MovieChat Forums > The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1998) Discussion > Confused Ending?

Confused Ending?

posted 14 years ago by spb104-2
4 replies | jump to latest

so at the apartment the guy sneezes and the 2 cops say i told you its going around....whats this all mean?

[–] Movie_map 14 years ago

It's clearer in the original. The surviving hijacker can be heard throughout the movie sneezing. Sometimes the police could hear him when speaking to the lead hijacker. It was distinctive enough so that they cops recognized it when he sneezed in his apartment.

[–] intexor 13 years ago

I liked this movie for what it is, a low budget TV remake of another movie with quite a pleasing cast. But that very last shot of Bracco and Olmos reopening the door and smiling/winking at the camera as to say "we caught our guy thanks to that sneeze", my god that was such a bad note to end on. It was a serious and pretty dark movie all the way through and then they end it with such a weird quirky moment. Whoever decided to go with that hopefully never works on a TV or movie production again.

What's wrong with just letting the guy sneeze while they are walking around in his apartment, so they start to suspect him and then one of them sees part of the ransom money laying around somewhere? Not that hard if you ask me.

[–] shani-3 12 years ago

I liked this movie for what it is, a low budget TV remake of another movie with quite a pleasing cast. But that very last shot of Bracco and Olmos reopening the door and smiling/winking at the camera as to say "we caught our guy thanks to that sneeze", my god that was such a bad note to end on. It was a serious and pretty dark movie all the way through and then they end it with such a weird quirky moment. Whoever decided to go with that hopefully never works on a TV or movie production again.

What's wrong with just letting the guy sneeze while they are walking around in his apartment, so they start to suspect him and then one of them sees part of the ransom money laying around somewhere? Not that hard if you ask me.

I take it you never saw the original 1974 version? That's how that one ended as well (that one was better, imo, thanks to Walter Matthau's hangdog expression). The final hijacker drawing suspicion by sneezing as the detectives are walking around is very pedestrian and way too easy. The point is that this guy is the most sympathetic of the hijackers, and the audience is somewhat pulling for him to get away with all the money. And he comes this close to doing so--if it weren't for his pesky hay fever. I do see your point about this being a dark movie throughout; a sprinkling of humor, like there was in the first one, would've balanced things out a bit.

Yeah, they're dead; they're--all messed up!

[–] jmatrixrenegade 11 years ago

I second the reply. I'd add that the original had various notes of snarky comedy. Did this version just take it all out? Your concern seems to suggest it did.