Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, Michael Rispoli, James Gandolfini, Luis Guzman, John Turturro
Tony Scott's remake of the 1974 Walter Matthau/Robert Shaw thriller is inundated with the hyper visuals Scott uses in his films, but the story is involving enough without them. We have disgraced subway executive turned dispatcher Walter Garber (Washington) vs. a disgruntled terrorist named Ryder (Travolta) who has seized control of a subway train and demands $10 million in cash at a specific time. If the ransom is late, Ryder will execute a passenger for every minute it is late. Garber and the police race against time to avoid hostage killings, but with an angry, unhinged criminal like Ryder, you never know what you'll get.
Garber is under investigation by the city of New York for allegedly taking a bribe from a contractor and is relegated to dispatch duty until the investigation is complete. This doesn't sit well with Garber, who maintains his innocence, but he doggedly works to keep the hostages alive and talk Ryder out of killing him. The two men gain a grudging respect for one another. Both men feel cheated by the system and lash out against it, although Ryder takes his anger to deadlier lengths.
Washington gives us a sympathetic Garber, who even if he took the bribe, we find ourselves understanding his motives. Travolta relishes his villain role, and we see the performance within the performance when we learn Ryder may have designs on more than just $10 million. The stock market comes into play. Does the market behave like that in the event of terrorist attacks? I don't know, but the movie makes it sound plausible enough.
Washington and the cast elevate the film from its Die Hard on a Train status to a tense ride. Do we really need the car crashes in which a car flips over twelve times? No, but the unnecessary action doesn't derail the rest of the movie. And it's amazing Garber doesn't have at least a touch of PTSD when all is said and done.
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