A better-than-average potboiler, "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" pairs two veteran actors, John Travolta and Denzel Washington, as a psychotic criminal looking to take the Big Apple down a notch and the public servant tasked with foiling him. What's most interesting about this flick is that director Tony Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgeland manage to make both the protagonist and antagonist equally charismatic. Ryder (Travolta, in a handlebar mustache and neck tattoo), recently released from prison for embezzlement, wants to make a wad of dough by holding a train full of subway passengers hostage in exchange for $10 million, while teaching an abject lesson in humility.
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
A better-than-average potboiler, "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" pairs two veteran actors, John Travolta and Denzel Washington, as a psychotic criminal looking to take the Big Apple down a notch and the public servant tasked with foiling him. What's most interesting about this flick is that director Tony Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgeland manage to make both the protagonist and antagonist equally charismatic. Ryder (Travolta, in a handlebar mustache and neck tattoo), recently released from prison for embezzlement, wants to make a wad of dough by holding a train full of subway passengers hostage in exchange for $10 million, while teaching an abject lesson in humility.