Sometimes it’s refreshing to see a movie that is okay with just being okay.

With “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” you get a C-student shoe salesman that rarely dazzles but doesn’t disappoint, either. There are no Oscar hopes, no sequels in the pipeline and no promotional “Dancing with the Stars” cameos – although it would have been nice to see John Travolta pull a hamstring while fox trottin’ with Lil Kim.

“Pelham” – I’m shortening the atrociously long name for both our sakes – is actually a remake of a 1974 subway hostage flick starring Walter Matthau, which only 23 people saw. The remake, starring Travolta as a tattooed subway hijacker named Ryder and Denzel Washington as cool-tempered dispatcher Walter Garber, is a rock solid cerebral thriller that only fails when it ventures outside this sweet spot.

For example, when “Pelham” tries to up the popcorn ante with cheap-thrill cop car crashes and even cheaper one-liners, usually consisting of some expletive-laced quip one level of hell below “Yo Mama” jokes, it falls flat. I’m pretty sure Director Tony Scott lost his ability to spread appropriately cheesy humor into his movies right after Val Kilmer smacked his molars together in “Top Gun.”

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That said, the sharp banter between Denzel and Travolta fuels “Pelham,” and there are just enough subplots to carry their walkie-talkie, back-and-forth pissing match. Denzel’s character is actually a transit top dog who’s been demoted for allegedly taking a bribe. Travolta’s a middle-age punk who looks like he belongs at a rave, and he might as well be attacking his hostages with glow sticks and house records. He also has financial savvy and shades of Bernie Madoff. Also, this might be the first post-9/11 movie about hostages in NYC that won’t draw the whisper of “too soon?”

“Pelham,” named for the Brooklyn train that gets ganked, may not be the summer’s most memorable action flick - except for the fact that it's the only movie where both the good guy and bad guy have earrings other than the Corey Haim/Feldman collaborations. But it’s one of the few that lives up to the hype. Well, maybe that's because there isn't any...

"The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," rated R and with a running time of 106 min., opens Friday, June 12, nationwide.

Mike gives the movie 2.5 out of 4 stars. Check out "Screen Scene" twice a week for what's hot (and not) on the big screen and small screen. Listen to Mike Thursdays at 4:05 p.m. on WRVA 1140AM.