Denzel Washington in "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3"
courtesy of Sony Home Entertainment
“Travolta vs. Washington”

There are some stars who are just bigger than life and their presence in a movie is enough to guarantee success. John Travolta and Denzel Washington fall into that category. They are certainly at the top of their game in the new movie “The Taking of Pelham 123.” Combine that with fast paced direction from Tony Scott and you have a super movie now out on DVD. The film is a retelling of the 1974 film of the same name that starred Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, but there are distinct differences in this new production.

The film starts with a man named Ryder (Travolta) hijacking a subway line under the city of New York. He takes eighteen hostages and demands ten million dollars as ransom. The City has one hour to meet his demands or he will start killing hostages. He is not kidding.

When he phones in his demands the man who answers the call is Walter Garber (Washington). Garber has his own problems with the subway management in that he has been accused of taking a bribe and is under investigation. Still he does his best to calm Ryder down and make progress in getting the hostages released.

The big change in this film is the back stories of the lead characters. It gives the film more depth and adds to the audience’s involvement. It also shifts most of the emphasis away from subordinate characters such as the mediator (John Turturro), the Mayor (James Gandolfini) and Ryder’s co-conspirator Phil Ramos (Luis Guzman). The film is basically a duel between the two lead characters and that is where the focus stays.

Travolta is chilling as the psychopath who holds eighteen people’s lives at risk. He is rough looking, profane and coldly calculating. He seems friendly enough at times but that is a front. Underneath he is evil to the bone and Travolta gets every nuance right.

Washington is the heart of the film as Garber. He has his faults but overall he is a truly decent human being. You are pulling for Garber from the moment he is introduced on screen and your feelings for him never falter.

Tony Scott keeps the action moving from the first instances of the film until the last. He films it all at a frenetic pace and uses car crashes and violent acts to jolt the viewer from time to time. But the action never diminishes the solid plot of the film, and it never overwhelms the superb acting that is occurring.

“The Taking of Pelham 123” is a solidly entertaining movie that is made even better by the acting talents on view. Scott serves up a fast-paced, tense story but Travolta and Washington elevate it even more with their skills. This is a DVD to enjoy as cold weather begins keeping us inside more.

Another actor who is gaining stature with each and every role he undertakes is Simon Baker. He is currently the star of the hit TV series “The Mentalist” but he is also making movies in his spare time. 

You can watch him in the DVD “Not Forgotten” where he plays a father searching for his kidnapped child. The search pits him against a religious group known as La Santa Muerte, and the people involved here seem less threatening than they are. Jack Bishop (Baker) must learn not to trust his eyes or his ears but to go with his gut instincts.

This is a very convoluted thriller and one that will keep your mind jumping even after you have finished the film. Paz Vega, Claire Forlani and Michael DeLorenzo are among the supporting cast and they add to the flavor of the film.

If you are more in the mood for laughs than thrills, pop “The Maiden Heist” into the DVD player. This caper comedy has a cast and a half. Morgan Freeman, William H Macy, Christopher Walken and Marcia Gay Harden are all on view and full of energy and surprises.

The plot concerns some stable security guards who decide to do the unthinkable. They plan to substitute fake works of art for priceless ones. That sounds easy enough in theory but you know things just have to go wrong – and wrong they do.

For fun and a view of superb acting make sure you watch “The Maiden Heist.” It is sure to entertain you.

Finally there is another film that has good acting at its core. Cuba Gooding, Jr., Michael Ironside and Val Kilmer star in the futuristic thriller “Hardwired.” People forget what a good actor Gooding is. He did win an Academy Award for his role in “Jerry Macguire” and has been exemplary in a few other movies. 

In “Hardwired” he is the heart of the film as a man who has had a lethal microchip implanted in his body. Now he has to find out who is monitoring him and why, and also how to get rid of the “bug.” It is a classic case of “Big Brother” gone awry.

Kilmer and Ironside give good support but it is Gooding’s film all the way. He is the star and he earns that title.
 

 

 

 

 

©2009 Jackie K. Cooper

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