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Could it be that the 2009 remake of 1974's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is one of the first recent remakes that wasn't completely, roundly scorned by film geeks everywhere, simply because it was remade at all? Remakes are, unfortunately, a commonplace occurrence in Hollywood these days, but I wonder if the same amount of ire anyone had for even the concept of remaking Psycho was matched with regards to this New York City-set thriller.

Having caught both the original film, starring Walter Matthau as a crusty New York transit cop facing off against a group of men who hijack a subway train so they can walk away with a cool million dollars and Robert Shaw as the head hijacker, and the Tony Scott redo, starring Denzel Washington in the Matthau role and John Travolta in the Shaw role, it's interesting that both movies have a lot of similarities, a lot of differences, and a fair amount of flaws. Okay, the new version has the most flaws and diverges heavily from the original, but I'm hard-pressed to dub one of the two movies the victor just yet.

I was surprised, for example, to enjoy the Washington-Travolta pairing in the new Pelham as much as I did, based on the mediocre reviews most critics gave the picture. Though I won't go too much into the flaws this film has (for example, if you don't like the style Tony Scott likes to throw at you in his movies...well, you may not like this movie very much), I will say that it's an entertaining enough thriller on its own, whether it stands up to the original. The original, of course, is beloved in some circles as an exciting thriller that's far smarter than most of its ilk, and rightly so. Matthau and Shaw are at the tops of their games here. Shaw certainly has a showier role in Jaws as the grumpy yet shrewd Quint, but as Mr. Blue, he's a chilling villain, thanks in no small part to how very businesslike he sees the operation of hijacking a subway train, threatening to kill people, and stealing money. Matthau is his usual gruff-yet-lovable self, as Zachary Garber, a transit cop whose day begins by giving some Asian businessmen a tour of his office, and ends with him staring, like a hound dog, into the eyes of one of the hijackers.

That last shot - that of Matthau glaring triumphantly at his prey - is so unique and so unlike the ending of most thrillers, so much so that I was convinced (correctly, too) that the new version wouldn't even consider redoing it. I know each movie has to have its own voice, but I can say with no uncertainty that if you watched both movies, you'd remember the ending to the first film far more than the second one. That unique quality runs throughout all of the original Pelham, a movie that's trying more to evoke reality than trying to scare you. The reality that director Joseph Sargent portrays so smartly, so vividly is New York in the mid-1970s. Obviously, much has changed in the past 35 years, both before and after the horrific events of 9/11. Terrorism was not as prevalent nor as immediate; the city wasn't as friendly now (and I know you think I'm crazy, but back in the 1970s, at least, Disney hadn't taken over even a single inch of real estate), and the people who ran things had their heads in the wrong place altogether.

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