In a summer filled with Mutants, Vulcans, and giant-transforming-robots from outer space, The Taking of Pelham 123, a heist movie involving a subway train, may seem doomed to obscurity (especially since the train does not transform into a giant fighting robot with laser canons).

Many people may have seen trailer for this Tony Scott helmed remake of the 1973 original (starring Walter Matthau) and dismissed it as a generic summer thriller that wrote a nice big check for two big name actors in order to draw in profit to a run-of-the-mill action-thriller. It is an assumption such as this that lead me to almost missing out on the smartest thing movie Tony Scott directed since “Enemy of the State” (1998).

Without spoiling anything, the plot starts out simple enough. A tattooed, hardcore, foulmouthed handlebar-mustache sporting Ryder (John Travolta) hijacks a New York subway train taking over a dozen hostages with him, and demands $10 million. It just so happens, however, the unlucky bastard on the other end of the train radio when Travolta is making these demands is recently demoted/disgraced train-dispatcher Walter Garbe (Denzel Washington). Garbe quickly becomes hostage negotiator, trying desperately to keep the hostages alive.

I was expecting the usual cornucopia of gunfights, over the top explosions, quick-jarring camera work, and car crashes so gratuitous they could be called pornographic (according to a giant-transforming-robot I know). But save the jarring camera work, these usual staples of Tony Scott movie take up a surprisingly small chunk The Taking of Pelham 123, instead, what the viewers are privy to is a movie in which two A-list leading men talk to each other on walky-talkies for a large majority of the movie, and, for the most, it is damned entertaining.

I say “for the most part,” because Denzel Washington, despite his obvious acting abilities, was unbelievable as his character.

Washington’s character, Walter Garbe is supposed to be a demoralized, disgraced, and all around schlep of a guy (there is even a line in the movie where Washington makes a self-effacing joke about him being overweight). The only problem is, that Denzel Washington, as an actor, commands so much intensity, self-confidence, and respect it is difficult for the viewer to believe him as a “Joe-every-man” type of character.

I wondered would if it was better to switch the casting and have Washington play the ranting-criminal and let Travolta play the unconfident, paunchy, unremarkable train-dispatcher. Then, however, viewers would have been robbed of the best part about the movie, Travolta playing a lunatic.

When I first heard that Travolta was to play a bad-ass train-hijacker, I was skeptical, but the second he spoke onscreen all my fears went away. Travolta plays the character as a hybrid confident man-with-a-plan/reactionary lunatic psychopath with just the right amount of humorous curse words sprinkled in for comedic effect. Yes, Travolta chews the scenery like a cow chews cud, and it can border on over acting. Travolta, however, is not going for an Oscar with this performance, his going for an entertaining a memorable villain.

While not a perfect film by any standards, overall it was an enjoyable thriller. I only had a few complaints, and most of them had to do with the scene where the police are rushing from one end of the city to the other, randomly crashing their cars and motorcycles left and right. The scene could be viewed as an attempt to create a sense of chaos and panic, but the movie is better off without them.

Sometimes, the most thrilling thing can just be John Travolta ranting and raving into a radio.