The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.
Oh dear, where do I begin. Perhaps if I'd entered the cinema with low expectations and no knowledge of the original (there was an adequate TV version too) I may have been satisfied (just). However, this was not the case, and comparison to the '70s gem staring Matthau, Balsam and Shaw led to a sinking feeling of let-down. Whereas the original was driven by character actors at the top of their game and an amusingly snappy script, this effort was hampered by being a vehicle for two ageing überstars (Denzel Washington and John Travolta), who frankly have seen better days (and scripts), and the Tony Scott treatment of crash, bang, wallop of chases, shoot-outs and what appeared to be a large budget which just had to be spent to the final penny. The little humour which remained of the original was vestigial and poorly rendered. Even John Turtorro, an actor of talent and class depicts a barely one-dimensional Fed simply idling through the motions via F, B and I.
Perhaps a youngster with no knowledge of this film's excellent forebear would be entertained, but this child-of-the-sixties was not impressed at all. I think I'm about to sneeze…
Oh dear, where do I begin. Perhaps if I'd entered the cinema with low expectations and no knowledge of the original (there was an adequate TV version too) I may have been satisfied (just). However, this was not the case, and comparison to the '70s gem staring Matthau, Balsam and Shaw led to a sinking feeling of let-down. Whereas the original was driven by character actors at the top of their game and an amusingly snappy script, this effort was hampered by being a vehicle for two ageing überstars (Denzel Washington and John Travolta), who frankly have seen better days (and scripts), and the Tony Scott treatment of crash, bang, wallop of chases, shoot-outs and what appeared to be a large budget which just had to be spent to the final penny. The little humour which remained of the original was vestigial and poorly rendered. Even John Turtorro, an actor of talent and class depicts a barely one-dimensional Fed simply idling through the motions via F, B and I.
