Speed (1994)
The Cast
Keanu Reeves ... Officer Jack Traven
Dennis Hopper ... Howard Payne
Sandra Bullock ... Annie Porter
Joe Morton ... Capt. McMahon
Jeff Daniels ... Det. Harold 'Harry' Temple
Alan Ruck ... Stephens
Glenn Plummer ... Jaguar Owner
Richard Lineback ... Norwood
Beth Grant ... Helen
Hawthorne James ... Sam
Carlos Carrasco ... Ortiz
Richard Schiff ... Train Driver
Occasionally I sit down to watch a movie that the inner snob in me sneers at. Sometimes it's a guilty pleasure like Cabin Boy, sometimes it's a brainless actioner like Crank. Most of the time it's just to have something familiar on in the background so I can do other things. However, sometimes a movie I put on for that latter purpose ends up surprising me and reminding me that it's actually not half bad. Speed is a good example of that particular surprising phenomenon.
Directed by noted action film cinematographer Jan de Bont, Speed grossed over $350 million at worldwide theatres in 1994. The star of the movie is the emotionally devoid Keanu Reeves and a bus. It's not a talking bus, or a bus used as a time travel device, no. It's a bus that has been rigged to explode if the speed of the bus falls below 50 MPH by a mad bomber played by Dennis Hopper. Other than that, it's just a regular bus, with a regular driver and ordinary (if anyone in Los Angeles can be truly considered "ordinary") passengers. The passengers are all of varying stereotypes (the Hispanic criminal, the yokel tourist, etc.), and one amongst them will stand up and become a hero. It's truly an inspriational story. Sorry... I think I'm mixing up movies. One of them will actually sit down and become a replacement bus driver, and that person is Sandra Bullock.
Reeves plays bomb squad officer Jack Traven, who previously pissed off the mad bomber by foiling one of his earlier get-rich-by-taking-hostages schemes. So the bomber decides to get revenge and get paid even bigger by upping the stakes and making it personal, leading to the high concept premise that was presented in the previous paragraph. Since it's also a popcorn movie, there's a lot of brainless creative decisions made that you're just supposed to not think about. To heighten your enjoyment of the movie, I advise you to stay that course, just don't think about it at all and sit on the edge of your seat for the thrill ride of the summer of 1994.
This is the part where I ignore the snarkiness of what I've already written and assure you that yes, it actually is a decent movie worth sitting down to check out again. Despite having all the acting ability of a shelving unit, Reeves still manages to somehow be engaging on the screen. Sandra Bullock performs entertainingly in what would become her breakthrough performance and truly catapult her onto the A-list in Hollywood. Dennis Hopper delivers a truly insane performance that rivals his Blue Velvet role for sheer madness, and the supporting cast does their best with their stereotypical parts.
Even though some of the stunts and action throughout the movie may have you groaning and shaking your head in a disapproving fashion, it's still a relatively enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. I've seen the movie numerous times, and I still got a bit tensed up when the bus had to JUMP A 50 FOOT GAP in the freeway with no ramp beforehand. See? Turn your brain down a bit before watching. They should be putting warning notices like that before movies, rather than the multitude of piracy warnings and studio logos that the DVD won't allow me to skip. Speed surprisingly holds up well after a dozen-plus years (I thank Joss Whedon's uncredited script-doctoring of the movie for that) and has proven to be an influential high concept thriller, for better or worse.
3.5 / 5