Its summer time, and that means violent movie time! I walk by movie posters every day, and didn't give this one a second thought for several weeks. But then I read the BaxFax, which has this to say:

Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. John Travolta stars as Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour. As the tension mounts beneath his feet, Garber employs his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages. But there's one riddle Garber can't solve: even if the thieves get the money, how can they possibly escape?

Wow, so it would be kind of fun to see Denzel "employ his vast knowledge of the subway system in a battle to outwit Ryder and save the hostages". I'm in. Unfortunatley, his vast knowledge does not seem so vast. And the game of wits is frankly not much of a game. Lots of mockery (and some spoilers) after the jump. Also, what it all means to the transit zeitgiest.

The crook's clever plan is to get away by sneaking out through a maitainance tunnel! Wow, that's original! Denzel foils them by ... following them and then shooting them. A "game of wits" this was not.

The movie uses numerous cliches to keep us in "suspense". The most overused in John Travolta pointing a gun in a hostage's face and broadcasting a countdown until he pulls the trigger over the radio, unless the police get him random demand X. However, there are car chases, run away trains, and gunfights in the streets ripped off from Heat. The only actual suspense in the film is over whether Denzel is guilty of taking bribes. It turns out he's a corrupted civil servant, but a nice cuddly one that we all are supposed to sympathize with. Compare that to John Travolta, who is trying to create a mystique around his role, but ultimately the "Ryder" character just ends up being an violent ranting gunman in need of pshychological help. You've seen this movie a thousand times. All the characters are Men of Action. The only variable is the subway itself, like the bus in Speed or the train in Under Siege 2.

So if the MTA is the real star of the show, what do the filmmakers have to say about it? Well, basically, they are very interested in showing a good face to transit to the rest of the country. Sure, there were a few "terrorists", but the other main riders were a white mom and her cute son. A black vet, perhaps a little down on his luck, but with the crunch-power to lay down his life. A clean-cut white male teenager. And a wobbly-kneed white guy in a suit. The MTA staff all perform maximially well, keeping a stiff upper lip throughout, and not doing anything rash or stupid - focusing on passenger safety is their #1 goal, courtesy is their #2 goal - except Denzel, who does all kinds of rash and heroic stuff in the last third of the movie - all the while being polite.

The villians are designed not to offend: a nice racial mix - 3/4ths white, one black disgruntled former MTA employee. Ryder, their leader is the boogeyman of the hour - a "Wall Street Guy".  They are called "terrorists", but the label never fits, they are not ideological, they are merely bandits. Well, I take that back, Ryder does seem to have a bit of ideology to him, but it doesn't make any sense:

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NY

This meme doesn't have enough meat on its bones to make much sense, and he ends up just sounding like an average poster on the Courier-Journal's web forums, that is to say one who is perpetually forcasting the immient calamaties brought on by "King Jerry".

Pelham 123 is periodically interspersed with references to the superiority or inferiority of the subway. They mayor's not a big fan (the Sopranos guy, clearly not modeled on Bloomberg). Denzel is in love with it, and in the obligatory final scene where he's crowned King of Gondor, and Arwen shows up and marries him on the spot, and all bow before him, he makes a point of refusing a presidential motorcade parade back to his house, instead he humbly rides transit, stopping by to pick up a half gallon of milk for his fambly. Yay subway!

This movie is designed for people too young to know any better. Stay away.