The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

When discussing the "Heist" film genre “The Taking of Pelham 123” is generally considered the crème de la crème by film connoisseurs. This picture along with the "Italian job (1969)" and “Oceans 11 (1960)” are genre defining pieces. If not for these films the genre may have lacked credibility or even ceased to exist. To make my point further the great Quentin Tarrentino recognised this and when creating his “Heist” film (reservoir dogs) and paid homage to the taking of Pelham 123 by using the characters code names present in this picture for his own. So enough with the history of this influential movie and on to the critique.

How does this film fair after all this time? Well unfortunately it's has failed to retain it's edge, yes what was shocking thirty years a go seems rather ineffective now to the point of bordering on "campy" however what it's hasn't lost is it's very intelligent story arc and witty dialogue (especially for the time). One of my favourite things about this film is the character development, from beginning to end each character introduced has an important role and none seem incidental. I initially didn't like the way the actors portrayed the villains by that I mean The acting felt rather wooden but on re-examining this piece I actually found myself thinking that it works and gives the characters an emotionless, cold and cruel persona which of course is perfect for a villain.

Another point it would be outrageous for me to forget is the comedy present here. Yes there are many comedic aspects at work here which is unusual for a film that was considered edgy and violent at the time but for me all but one joke go down rather well. However the one that didn't was the joke about the Japanese visitors who where given a tour of the station, at the time it seems none of them could speak English and thus are insulted by the tour guide on the pretext that the character thought the Japanese men couldn't understand English... later when the man giving the tour asks the Japanese visitors to leave they reply in perfect English and leave showing the character who has repeatedly mocked and condescended to them respect. So if they could understand English all along why didn't they explain that they could or get insulted by the remarks he makes... It makes no sense. But that's just one small complaint.

One final point I would like to make is regarding the ending, at the time critics and reviewers a like where horrified and confused by the vague ending (I won't spoil what it is) but I rather enjoyed it, it's extremely original and I've never saw anything else like. it leaves you to interpret what happens next. It was refreshing to see a film that doesn't rap everything up in a neat little bow.

In conclusion This film is extremely important and helped define a genre and although in retrospect it maybe far away from the masterpiece it seemed at the time it is still a very enjoyable watch.