2009 (Tony Scott) 14A, 105 min
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta

In 1974, Hollywood gathered a homely bunch of actors to make a fast, efficient thriller about the hijacking of a New York subway train. Walter Matthau, Martin Balsam and George Costanza's Dad - as schlubby and grumpy as Manhattan itself, at that time. The city has gone through a lot in the last 35 years, undergoing a sleek makeover, and so has the movie. Instead of Matthau's quivering jowls, we have Denzel Washington's steely gaze - need I say more? Happily, support from James Galdolfini, Luis Guzmán and John Turturro remind us that the Big Town still has some of that old nasty, grubby attitude. Director Tony Scott’s fidgety camera-work naturally focuses on the city's new sheen, but lower Manhattan’s stately bones still show.