Movie Review # 10 The Taking of Pelham 123

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Denzel Washington, John Travolta Directed by Tony Scott

Pelham 123 is an average movie, for a summer flick it is moderately entertaining, but I'm not ultimately going to recommend this one. I did not read the book or see the original, however my gut tells me that this story worked better in 1974. Travolta who plays "bad guy" Ryder is very average. He sports his bad boy goatee proudly, and hams it up every chance he gets desperately trying to steal scenes away from the more talented Mr. Washington. It doesn't work even though Denzel basically sleeps through this performance he still is better and more watchable than the current version of John Travolta who I guess thinks he is like Al Pacino and can just yell his way through a movie now. The bit players here are James Gandolfini and John Turturro who both do there best to keep things moving. Sadly it is the direction and crappy cinematography that makes this a less than admirable effort by the usually "good for a popcorn flick" director Tony Scott (Top Gun). It is filled with crappy city shots that serve as goofy transitions in between Denzel and Travolta talking. You feel nothing really for Ryder as a bad guy, his plan is weak, and his motives are not well-described. Denzel on the other hand has a character in Garber that is worth caring about, but really compared to his other work, he is strictly cashing a paycheck here. It is DVD worthy, but hopefully your making out with someone while your watching it. I will generously give it a 5.0 memorable Morgan Freeman lines from Shawshank just because Denzel has the kinda Morgan Freeman voice that draws you in...and Andy Would laugh at how silly Travolta's escape plan was.

Up next for Travolta is the silly looking Old Dogs which is like another Wild Hogs...wow I'm standing in line already...after that he might be back to straight to DVD. Denzel has Inside Man 2 which intrigues me and an interesting sounding Book of Eli which features the beautiful Mila Kunis. Scott has The Warriors remake...a movie that should not be remade.

Food For Thought: I had a half and half ice cream Birthday Cake and Cotton Candy...it was awesome as usual. Also just so you know all equal parts Rose's Lime/Pineapple Juice/Smirnoff V Twist...shake it, strain it, serve it up in a martini glass...you made yourself a nice Key Lime Martini...yeah bout 6 of those and you'll love this movie.