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This Tony Scott film has it all. The screenplay by Brian Helgeland (Man on Fire) moved along quite well with tense moments along the way. The leading roles played by Denzel Washington & John Travolta completed their roles with flying colors. Although there is extreme explicit language in this film used mainly by John Travolta's character Ryder, the script seemed to keep things in check, much like a madman talking to a catholic priest. Washington and Travolta kept things afloat, while pretty much the other portions of the film were there for eye candy . This is the kind of film both could do while asleep. We are also in for a pretty exciting ride as Tony Scott swings his camera around New York city streets and underground subway tunnels. Although the original film in '74 proves it's probably going to stay the truest to the book, we find that the orginal cast Walter Mathau & Robert Shaw tends to leave us a bit disappointed. Our story center around Walter Garber (Washington), a lead manager for the MTA. He is currently involved in some controversy over a bribe he may or may not have taken. He has currently been reassigned to desk duty as dispatcher in the subway command center. His day will be unlike any other as armed men hijack a NYC subway 6 train and hold all of its passengers hostage. The leader of the hijackers wishes to be called Ryder (John Travolta), and tells Garber that he wants 10 million dollars within an hour or he will start killing hostages. The police (led by John Turturro) are brought, however, Walter remains as the lead negotiator at Ryder's insistence. The plot seems to remain a bit stale with many unanswered questions and places where the viewer has to make his own assumptions as to the reasons. Ryder puts Walter through the gauntlet for his bribe which leads you to think that these two are going to butt heads in ego driven scenes, exposing each other for who they really are. Just as the battle of wits really begins to rock between these two it unfortunately ends. Travolta, sports a menacing goatee & neck tattoo. His over-the-top lunatic persona befits Travolta as we seem to think this is who Travolta really could be himself deep down. Washington is his level-headed, average Joe adversary here. The rest is all action. Car crashes & shoot-outs ensue. The crashes comes within a sloppy shot scenes where the squad travels by motorcade to deliver the money. The shoot-out starting with a rat crawling up a sniper's leg. Both feature no important characters and situations needed to embellish the film's finale. It's over before you know it which is a let-down. A chase across Brooklyn bridge makes sense for the end with Ryder getting shot by Garber. Scott, despite using clichés like counting down the clock & going into slow-motion, keeps the film gritty & fast-paced. As for the rest of the cast, James Gandolfini, plays the New York Mayor, is good comic relief, getting jokes about Giuliani, subways, and the Yankees but Luis Guzman, playing a disgruntled MTA employee working with Ryder, doesn't get much footage. The film works well as a thriller since the Tony Scott/Denzel Washington team (this is their fourth go-around) always seems to do well. Adding Travolta, always fun as a villain, is another nice touch. Just it doesn't always leave you engaged in what's happening, whether because of the plot or the action lacks emotive. Still it's held together by good acting and solid direction and for that alone. Take a peek.Read full review
A New York City subway dispatcher draws on his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind who's hijacked a subway train in this remake of the 1974 thriller inspired by John Godey's best-selling book. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is drifting through his daily routine when he receives word that a heavily armed gang of four has hijacked a subway train and is holding all of the passengers hostage. Led by cunning master thief Ryder (John Travolta), the gunmen will begin executing everyone aboard should the authorities fail in delivering ten million dollars in the space of just one hour. With the tension in the tunnels rising, Walter races to save the hostages before the shootings start. But through it all, there's one part of Ryder's plan that Walter can't quite comprehend: even if the thieves do succeed in getting their money, how could they possibly get out of the tunnels undetected? ~ Jason Buchanan, RoviRead full review
I really thought that this was an excellent movie. In my opinion, John Travolta gives his best performance yet. Denzel Washington does a wonderful job also (as always). It is a very good movie and I would definatly recommend watching it, but you might not want to watch it with any little kids around, because there is alot of language. It is definatly worth buying a copy. Here's a little discription of the movie: Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is a New York City subway dispatcher whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. Ryder (John Travolta), the criminal mastermind behind the hijacking and leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there's one riddle Garber can't solve: even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape.Read full review
New story well.****1/2......no disappointment ! OELNAMDNAL.....watch multiple times!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I was very disappointed with this movie, in fact I have yet to finish watching it. The Director constantly uses "CHEAP" special effect tricks. Ex. camera circling characters over and over. Lots of slow motion. This was a movie bust big time. The only thing that is good about the movie is Travolta being a bad you know what. He has the same mentality he did in Swordfish. I would not recommended this movie to anyone. Don’t waste your hard earned money.
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