'The Taking of Pelham 123' Review

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 with, from left, Gary Basaraba as the kidnapped engineer, John Travolta as the gang leader, and Luis Guzmán as his henchman. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3/31287/main

I vaguely remember the 1974 version with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw and would like to see it again to compare it to this one. I recall it was good but didn't have the big budget, high tech flashy editing of the current one which I saw today as a Father's Day gift to myself since my wife and son declined going. It's their loss as I enjoyed it a lot. I sat with another loner, the former mayor of our town. We've known him for years as he started out as a WMCA gymnastics instructor when our son was young. He got his teaching degree and worked his way up to his current position as a high school principal in another town. It seems his wife wasn't interested in seeing Pelham too so we had a nice chat before the film started.
But I digress and I don't care because it is MY day. This version stars Denzel Washington in the Matthau role and John Travolta in the Shaw part. Denzel plays a NYC subway dispatcher trying to save the passengers taken hostage by Travolta and his gang who high jacked their car and will execute them if his ransom demands pass the short deadline. There's enough tension as every minute brings new obstacles in getting the money delivered on time. Action takes place above the ground too with plenty of suspenseful chases and noisy crashes.
During the story we learn that Denzel & Travolta's characters have some things in common and others suspect they might be working together. Travolta always has a good time playing manic villains and this meaty role is no exception. He has the showier part than Denzel's soft spoken character who is at the mercy of Travolta, the mayor colorfully played by James Gandolfini, the shrewd police hostage negotiator ( John Turturro), and his wife who wants him home safely.
Director Tony Scott who has worked before with Denzel knows how to make these kinds of tense, fast paced action movies with a kinetic visual flair so don't let this one pass you by. Seeing it on the big screen gives its scope full impact instead of watching it later scrunched on TV.