Commuters Say Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 Is Outlandish

The remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 was this weekend's big release, but some subway riders feel like it's too much of a leap, even for the big screen. The Daily News spoke to some 6 train riders: One said, "Good luck hijacking this train during rush hour. I don't know how all these gunmen are going to squeeze into the car. They would have to empty some people out first," while another explained, "That token clerk at the [Pelham Park station] booth is mean and angry. He won't even give you change for the machine. That man could take out all four bad guys with his glare. Seriously!" And don't even get the folks on SubChat started—here's one opinion: "I never knew that the Pelham Bay terminated at Coney Island!! It also went past Shea Stadium on the way to CI. I never knew that subway cars can travel at 60+ mph. The most I have seen is about 42 MPH going downhill under Queens Blvd...Instead of halting all traffic under Lex. for a 'police action,' express trains passed and some of them were R32 cars. There were many more and I am sure I will see even more inconsistencies after I watch it for the second and third times."

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By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on June 14, 2009 4:56 PM

Comments [rss]

GREGORYABUTLER

WHY did they have the 6 train going to Coney Island?

The 6 could go to Flatbush Av/Brooklyn College or New Lots Av, simply by following the 4 and 5 tracks.

But Coney Island isn't even an IRT stop - it's BMT and IND and those trains have a wider guage - the wheels on IRT cars aren't far enough apart to fit on them.

Didn't they even bother to hire a technical advisor?

And in the original movie, the train went to South Ferry, where you could actually send a 6 train because Bowling Green's tracks border on South Ferry's.

Why didn't they just do that?

nevermindtheend

The thing that really got me was other trains running during and immediately after the hijacking.

longacre

I never knew that subway cars can travel at 60+ mph.
The trains are able to, there just are not many places where they can go that fast. The 60th Street East River tunnel (N/R/W trains) is one stretch where they regularly hit 60, and I think they get pretty close along the Central Park West express (A/D trains) on the long, nonstop straightaway between 59th and 125th.

I remember reading there used to be more lines where such speeds were attained, but after the 1991 Union Square wreck (train was going over 40mph in a 10mph zone), the MTA installed more and more speed sensors around the system which activate the emergency brake if a train is moving over the designated speed for a particular area.

nycnewsjunkie

Theres a video on youtube of a trains speedomoter going up to 60 mph under that east river tunnel.

JenChungsBaby

I haven't seen the new one, but I'd bet my left nut that it has more explosions, more corny dialogue and less sympathetic characters than the original.

longacre

I'm sure there are some hidden Xenu references thrown in for good measure.

longacre

I'm sure there are some hidden Xenu references thrown in for good measure.

MrManhattan

Come on, it was made by Hollywood.

You know, the guys who spend their lives making movies about what they think our lives are like. And usually failing.

lemon

Just to chime in from wall street: why would the stock market crash because some lunatics took hostages in the subway? And commodities futures prices don't move 900% in a day: they go limit up and the price isn't allowed to move any further.

The trains running despite the hijacking and the coney island bit bothered me.

r1b2

We just showed the original to my son this weekend. We'll go see this remake, but man that one from 74 was great. Robert Shaw was sinister; Travolta is like a less sexy Freddie Mercury. And Hector Elizondo? Evil. I like Denzel, but he's no Matthau.

keepdiscoevil

Have you seen the ads for this film at subway stops?

"Life is easy: you just have to do what I say."

They must have ran out of money before hiring a advertising firm.

ed_Extinct

It's called Fiction.

slograffiti

nope, i'm pretty sure movies are REAL LIFE.

emilydickinson

The original is fantastic because 1981 NYC is the star. The trains, graf, the way the cops talk and the general disrepair of the city is like a time capsule. There's not enough plot for a remake in a sanitized New York. Imagine remaking "Fort Apache, The Bronx" now.

GREGORYABUTLER

It's actually 1973 New York City that's the star!

Think2wice

Fort Apache luxury lofts. Just minutes away from Midtown!

Reflect

http://whiskeys-place.blogspot.com/2008/07/why-hollywood-sucks-no-middle-class.html

kntau

Up was sold out two weeks in a row, so it came to this.. meh. The editors must have done it on purpose cause the continuity was like so spaghetti western.

Denzel is my god-damned hero tho.

Kevin Walsh

The first and best is on Channel 11 Sunday night

jaycjay

"There were many more and I am sure I will see even more inconsistencies after I watch it for the second and third times."

So in making that kind of film, it pays off to put in a few inconsistencies.