Eλευθερί
Junior Member
@eleutheri
Posts: 3,710
Likes: 1,670
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Post by Eλευθερί on Jan 23, 2021 8:37:10 GMT
Excellent actors, fast-paced and high-energy.
The frenetic camerawork in a lot of the outdoors scenes was very annoying.
Although I really liked Washington, Turturro, Gandolfini, and Travolta in this version, the plot in the original version made for a better film. The hostage-takers were more interesting and even more realistic in the original. What the writer/s did with the Travolta character made a character that didn't seem believable. The ending of the original was also much stronger, but wasn't possible in this version because of what they decided to do with the motorman's character versus in the original. No idea which is closer to the novel, but I figure the original was probably closer.
7.5/10
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Post by Vits on Jan 23, 2021 11:54:32 GMT
Overall, THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE is well done, but there was such a missed opportunity to make the movie deeper. With all the crazy demands and the monologues about the bad aspects of society, I expected the hijackers to reveal that they didn't care about money; that they just wanted to make the mayor and the police and maybe even the whole town see what's wrong with them. You know, kinda like THE JOKER. This became more apparent to me when LT. ZACHARY GARBER chooses to lie (which is considered wrong) in order to buy more time. Instead, the movie settles on being just a blockbuster. A damn fun blockbuster! The other problem is that Walter Matthau (an actor known for playing grumpy people) was miscast as GARBER (a not-so-joyful-but-still-light-hearted character). You can't hire the person who picks up the dead rats from the rails to be the train operator. 7/10 Halfway through THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 2009, there's a car crash. From that point on, the makers start adding more and more elements that involve characters moving in order to keep the audience entertained. Ironically, that's what decreases the suspense, because the minimalist 1st half was already thrilling enough. It should've stayed the way it was going. And based on what script writer Brian Helgeland had managed to do by that point, I don't think it would've been repetitive. Denzel Washington and John Travolta wouldn't have been my 1st picks for their respective roles, but their performances are still very good. In real life, if WALTER GARBER had killed RYDER (the hijacker), despite it being in self-defense, he would still be in shock. I know that the makers couldn't show that because they needed the Hollywood ending, but at least have LT. CAMONETTI or someone giving him a pep talk. He could still go home with a smile on his face... until his boss remembers his confession of the bribe. Awkward! 6/10 ------------------------------------- You can read comments of other movies in my blog. |
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Jan 24, 2021 9:46:09 GMT
5/10
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Post by politicidal on Jan 24, 2021 23:59:19 GMT
6/10
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Post by sjg on Jun 11, 2021 7:25:39 GMT
6/10
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Post by twothousandonemark on Mar 4, 2023 19:18:25 GMT
C+
Enjoyable, yet logic & reality gets thrown out the window left & right.
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Post by movielover on Jun 30, 2023 6:08:04 GMT
7.5/10
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