10 Movies That Don't Deserve Their 100% Rotten Tomatoes Rating

6. The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three

The 1970s were the decade for the gritty New York-based thriller in which the city itself became something approaching a character in the movies. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three has often been considered the pinnacle of this genre; a fast-paced, tightly plotted exercise in ratcheting up the tension scene by scene as the protagonists navigated the condensed city streets in a race against the clock to catch the bad guys.

Starring Walter Matthau as Lieutenant Garber, hot on the heels of criminal mastermind Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw) after he takes over the titular train and demands a ransom of $1 million before he starts killing off the passengers one by one, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is nothing if not a typical example of the genre.

Both Matthau and Shaw are on fine form, while director Joseph Sergeant (who went on to helm perhaps one of the worst sequels in the history of cinema, Jaws: The Revenge) keeps the action as tight as the anxiety and tension increases. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is nothing if not a thoroughly competent and well executed example of an over saturated genre, with an economical sense of exposition and action which means it rarely lags.

At the same time, however, it breaks little in the way of new ground, and while Shaw stands out in his role as the villain there's nothing here that hasn't been done before, on occasion with considerably more flair and ingenuity. Still, the recent remake starring John Travolta is notably inferior, suggesting that some directors haven't learned the right lessons from decades ago.

What It Deserves: 80%