2009 | U.S. | 106 minutes
Director: Tony Scott
Writer: Brian Helgeland
Cast: John Travolta, Denzel Washington, John Turturro, James Gandolfini
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Cdn video distributor: Sony Pictures
New York has changed a lot in the the last 35 years. So have the movies. Everything is more high-tech and fast-paced — just like this remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. It’s not necessarily a good thing.
The strength of the original film — based on the book of the same title — was its setting in both time and place. Back then the subways were not a pleasant scene for New Yorkers. The trains looked old, scrappy and rundown, just like the people who worked them. Walter Matthau (as transit cop Lt. Zachary Garber) epitomizes the milieu. This guy has seen it all. Muggers, rapists and all manner of low-life scum. Nothing shocks him anymore.
That is until hijackers commandeer a train and demand $1 million ransom within the hour — or they start killing hostages. He’s never heard anything like it, and it jolts him — and everyone else — out of their bitter New York existence.
It’s a pretty good set-up for a thriller — and there are thrills be be had — but what really distinguishes this film is its witty portrayal of worn-out New Yorkers, always snapping at each other with salty dialogue.
The end credit sequence gives some evidence of its brashness by giving characters descriptors, instead of names, like “The W.A.S.P,” “The Hippie,” “The Pimp,” and “The Homosexual.” Even our hero, Garber, is seen dismissing a group of Tokyo businessmen as “monkeys,” and reacts with surprise when he meets a black police inspector. Just like everyone else he works with — almost all white, sagging, middle-aged Archie Bunker types — he doesn’t mean any harm by it. He’s just an old guy who’s grown cozy with his cranky New York way of life. The hijacking helps shake things up for everybody.
It all reveals a city that is harshly divided by ethnic groups and lifestyles but, as events unfold, they all find common ground to help save the day.
This remake dispenses with all of this.
The subway looks cleaner now. Everyone uses cell phones and computers with Bluetooth technology and Skype software — but it’s ultimately inconsequential to the story. And everyone looks healthy, and lives in racial harmony. Black characters exist, for example — including Garber, now played by Denzel Washington — but nobody calls attention to it. Once again unique local flavour is replaced with cool-talking characters who have no logical explanation being there, except to justify the writer’s convoluted plotting.
The focus, here, is all about the money, and the unlikely bond that develops between Garber and the our villain, played by John Travolta. This time money is not so much used as a means to save the hostages, but as a device to learn more about these two characters. It would be easier to care if we knew who the characters were in the first place.
Travolta’s performance is miles away from the quiet, menacing intensity Robert Shaw brought to the role. It’s all cleverly-worded philosophical talk, punctuated by moments of enraged screaming. Why he’s this way eventually makes a bit of sense when we discover his former profession, but it’s not especially interesting. Any why he takes a shine to Garber — sensing they share the same love for money through illicit means — may prove true but, again, it does not a thriller make.
Plus, in the wake of 9/11, the hijacking premise just doesn’t have the bite it once had.
As usual, director Tony Scott mostly counts on physical action to provide the thrills. But the racing train scene, the speeding police car bit, the gun showdown outside the Waldorf — those moments only happen to incidental characters, so the sense of peril is missing.
I was especially disappointed that the Garber character was transformed from a grumpy, seasoned cop into a wimpy civil servant — who then inexplicably turns super hero at the end. What’s his motivation to catch the bad guy? It’s not the safety of the passengers anymore. The hostage crisis is already over by this point. The only seeming justification is because the script demands it.
At least the 1974 version stayed true to the characters right to the end, before easing into one of the most unusual of climaxes — and an unexpected comedic payoff.
The original also benefited from a great music score by David Shire. The steely jazz horns, and quirky percussion, that punctuate both the opening and closing credits is terrifically dynamic, truly memorable, and perfectly captures the mood of its period New York setting.
Mostly what is best about the original is its sense of humour. Unlike the remake, it has one. I have an old university buddy who loves reciting lines from it. Almost every time we talk he’ll quote a line — burst out laughing — quote another line — more laughter — and so on. His laughter is infectious too, which further helps endear me to the experience — and makes me chuckle just thinking about it. Men and movies, eh?
- Theatrical release date: June 12, 2009
- Video release date: November 3, 2009
- Production Budget: $100 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $150,027,284
FUN ALTERNATIVE: Tony Scott is planning another remake of a 70s thriller — curiously one that was also very New York-centric, with a subway focus — and, again, stripping it of its unique setting by moving it to present-day L.A. This time treat yourself to the original beforehand to find out what you’re missing.
The Warriors was a volatile movie when first released in 1979, about a fictitious NYC gang that have to fight their way home because of a crime they didn’t commit. The tagline alone freaked people out: “These are the Armies of The Night. They are 60,000 strong. They outnumber the cops three to one. They could run New York City. Tonight they’re all out to get the Warriors.” Presumably uppity middle-class folk didn’t want young thugs to get any bright ideas.
Entirely shot at night, the film captures the grittiness of a city seeming populated only by colourfully-dressed gangs members, and the occasional cop. Realism is not the goal here. It’s more a vivid surreal nightmare that haunts our heroes constantly.
Director Walter Hill cast non-actors in some of the supporting roles and their wooden performances painfully makes that clear. But the attractive visuals, snappy score, and exuberant action help offset these failings, creating a unique modern-day fable.
The Director’s Cut dvd helps explain the unusual look and story by pointing out it’s based on a 4th century BC tale (Anabasis by Xenophon) about a Greek army that also had to fight its way home. The director’s cut further adds comic-book artwork to connect various scenes, and underscore its other-world tone.