I've never seen the original film, so I have no basis of comparison to that one and the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. If you are a fan of Tony Scott, you know exactly what kind of film you're getting. As with most of his films, it's more about ramping up the kinetic energy and give it a pulse whether it needs it or not. Probably the closet in tone and style to this one would be Enemy Of The State. Pace-wise, they are very similar to one another. One thing I'm glad about this particular Tony Scott film is that it was a throwback to his classic style. If this was saturated with his "experimental style", it would have been unbearable to sit through. There are a couple of instances that kind of hint at it, but it never goes any further than that.

As for the plot for Pelham, it's nothing new. Hijacking a bunch of people and using them as hostages isn't groundbreaking. Having it take place in New York, even less so. So, the film really has to rely on the stars to carry this as far as they can take it and I think that's why Tony is the perfect director for that. Denzel Washington is Denzel Washington. That's not a bad thing. It's just that his character really can't get out of the box when he is basically stationary for most of the film and reacting to whatever John Travolta's character is doing. And speaking of Travolta. He is by far the best thing about this one. He's great in a lot of movies, but I think he is even better as a villain. Face/Off anyone?

I was enjoying the movie from start to finish. Well, almost to the finish. The first 2/3 of the movie was great, it's the last 10 minutes of the movie where they dropped the ball. Didn't care for the ending as it's a total letdown. Suicide-by-Denzel just didn't cut it for me. It was just out of nowhere. No chase scene, no bargaining, no begging. Also, I just didn't like the way the movie ends. At least show him and his wife reuniting. Other than that, I thought it was a fun ride. Pun intended. Worth a Rent at best. This movie kinda like a cross between Phone Booth and Speed.

I thought it was fun. No need to own it, but sure is fun to entertain for a while.