31 December 2008

Next time, take the express

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

(1974)
Oh, this is just silly, but at least it provided a few cheap thrills, which is more than I can say about the ostensibly brainy films I saw at the multiplex earlier in the day.

Zero points for guessing how the Martin Balsam character is going to give himself away, but points for guessing which passenger is the undercover cop and major points for foreseeing the Robert Shaw character's emergency exit plan.

Tony Scott's remake is due out in the new year, w/ Denzel in the Matthau role (he must get tired of that comparison) and Travolta, I gather, as the heist mastermind. Hard to imagine why a remake would be necessary except perhaps to adjust for the now-comical economics of a million-dollar ransom demand and being able to ask of the kidnapped riders, "What do they expect for their 35 cents?"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I liked it more than you did. It was exciting! It was funny! And that bastard Robert Shaw is always fun to watch! . . . I gather the new version has some sort of terrorist angle.