MOVIE: THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123

This novel-turned-Tony-Scott-blockbuster is so stuffed with cheese, it’s like watching an expensive fondue party – albeit with Hollywood’s finest on the skewers. When armed men, led by Ryder (Travolta), board a subway train, take hostages, and demand a tidy ten mill, it’s Denzel’s pot-bellied dispatcher who gets stuck with the ransom call. And this is when the film’s best scenes occur. Their tennis-match banter uncovers some tasty character flaws, and you thank God Travolta accepted another bad-guy script. Then there’s more cheese, blasé hostages, poorly-cast actors suffering in their scripts (Turturro, Gandolfini) and the Cracker Barrel of an ending. The American everyman who saves the day is such a prevalent theme nowadays, it should be a video store section. So, place Pelham in this genre, embrace the cheese and enjoy the ride. (RK)