Wednesday 26th August

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Director: Joseph Sargent
Year: 1974
Stars: Walther Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman

I didn't know anything about this movie until the re-make came out earlier this year. But as with a lot of re-makes, almost all the reviews said the original was better. So when I saw it was being shown on TV (again, as happens a lot when re-makes get released) I thought I'd give it a try.

Pelham One Two Three is a New York subway train, which gets taken over by four criminals who take 17 of the passengers hostage and demand a million dollars in return for their safety.

It's not a bad film, as long as you know what to expect. It has a lot less explosions/ action than I suspect the modern-day version of this does, but that in itself is no bad thing. It's a very talky film, with plenty of dialogue. Again, I don't really mind that. In fact, all the separate parts of this film make it sound, to me at least, pretty enjoyable. It's just that, taken as a whole, it doesn't really turn into anything special. Enjoyable, but average.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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About Me

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I live in Bristol with my husband Dan (who I married in July 2007), my son Joe (born 2012) and daughter Jess (born 2015). I work at UWE (the University of the West of England) in Bristol as a Research and Open Access Librarian. I'm orginally from Exeter, so moving back to Bristol is a bit like coming home - especially as I studied for my undergraduate degree here (also at UWE). I love travelling and movies, although I get to do a lot less of both since the birth of our children. Although we have still managed to fit in holidays to the Isles of Scilly, Chamonix and a summer in California since Joe was born.