MovieChat Forums > The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Discussion > The 'what this gun can do' scene

The 'what this gun can do' scene

posted 11 years ago by avatar1140
6 replies | jump to latest

I think it was a mistake to have the main villain "explain" to the hostages how deadly his weapon is. Somehow, it makes him look less dangerous. It's as if he needs to reassure himself (and the passengers) that he indeed has a deadly weapon, when you can just LOOK at it and know that it's far deadlier than a handgun.
It's like the old "don't mess with me, I am a Black Belt in Karate" ploy. NOBODY uses that anymore (if they ever did?) because it's nothing but talk. If you are a real tough guy (in this case the head honcho) then there is no need to verbally let people know it. Especially since you are holding a big gun. All you need is body language and a facial expression (which he already had in droves).
Yeah, the whole spiel about how powerful the weapon is could have been left out completely. It is unnecessary.

[–] uziforu 10 years ago

he's making it clear it is a dumb idea to attempt to rush him so I don't c anything wrong with that scene.

[–] elduderino09 10 years ago

It might have been handled poorly by a bad actor. But Shaw delivered the lines flawlessly (as usual). Ya folla?

[–] mail-2217 10 years ago

I disagree and it makes me think you're not old enough to have seen it at the time. Back then, very few people were aware of those kinds of weapons. You'd see 'machine guns' in war movies (usually unreliable), but the idea of 'terrorists' with those sophisticated weapons in an urban setting was almost unknown. Hell, cops still carried six shooters.

He was quite prudent to tell them that... even if they tried to rush him en masse... it was pointless. Otherwise, perhaps a few 'courageous' guys might've given it a try--which might've been a viable strategy if he had more 'conventional' weapons.

[–] TorontoJediMaster 9 years ago

That's the point. He was letting them know that any effort to overpower him would be futile. You could tell by his tone of voice. He wasn't bragging. He was informing.

[–] arthurab 8 years ago

Exactly. He didn't WANT to shoot anyone, but WOULD if he had no alternative. He was all business. He was explaining the power of the weapon to the hostages to discourage anyone from trying to be a hero. You have to understand his character before you can understand why he said what he said.

My favorite line in the movie, btw, followed by: "$HIT, PISS, F$CK!!!"

[–] 8 years ago

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