CHICAGO - MOVIE REVIEWS THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123

MOVIE REVIEWS THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123

The Taking of Pelham 123 is getting fairly decent reviews from critics, several of whom remark that while there isn't much to dislike about the movie, there's also nothing much to get excited about either. Roger Ebert writes in the Chicago Sun-Times , "Nobody gets terrifically worked up, except the special-effects people. Oh, John Travolta is angry and Denzel Washington is determined, but you don't sense passion in the performances." Philip Kennicott in the Washington Post suggests that the movie is more or less a typical display of director Tony Scott's style. "It is animated by a restless, absurd need for excess, for energy and speed and rapid, manic, dizzying camera work. ... The film devolves into self-indulgent silliness, a toxic cocktail of adrenaline and sentiment." Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal concludes "Tony Scott holds his audience hostage to runaway technique." But other critics find much to like about the movie. Claudia Puig in USA Today says that the remake of the 1974 original "benefits from a fresh makeover." Rafter Guzmán in Newsday remarks that the movie "travels fast but stays safely on the rails." And Tom Maurstad in the Dallas Morning News provides a sure ad quote "" The Taking of Pelham 123 starts at a dead run and never stops moving."

12/06/2009