The taking of my $12: 1, 2, 3… See? The jokes write themselves. This movie was like watching a bubble float by. Pretty for about three seconds and then it pops and you forget it ever existed. It’s the story of… does it matter? Travolta playing a wall street psycho who hijacks a subway train and Washington playing the dispatcher who talks to him. The movie wasn’t bad so much as it was pointless. First of all, it was a remake. But also it featured a shallow story with one dimensional characters and huge stars who walked through it. It’s so hard to get movies made. Why make one that serves no purpose at all? It’s not even a fun popcorn movie. There’s no fun in it at all. It’s themeless, soulless and empty. Like Disney’s California Adventure. What’s the point? The movie doesn’t succeed as art OR commerce. Now I like Travolta and Washington. They are truly great actors. The characters they play are bland retreads of characters you’ve seen a hundred times before in better movies. Some character layering is attempted but fails whenever Travolta kills someone callously (that’s one tough day trader) or Washington acts like a “regular guy who then goes after the bad guys”. So why do big name actors make shitty movies? The obvious reason: Cash. You always hear stories about how actors “were attracted to the script” but you never hear about how actors are paid lots of money to be in stupid movies. Their accountants were attracted to the script. Director Tony Scott keeps things moving and yet somehow makes things look dull and hyper-real at the same time. But although he keeps things moving, where you’re going is the problem. You don’t really care if Travolta get captured or if Washington outsmarts him. Notice I’m not using the character names, because you never really feel like they’re playing characters. You just feel like you’re watching famous people at work. Kind of like watching the Queen of England wave. This movie hits a new low for disposable entertainment. Not only will you forget about it right after you’ve seen it, you’ll probably forget about it as you’re watching it. I have a feeling it was being forgotten as it was being made. Denzel, give me another “Training Day”. John, give me another “Battlefield Earth”. Just kidding. Please don’t. Even for the Ed Wood value, it was an abomination. John, give me another “Pulp Fiction”. How about it?
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