Rolling Stone

It's a first-class ride. All aboard.

A review by Peter Travers for Rolling Stone around 2009-06-10

TV Guide Magazine

While director Tony Scott's brash and boisterous take on the material may lack that certain '70s quirkiness, it gets just about everything else exactly right.

A review for TV Guide Magazine around 2009-06-10

Entertainment Weekly

Scott gets into the zip and rush of urban energy with an enthusiasm bordering on hilarity.

A review by Lisa Schwarzbaum for Entertainment Weekly around 2009-06-10

Variety

More than anything a fascinating portrait of how much New York has changed in 35 years, the film delivers the goods in excitement and big-star charisma.

A review by Todd McCarthy for Variety around 2009-06-10

New York Daily News

A fast and relentless hostage thriller that never stops.

A review by Joe Neumaier for New York Daily News around 2009-06-10

The New York Times

Even at a distance from each other (Washington/Travolta), they conduct a tag-team master class in old-style movie star technique, barreling through every cliché and nugget of corn the script has to offer with verve and conviction. Even when you don't really believe them, they're always a lot of fun to watch.

A review by A.O. Scott for The New York Times around 2009-06-10

Chicago Reader

Crisp supporting turns by John Turturro (as a hostage negotiator) and James Gandolfini (as the mayor) combine with plenty of vehicular mayhem to make this a superior diversion.

A review by J.R. Jones for Chicago Reader around 2009-06-10

San Francisco Chronicle

Has all the usual virtues of a good action suspense drama, but it lacks that extra something - that context, that vital interchange - that made the original "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" such a memorable experience in 1974.

A review by Mick LaSalle for San Francisco Chronicle around 2009-06-10

New Orleans Times-Picayune

Tony Scott pushes all the right buttons, crafting a worthy -- and in many ways, a superior -- update.

A review by Mike Scott for New Orleans Times-Picayune around 2009-06-10

ReelViews

Gripping and compelling, and doesn't make us wish we had checked our brains at the theater entrance.

A review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews around 2009-06-10

USA Today

The new Pelham takes the chilling original premise and modifies it for an era steeped in technology, making for an energetic and engrossing adaptation.

A review by Claudia Puig for USA Today around 2009-06-10

New York Post

The new "Pelham," although no classic, is a lot of fun if you're in the right mood.

A review by Lou Lumenick for New York Post around 2009-06-10

Los Angeles Times

So professionally done you rarely have the luxury of taking your eyes off the screen.

A review by Kenneth Turan for Los Angeles Times around 2009-06-10

Portland Oregonian

The film is thus more of a technical showcase than a human drama. It's diverting enough until it gets dumb, but so strong from the start is the certainty that dumb is on the way that you can't get too vexed when it finally arrives.

A review by Shawn Levy for Portland Oregonian around 2009-06-10

Christian Science Monitor

Whereas the original, directed by Joseph Sargent, was essentially a well-oiled B movie, the new incarnation, directed by Tony ("Enemy of the State") Scott, is bristling with high-tech gimcrackery and over-the-top camera flourishes.

A review by Peter Rainer for Christian Science Monitor around 2009-06-10

Chicago Sun-Times

There's not much wrong with Tony Scott's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, except that there's not much really right about it.

A review by Roger Ebert for Chicago Sun-Times around 2009-06-10

Chicago Tribune

The movie is slick, predictable and, thanks mainly to Washington's canny underplaying, fairly diverting.

A review by Michael Phillips for Chicago Tribune around 2009-06-10

Boston Globe

By itself, the new "Pelham" is a solid, suspenseful tale all over again, so long as it stays in the subway tunnels and airless offices of the transit department.

A review by Ty Burr for Boston Globe around 2009-06-10

Philadelphia Inquirer

Washington offers another of his rock-steady performances, playing a career civil servant with a couple of secrets of his own, but confident, diligent, ready to go the distance for the city he loves.

A review by Steven Rea for Philadelphia Inquirer around 2009-06-10

The Hollywood Reporter

Curiously, despite the ever-energetic Tony Scott at the throttle, the sleek new edition isn't as transporting as it should have been.

A review by Michael Rechtshaffen for The Hollywood Reporter around 2009-06-10

Time

If Hollywood is going to remake a '70s movie, it might as well be Pelham, and it ought to work as competently as this one. But wouldn't it be nice, once in a while, for Hollywood to turn contemporary traumas into vigorous movies instead of hijacking the anxieties of the past?

A review by Richard Corliss for Time around 2009-06-10

Village Voice

Scott's redo comes up short in almost every regard against the '74 model--against David Shire's knuckled-brass score, against its mugs' gallery of '70s New York character actors, against Peter Stone's serrated script, and certainly against its wordless punchline.

A review for Village Voice around 2009-06-10

Miami Herald

Just plain silly.

A review by Rene Rodriguez for Miami Herald around 2009-06-10

Slate

It's easy to imagine why Pelham's producers wouldn't want Scott's professional but dull picture to be compared with the 1974 classic.

A review for Slate around 2009-06-10

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

An efficiently engineered piece of studio product, enjoyable enough at times, but with an unmistakable assembly-line quality.

A review by Liam Lacey for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) around 2009-06-10

Baltimore Sun

Any chance to generate atmosphere or sustained comedy and melodrama goes down the tubes, often literally.

A review by Michael Sragow for Baltimore Sun around 2009-06-10

Washington Post

If a few decent actors play their roles and defend their turf, it doesn't matter how preposterous the whole proposition is.

A review by Philip Kennicott for Washington Post around 2009-06-10

The A.V. Club

Tony Scott’s bracingly awful remake/desecration of the classic ‘70s thriller.

A review by Nathan Rabin for The A.V. Club around 2009-06-10

Austin Chronicle

Loud, abrasive, and featuring performances seemingly calibrated to be heard over the cacophonous roar of Travolta's mad, bad overacting.

A review by Marc Savlov for Austin Chronicle around 2009-06-10

Salon

Disposable crap.

A review by Andrew O'Hehir for Salon around 2009-06-10