Review of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) by Nick B — 06 Jan 2010
80/100. I'll keep this one short- it was a thriller that worked and had style. It was funny seeing Walter Matthau in anything other than comedy since I'm used to him being one of the Grumpy Old Men. This also had George's father in it from Seinfeld. Both did a great job.
The tension was solid. Typical movie where they make all new yorkers seem like abrasive, loud-mouthed punks, but I found it funny in this movie whereas other movies it is sort of a distraction. The movie didn't take itself too seriously, which I think is what made it work so well. Everytime the captors would make more demands to Walter Matthau's character, he would respond with a smart-aleck burn. Even the ending was sort of 70s-80s sitcom-like. Sounds weird, but it worked- the tone of the movie was very consistent.
Basic plot line was that a group of heavily armed men hold a train hostage to get money as ransom- if they don't get their money by a certain deadline, they will start killing hostages. How will their plan play out? Will they get away with it? There is no deep messages or things to think about with this, so there is no need to go into details. This movie is a good example of one that you can sit down and enjoy- in a manner very different from Michael Bay films.
This review of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) was written by Nick B on 06 Jan 2010.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
