Theatrical Poster from Wikipedia
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 tells the story of two men, Ryder (John Travolta) and Garber (Denzel Washington), as the former takes a New York train car hostage, while the latter ends up on the other side of the phone line as the unwitting negotiator for the release of the hostages.
It’s been a while since I’ve gone to the theaters to watch something that’s neither a comedy nor a special-effects/eye candy romp. But this movie has gotten very good reviews from my friends, and so I decided to give it a try. Never mind that it scored pretty low in Rotten Tomatoes (only 50% as of this writing).
Surprisingly, I enjoyed the movie. There were no twists, no gimmicks, but it kept me hooked for 1 hour and 40 minutes. I watched the film with three companions and only one thought the movie was “OK” and not “good.” There were some complaints regarding perceived logical inconsistencies in the film as well as the limited amount of bullets and blood that graced the screen. On the other hand, one of my friends was so gripped by the storytelling that he was reacting loudly to certain scenes in the film.
I haven’t read any of the film’s reviews in Rotten Tomatoes, and it escapes me why it got such a low score. Having personally enjoyed the film, I don’t plan to spoil my experience by knowing why I shouldn’t like it. I found it an engaging film, and would highly recommend it for those looking to watch a good thriller.
The storyline was gripping; that, or Travolta and Washington were just awesome.
Odd, when I went to catch it, it had 60%+ in rotten tomatoes. We chose it over that movie that resembled Eagle Eye so much (shoots, I don’t even remember the title haha).
…There was a recent movie that’s an Eagle Eye clone? Hahaha.
Wait, was that the one with John Cena or something? I can’t remember the title either, but I remember seeing a trailer to something like that. :))
Boo I haven’t watched this! I’ll just have to take Raymond and your word for it! :))