The Taking Of Pelham 123 is a decent action thriller with flaws which I'll get into later from director Tony Scott whose admirable in making this movie despite it's problems. He puts his own unique touch to the film which might not be one of his best but overall the movie is okay. Denzel Washington is perfect as average joe Walter Garber a dispatcher who gets more than he bargains for what starts off as a seemingly ordinary day at work turns into something much more. Washington is very believable as the character turning in another solid performance among many continuing to show audiences his talent as an actor. If he wasn't in the movie I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did and given the film a lower rating because Washington made it worth watching. Well done. John Travolta is decent as Ryder a mysterious criminal mastermind but I felt he went over the top at times at least to me. I'm not sure if it was his performance or the eventual twist involving his character's past I just couldn't really take seriously. -Spolier- I mean Ryder was some Wall Street broker or something like that who spent a little time in jail and when he gets out he's all of a sudden this real smart bad ass criminal mastermind willing to kill for money. Travolta still turns in a good performance though none the less and he did have nice chemistry with Washington in their scenes together creating tension that builds between them which kind of made up for either his performance or the lack of believability involving his character's twist. The rest of the cast including John Turturro, Luis Guzman, and James Gandolfini are solid as the supporting characters who aren't given a whole lot to do but they're effective in their small roles. The few action sequences are well executed and there's some suspense that worked in it's favor for the most part. The pacing of the movie however was a little slow making it feel longer than the film really was, and the dialog wasn't the best at times. Many characters (like Guzman's who's role is more of an extended appearance) aren't really developed and the ending was a bit predictable but it was fitting for the film I guess. The twist as I mentioned earlier involving Ryder I didn't find very believable but the film is decent for what it was. So if you're in the mood for a good action thriller this might fit the bill but don't expect any classic heist masterpiece. The Taking Of Pelham 123 does have some action, drama, suspense, and good performances by the cast (especially Washington) for the most part who make this film worth the time to watch at least once despite it's flaws.