutes of screen time.  We have no idea who they are, or what is driving them.

Then there was the camera work. It looks like a Tony Scott movie, that's for sure. You don't have to wonder how many minutes are left until Ryder's deadline passes.  Because it's splashed quite obviously across the screen.  Lots of times.  Similarly, if you're wondering exactly where, in New York, the action is taking place, don't worry, you're shown maps with animated arrows more than once.  I can handle the time being shown to us, after all, the deadline is pretty important.  But the maps added nothing, and were downright annoying.

As far as performances go, I liked Washington's portrayal of Garber.  He was smart, caring, and we certainly root for him.  Travolta was over-the-top with his portrayal of Ryder, but I suppose that was by design.  While I hated the character, himself, I think Travolta did a good job with him.  I would have liked it if we got to know more of the passengers, but most of them are just anonymous faces on the train, without a single line.  The few passengers who have any lines at all were fine, but mostly the passengers were non-entities in this movie.

Finally, there's the ending.  No, of course I'm not going to say too much about it.  I'll just say it was disappointing.  I could think of 10 different ways I would have chosen to end it, rather than the path that was taken.

Overall, this movie disappointed more than it entertained.  Ultimately, I'm left feeling that I'd better finish this review pretty quickly as I doubt I'll remember much about this movie in a day or two.

Recommended: No