The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3: A film that offers quite the ride!

In our weekly column, Thriller Thursdays, we recommend specially-curated thrillers that’ll send a familiar chill down your spine.

The temperature, the tempo, and the thrill that The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 generates are pretty much encapsulated in the beginning, as the credits roll out alongside subway trains as they zip past in psychedelic turbulence. The villains strut into a station with Travolta looking absolutely wicked. On the other side of the spectrum the control centre of the underground system, Denzel, a train dispatcher, working the Rail Control Centre, is calm and cool, as he realigns trains and strategizes track changes. Protagonists are established and the credits are still rolling. And then Travolta goes to the train driver, fishes out his gun, and his partner takes over the driver’s seat.

Director Tony Scott is an impassive and dependable director of the unsubtle and in-your-face. On his worst days (Domino, The A-Team) he still manages to direct films with an intent that has far more energy than substance. The Taking of Pelham 123 is an example of both the talent and the malaise of his oeuvre, flawed and fascinating as it is.

There is something about closed spaces which lend themselves well to suspense the inside of a train, the cabin of an aircraft, a vehicle, or an isolated home. Some of the most heart-thumping thrillers have had action in closed spaces, which has given suspense its claustrophobic edge Here, of course, the whole shebang is lengthy, and a strangely intimate conversation between Travolta and Denzel, as each measures the other out, with the former weighing his ability to leverage the latter in his negotiation for obscene gains. And though there’s enough action in the denouement to satisfy the thriller-craving, the intrigue comes in the contrast the protagonists present with their personalities and approach. There is a fascinating complexity built into the conversation, though they physically get to meet only somewhere in the third act.

Of course, it’s all about Travolta and his nasty merry men hijacking an underground train to Pelham, at exactly 1.23 pm, so they could ask for a ransom of ten million dollars. As it transpires, Travolta has other things in his mind, as he keeps watching the stock exchange prices on his laptop, generally gleeful in seeing its collapse.  What elevates the drama is that at the other end is Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), who himself is facing charges of corruption, which the head hijacker Ryder (John Travolta) is aware of and exploits. Garber is garrulous and more importantly can engender easy-going conversation with Ryder. And as the city decides what to do, the time saved in this proves to be a valuable asset.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is of course a remake of 1974 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three which also had the magnetism of Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. The fulcrum of both films is the chemistry between the protagonists. And possibly the remake scores because of the sheer abrasiveness that Travolta brings into his role. His Ryder’s unpredictability and volatile outbursts result in lives and some of the most arresting moments of the film. The counterpoint of a tainted Denzel provides the calm canvas on which Travolta splatters innocent blood.

The film is garish in its colour schemata and jagged in its editing. There is a restlessness in the way it’s put together which serves well in creating strangely jumpy suspense. Which probably is a deliberate choice, considering the revelations of identities are not part of the thriller template, which finally boils down to a chase and a confrontation, which is both interesting and pedestrian at the same time. After an endless diet of thrillers, we know that originality is really a concept of the unexpected. Here, there is some short change, as the suspense is ‘how will it happen’ rather than ‘if’. But, ultimately, this is a clash of two personalities, we have a nice little turn of phrase, in the end, to happily go home with.

But the strength of the film, the close concentration on the two personalities, is also its bête noire, as the passengers are given little space and are generally rendered personality-less. And The emotional connection with the audience, which could have made the film far more magnetic, is largely missing. To that extent, it is over-jazzed and under-written.

But within that constraint, it is a delight to see New York City become a character of the tale, with its traffic and police sirens, subways and bridges, jams and frenetic pace. To that extent, it is a city movie, exploiting its restless beats to provide the atmospherics, and finally enclosing evil in a firm grip to bestow its own form of closure. A thriller with redemption in its heart is finally its own reward.