"The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" * (out of four): Joining the ever-increasing ranks of pointless remakes, this movie marks a low point for nearly everyone involved.

In an ideal world, a movie should be remade only if the director or the writer have something new and interesting that they want to do with the story. Consider, for example, "A Fistful of Dollars" (or to a lesser extent "Last Man Standing"), both remakes of Kurosawa's venerated "Yojimbo", and still engaging and exciting films in their own right. On the other end of the spectrum, there is "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3", a remake of the 1974 film of the same name. Following the same story - the hijacking of a New York City subway train - it strips away any intrigue and suspense, leaving only a plot that is full of holes and characters that rarely rise above the level of one-note.

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