Pelham 1 2 3

I'll give it a look. Denzel is my guy for films, I have seen every film he has ever done, so I feel obligated to check this one out.

 

Turned out I liked it much better than I thought I would. Definitely entertaining, but they didn't even try to do anything to match the punchline of the first one.

 

Gesundheit.

 

Mega-bomb in terms of the actors involved and their salaries. Only finished in 3rd place with $25 mil. It must've cost $100 mil to make. Will check it out on DVD.

 

Loved the original, especially the score. My experience with Tony Scott is that everything is bigger, faster, louder. Gee, not much of that at the Cineplex these days. Updating for its own sake, or just to get scarier looking guns, is a bad reason.

Of course, I'll know more after I see this one.

BTW, Walter Matthau had a fascinating run, going from comedies to dramas to action flicks to romantic leading man roles, all while looking like a bloodhound. "Charley Varrick" was a keeper film of his, with a strong Joe Don Baker performance and another chance for Dean Wormer to play a baddie.

Regarding the first Pelham -- "One Two Three" rather than "1 2 3" -- I remember thinking that it would have been fun to see one of the subway car hostages played by Charles Bronson, as Paul Kersey, out for a New York nightime mugger/rapist hunt.

Also, Matthew Broderick's dad played the train engineer in the original.

 

What I remember about the original was that is did a great job of capturing the feel of riding the subway on the weekend in the big apple.

 

I'll definitely be watching it this weekend. Washington hardly ever disappoints.

 

There's a scene in the trailer where somebody actually says "Somebody just hijacked Pelham 123." As if anyone would care enough to ID a train by its number -- any natural reaction would be "somebody just hijacked a subway train." Just seemed terribly forced to get the name of the movie out there one more time.

Thinking I'll just rent this one.

 

Until now I had no idea what that line from the Beastie Boys' "Sure Shot" was all about:

"Well, it's the takin' of the Pelham One, Two, Three/If you want a doo-doo rhyme then come see me..."

No, I'd never heard of the original. No, I'm not a "film" buff. No fail on me. But I do ask once again how many original ideas make it from screenplay to silver screen anymore.

 

Of all the things audiences are asked to suspend belief for in movies, a throwaway line that probably didn't even make the final cut bothers you? Clearly an editor

 

Just got back from it. Enjoyed it, but I'm an easy audience. Actually didn't enjoy the last 20 minutes as I was dying to take a piss but didn't know when the damn thing was going to end so didn't leave. It was certainly too over the top, but Denzel's always enjoyable.