Hollywood hues
Action unlimited

Based on John Godey’s novel, the slickly edited Taking of Pelham 123 has
an imaginative screenplay, writes Ervell E. Menezes

TRAIN robberies are dime a dozen these days and don’t we know that one of the earliest shots of cinema, courtesy the Lumiere Brothers, is of a train leaving a station in Paris. Then, more recently Train Spotting is a cult film not to mention The Great Train Robbery of old and thus trains and film is inextricably linked together. Despite all this background, action director Tony Scott makes the new Taking of Pelham123 as exciting as one can expect in the given circumstances.

Ryder (John Travolta), looking even more obese than he did in his second innings Pulp Fiction, is the one who masterminds this hijack of a New York local. Cool and enterprising his act takes place during the peak hour traffic but the one thing he doesn’t contend with is the grit and resilience of railway employee Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) who almost accidentally happens to be along. And he decides to take on the hijacker on a one-to-one confrontation.

Based on a novel by John Godey, Taking of Pelham 123 is imbued with an imaginative screenplay by Brian Hegeland and good establishing shots catapults the viewer neck deep into the thick of things from the word go. Director Scott also flits from character to character to keep the attention span going. Good cameos by the burly Mayor (James Gandolfini) further embellish the plot and it is like a roller coaster ride through all sorts of obstacles.

Tobias Schleissler’s camerawork is adept both in the racy exteriors and close-ups but he refrains from becoming obsessive. Scott is able to maintain the right balance of form and content and he puts in the right pauses to let the story sink in. This is rare in action films like Speed and their ilk. Pacing is important and this is achieved to a nicety. If one has to fault the film it is the absence of dramatic relief.

One is reminded of Joseph Sergeant’s 1974 original with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw in it and it may have that element of nostalgia but Travolta and Washington offer greater star power. Yet, it is action, which is the real hero as the fare grinds to its expected climax.

If John Travolta is effusive enough as the villain he is well matched by the super cool Denzel Washington. Luis Gurman as a Ryder accomplice also catches the eye as does James Gandolfini if only for his girth.

The editing is slick and so are the action sequences in this speedy, not-to-be-missed action thriller.

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