‘To remake or not to remake, that is the question' By Jeff The Taking of Pelham One Two Three was a crackerjack thriller from 1974 about an NYC transit cop (Walter Matthau) drawn into a cat-and-mouse game with a criminal mastermind (Robert Shaw) holding possession of a crowded subway car for a ransom fee of 1 million dollars (hey, remember, it was a lot back then). The original Pelham had a respectable workman-like aesthetic to it and an optimally-paced story that ended in a classic moment of perfectly realized absurdity that still brings a smile to my face when I think about it. It grew into such a cult favorite that a remake was inevitably due. First came a television version in 1998 (I don't think I have to tell you how that went), and now, it's back on the big screen. Directed by Tony Scott (the younger, ADD-riddled, less talented brother of the superior Ridley Scott), The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 sees Denzel Washington play NYC subway dispatcher Walter Garber (a … [Read more...]