Summer '09 - Blockbuster #6 - "The Taking of Pelham 123"

This one I really liked.  Yes, I have a fondness for these kinds of Die-Hard-like films, but I think this example of the genre has a lot of things to recommend it that put it a notch above the average heist-hostage flick.

John Travolta's character takes over a single subway car and then proceeds to send his orders for monetary payment to the transit authority.  Denzel Washington is the guy unlucky enough to answer the call.  The main fun about the movie is the conversations these two guys have.  They're both brilliant, but in very different ways.  Washington is a quick-thinking, logical, pragmatic multi-tasker.  Travolta is a fly-the-the-seat-of-his-pants genius.  Both performances are great, but Travolta gets extra points in my book for making it clear that his character is actually a little bit crazy, while he pretends to be much crazier.

The supporting cast (John Turturro as an FBI agent, James Gandolfini as the Mayor of New York) are good, too.  The action is enjoyable, and the ending is really quite good.  This isn't the best film of the summer (that one had a few more Vulcans in it) but it's definitely a candidate for second place.