Travolta spellbinding in Taking of Pelham 123

Be prepared for edge-of-your-seat tension from the moment the credits start rolling in The Taking of Pelham 123.

This nerve-racking re-make of the 1970s original sees John Travolta at his spellbinding best in an hypnotic and completely believable portrayal of a maniac hostage-taking criminal, driven by revenge and avarice.

Travolta deserves an Oscar for this tour de force in a role that could so easily have gone over the top or failed to convince in the hands of a less-accomplished actor.

Suspension of disbelief for the audience is complete as Travolta changes his mood by the second, portraying the rush of adrenaline coursing through the veins of the corporate fraudster Ryder.

Director Tony Scott has pulled-off a great feat by producing a film that is in many ways superior to the 1974 interpretation of John Godey’s novel.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is completely updated and not simply a remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. They have similar titles, but the thread of the plots are distinctly different.

In the 1974 picture, hoodlum Robert Shaw hijacks a subway car and Walter Matthau, as a harassed transport cop, has to talk him out of murdering too many commuters.

In the new version it’s John Travolta with a machine gun and Denzel Washington talking him through an ordeal for the passengers and audience alike over a radio link.

The World Trade Centre attack of 9/11/2001 is never mentioned but the absence of the twin towers in the aerial views of the city skyline speaks volumes.

Clearly the film plays on the palpable fear of terrorist attacks in a city that lives on the edge. Its citizens are jumpy but somehow resigned to their inevitable status as targets. Yet, in this film no-one ever panics.

Travolta’s character counts on the mayor giving-in to his demands for cash in a city that must now always fear the worst, its public officials haunted by the spectre of being blamed for inaction.

Having captured a subway train and decoupled the front carriage he picks an ideal spot and hooks-up his laptop to check his stocks and shares ready to work the clever twist in this tale.

Pelham 123 is one of those movies that seems to flash by. It runs for two hours but told in "real time" it seems more like 60 minutes, as we will the time to pass more slowly.

Denzel Washington carried the flag on the preview tour in the UK and he is very convincing too as Walter Garber - through his own agonising sub-plot as a transport official demoted during a bribe-taking probe.

Ryder makes him his soul-mate and somehow that allows us to identify with Travolta's monster - even though he is a cold-blooded killer - thanks to his friendly rapport with Garber.

Scott injects action into the film through scenes of delivering the ransom in a high-speed convoy. The question "Why didn't we use a helicopter?" is asked but left unanswered in the screenplay. They answer patently is that a helicopter transfer would have been boring.

The film has a tense finale, providing - like an American audience - we can fully believe in the heroism of a transport official with a gun in his hand for the first time.

Despite the rather over-blown ending, this thriller explodes from the big screen to deliver a really great night at the cinema.

Directed by Tony Scott. Starring Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, Michael Rispoli, James Gandolfini 15A cert, gen release. Running time:121 min

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