The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A train dispatcher must navigate a high-stakes negotiation with a desperate hijacker who has taken a New York City subway car hostage.
The story
After a criminal and his accomplices hijack a New York City Subway 6 train at 77th Street, they take the passengers hostage and demand $10 million in cash within 60 minutes. Walter Garber, a veteran train dispatcher at the Rail Control Center, is forced into the role of negotiator. As the clock ticks, Garber must manage the demands of the hijacker, known as Ryder, while the situation escalates. The tension rises as the hijackers use the internet to monitor the stock market, and Garber must navigate the complexities of the crisis while dealing with the escalating demands of the desperate men on board the train.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
A group of men, including a man calling himself Ryder, hijacks a New York City Subway 6 train at 77th Street, taking passengers hostage and demanding $10 million within 60 minutes. Walter Garber, a veteran dispatcher, is forced to negotiate with them. The hijackers use the internet to monitor the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Garber's boss eventually sends him home, only for the situation to worsen when Ryder kills the train's motorman to force the police to bring Garber back. The plot reveals that Ryder is Dennis Ford, a former stockbroker who was recently released from prison for embezzlement. He intends to manipulate the stock market via put options. After a series of escalating events, including a failed police delivery of the ransom and a hostage's self-sacrifice, Garber is flown to the terminal to personally deliver the money. He eventually confronts Ryder on the Manhattan Bridge. In a final confrontation, Ryder refuses to return to prison and gives Garber a 10-second ultimatum. Garber is forced to shoot and kill Ryder. The film ends with Garber returning home to his wife, while the city prepares to handle the legal fallout of his admission of a prior bribe.
- First release year
- 2009
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tony Scott
- Writers
- Brian Helgeland · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Denzel Washington · Walter Garber; John Travolta · Dennis 'Ryder' Ford / Mr. Blue; John Turturro · Lieutenant Vincent Camonetti; Luis Guzmán · Phil Ramos / Mr. Green; Michael Rispoli · John Johnson; James Gandolfini · the Mayor of New York
- Genres
- action; thriller
- Themes
- negotiation; hostage crisis; corporate greed
- Tone and mood
- tense; action-packed
- Premise and plot tags
- hostage_negotiation; train_hijacking; financial_fraud
- Source material / true-story basis
- John Godey novel
- Franchise connections
- The Taking of Pelham 123
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the performances and others criticizing the direction and comparison to the 1974 original.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 51% · scale: percentage · review count: 230; Metacritic · score: 55 · scale: 100 · review count: 33
- Awards and nominations
- Best Stunts · Best Stunts of 2009 · win
- Production trivia
- The film was originally scheduled for a July 2009 release but was moved to June.; John Travolta chose not to promote the film due to the death of his son.; The production required the cast and crew to attend a track safety course.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…