Just another remake. Tony Scott can be credited for having his own style, but I don't buy it. His flashy camera shots, high-tech maximizing/minimizing computer windows, and flow of subtitles on the screen are becoming quite repetitious; as though he's trying to glamorize a lost movie with some cheap technical tricks. And either Travolta talks too much, or I'm just comparing him to Robert Shaw's quiet heavy presence in the original; but the way Washington handles his lines proves his huge superiority. Wish we could go back to the days when the Scott/Washington duo made movies like Crimson Tide.
Mo says: 
Although I like Tony scott's works, I'm one of serious fans of Travolta & Washington, hijacking & hostage taking is my favorite topic & and I never left my seat through watching, I think the movie could have been worked on, better . I agree Washington's superiority on Travolta,moreover the real reasons for all of "Ryder" sadistic-homicidal behavior remained unclear till the end .Also as you said the sound & camera movements was too much .At first moments I got some similarity between it & "Inside man " but lack of that clever screenplay and obviously more violent. To me seems a good motivation for seeing the original version too.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll like the original version better (if you can forgive it's old technique). At least it's devoid of Scott's camera tricks.
ReplyDelete(And it contains a major subplot about a police on board the subway, which as you saw, Tony Scott took care of very early in his own version.)