Mind the gaps in the logic and plausibility of Tony Scott's action-packed thriller, which plays out a deadly game of cat and mouse on the subway system beneath New York City.
Adapted here by scriptwriter Brian Helgeland from John Godey's novel, The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 begins at a canter and barely pauses for breath between the slowmotion crashes and John Travolta's voracious scenery chewing.
Director Scott (Days Of
Thunder, Crimson Tide, Enemy Of The State) has forged a long and illustrious career out of male posturing and testosterone-fuelled mayhem.
The old dog is in no mood to learn new tricks for this remake of the 1974 thriller starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, falling back on the slam-bang, slowmotion set-pieces that have become his trademark.
Scott opens the film in the busy transit control centre where veteran dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington, below) monitors the progress of trains with a steely eye.
A long, uneventful day turns into a nightmare when criminal mastermind Ryder (John Travolta) and his associates hold a carriage full of terrified commuters hostage on the subway system and demand a $10m ransom for their safe release.
Walter reluctantly accepts the role of hostage negotiator, conversing with Ryder via the train's two-way radio system.
Walter's transformation into gun-toting action man strains credibility, not that the rest of the film has much to begin with.
Washington's nonperformance is in stark contrast to Travolta, overacting wildly as the excon with eye-catching facial fuzz, who takes a real shine to strait-laced Garber. But at least he's enjoying himself.
Jodie Jeynes' rating: ***
