The Taking of Pelham 123 is a 2009 thriller film, directed by Tony Scott, and starring Denzel Washington, and John Travolta. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Morton Freedgood (writing under the pseudonym John Godey), and is a remake of the original 1974 film adaptation, which was also remade in 1998 as a TV movie. Production of the current remake began in March 2008, and the film was released on June 12, 2009.

Plot

Four heavily armed men, led by Bernard Ryder (John Travolta), board the departed from Pelham Bay Park Station at 1:23 p.m., and proceed to take control of it.

Meanwhile, MTA dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is assigned to the Rail Control Center, due to an ongoing investigation that he took a bribe to recommend a Japanese car manufacturer for the next subway car contract. The group then uncouple the front car from the rest of the train and hold the passengers in this front car hostage. One of the hijackers, Bashkim (Victor Gojcaj), kills an undercover police officer in the course of the action. Ryder and a former MTA train operator named Ramos (Luis Guzman) settle down in the front of the car, while the other hijackers watch the hostages in the back. They demand $10 million in ransom money to be paid within 60 minutes. For each minute past the deadline, one passenger will be killed. Garber and Ryder exchange conversations through the microphone, while Ramos and Emri (Robert Vataj) set up a wi-fi booster apparatus to enable Ryder to access his laptop in the tunnel to watch the stock market plunge nearly 1,000 points during the next hour.