Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Entertaining action caper movie that offers a great taste of 1970s era New York. The premise of hostage takers in a subway car works.  Walter Matthau plays the transit detective in charge of the case.  Although he gets to use his gun at the end of the film, what he mostly does is talk over the radio to the criminals, but he manages to make the character interesting.  The action moves at consistently energetic pace, and while the plotting has a few serious holes it is more than serviceable.  The best parts of the film though when it gives a sense of a gritty, barely functioning New York.  As solid and entertaining a film as Pelham is, it doesn’t compare to the masterwork New York crime film released the following year, Dog Day Afternoon.