Can a director be arrested for the attempted hijack of our emotions?
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06/15/09
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
53
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:19
Rotten:17
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: Despite a strong cast, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 suffers under the excesses of Tony Scott's frantic direction, and fails to measure up to the 1974 original.
Theatrical Release:Jun 12, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $65,452,312
Synopsis: In The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway... [More]
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman
Director: Tony Scott
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Reviews for The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Top CriticWashington demonstrates his really remarkable ability to make us forget he’s a movie star and completely believe he’s a flawed but noble civil servant.
06/15/09
Top CriticI was really disappointed by this.
06/15/09
Top CriticSet in a nightmare New York City, the subway hostage thriller batters our nerves like a tom-tom.
06/12/09
Top CriticThe film does what a good hostage negotiator does: It distracts us from what's going wrong and pulls us into the story.
06/12/09
Top CriticThe new Pelham, although no classic, is a lot of fun if you're in the right mood.
06/12/09
Top CriticWe've been waiting too long for a sharp little urban thriller with a couple of tense scenes and one fine, bold performance. Given the time, we'll grab this express train, happily.
06/12/09
Top CriticHelgeland's story is so formulaic and the characters so stock that we're just sitting there waiting for these guys to perform like circus animals.
06/12/09
Top CriticMost disappointing is the new film's reluctance to even attempt to match the ingenuity of the original movie's celebrated one-two punch ending.
06/12/09
Top CriticThe Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 has all the usual virtues of a good action suspense drama.
06/12/09
Top CriticPelham is not merely a film that may induce seizures in those who are susceptible; it is a film that seems engineered to approximate the experience of a seizure for those who are not.
06/12/09
Top CriticThe Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is a near-perfect summer entertainment thriller that shows good story, good director and good actors trump gaudy special effects any day.
06/12/09
Top CriticKinetic director Tony Scott balances his need for speed and flash with fleshed-out drama, making Pelham the best of his recent outings.
06/12/09
Top CriticAt first it's exciting, but as the film progresses, that quick-cut, never-stop pacing seems increasingly desperate.
06/12/09
Top CriticAgainst all odds and better advice, director Tony Scott, screenwriter Brian Helgeland and main protagonists Denzel Washington and John Travolta take a much-loved genre classic and arguably make it better.
06/12/09
Top CriticThe Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, an energetic updating of the 1974 mass transit thriller, takes account of how much the character of New York has changed.
06/12/09
Top CriticMost of the film’s energy is generated by flamboyant cinematography and music-video cutting, and much of that energy is false.
06/12/09
Top CriticCrisp supporting turns by John Turturro (as a hostage negotiator) and James Gandolfini (as the mayor) combine with plenty of vehicular mayhem to make this a superior diversion.
06/12/09
Top CriticLike most of Scott's recent films, this one ends in self-indulgent silliness. You end up asking yourself, how do the few fun bits of the film manage to survive in the midst of so much lousy filmmaking?
06/12/09
Top CriticNot a bad way to pass a couple hours, as long as you don't sit too close to the screen and are inured to a steady barrage of loud dialogue that doesn't bother to be clever.
06/11/09
Top CriticLatest News for The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
August 27, 2009:
10 Hair-raising Moments With John Travolta
Travolta's brutal butch hair -- or lack thereof, handlebar moustache aside -- in this week's remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 got us nostalgic for ol' dimple chin's former... More...
June 19, 2009:
Submit to the RT Show and Earn a Cool $100
Time for the weekly update, folks. As always, thanks to everyone who has submitted reviews and helped contribute to the show. Every week, we continue to bring you a lively,... More...
June 15, 2009:
Watch RT on Current TV
This week, The Rotten Tomatoes Show will be looking at the movies that opened over the weekend, with help from you (the Rotten Tomatoes community), the Current TV community, and... More...
June 13, 2009:
Denzel and Travolta co-star in remake of classic hostage drama. 
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