Bougie Movie Review – The Taking of Pelham 123

In celebration of our love for all things Denzel, I scooped up Bougie Mom and we headed for the theater. We were torn between The Proposal and Pelham. No doubt this says something about us that we chose to go action over romantic comedy. So beyond the fact that the theater had the sound up way too high (the opening music sequence literally caused the seats to shake), we settled in for the ride. And it was a ride, the movie starts off and you immediately understand that there are a few subplots brewing. I'm not going to give away any plot points except to say that Denzel (Walter Garber) is able to make himself a likeable and sympathetic character no matter how flawed a person he plays. Similarly, John Travolta (Ryder) can play a crazy, out of his head bad guy like few others. James Gandolfini plays a Bloomsberg-esque mayor extremely well and I love everything John Turturro does.

The action is fast-paced, enough things get blown up and people blown away to keep the adrenaline pumping. It is a quintessentially New York movie, with classic racing through the streets scenes, an all New York native cast and a plotline that could only happen in the NYC. There are a few laugh-out-loud funny moments and a touching scene between Walter Garber and his wife (played by Aunjanue Ellis) that brought a little tear to the bougie eye. Bougie Mom, at 77, didn't appreciate the language (which seemed gratuitously foul in some cases) but she figured out the hidden plot twist before I did and before it was fully revealed in the movie. (sigh, she's still better at finance than I am)

Bougie Movie Grade: 4 purple pumps out of 5, it's Denzel ya'll… nuff said

Genre: Drama
Running Time: 121 min.
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Tony Scott
Writer: Brian Helgeland, John Godey
Cast: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, Michael Rispoli, James Gandolfini


Catch the movie trailer here. Let me know if you've seen the movie, what did you think?