SPEED (1994)
A film review by Steve Kong Copyright 1998 Steve Kong
Speed is a slam bang flashy and fun action film.
The premise? There's a bomb on a bus, if the bus speed drops below 50 mph the bomb goes off. The premise is pretty simply and on paper it seems pretty ludicrous. But, onscreen, it works very well building some fun and highly tense scenes.
The movie starts us off with an energetic action sequence in an elevator shaft that will make you fear elevators for a long time to come. A mad bomber (Dennis Hopper) has taken the people in the elevator hostage and it is up to two LAPD SWAT members to save these people. The two cops are Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels). After the situation is "resolved" I was exhausted from the tension and action, but that's not it! We now get to the part about the bus. It looks like Jack has made the mad bomber very angry and the mad bomber is going to take it out his frustrations (is that it?) on another bunch of hostages.
A bus is rigged with a bomb. The bomb will arm itself when the bus passes 50mph and will explode if the bus speed goes below 50mph. Jack, the inventive one, finds a way to get on the bus and he now has to save these people from the bomb. The bus sequence is suitibly solved by Jack and his SWAT team members and I though the movie was over. After the bus sequence, I was truly worn out, but Yost and de Bont don't stop yet! There's more, and this all works out for the best. There is an additional action sequence on a subway train! (If this all sounds like one of those TV infomercials, "AND THERE'S MORE!", the movie does not run that long -- or at least it doesn't feel that long.)
The script is by Graham Yost and that explains the silliness of the plot. In the Yost tradition, Speed is definitely high concept but because it has a talented rookie director behind the camera, Speed works very well. The talented rookie director was Jan de Bont (Speed 2: Cruise Control, Twister). De Bont, previous to directing Speed, worked as a cinematographer, most notably with John Mc Tiernan on Die Hard and Hunt For Red October. It looks like de Bont has learned something while working on those films and it shows in Speed.
Speed follows the three main characters, Annie, Jack and Howard. Annie's the down-to-earth next-door-neighbour girl type. She is one of the few characters trapped on the bus. And she is one of the only characters on the bus that is somewhat fleshed out. Jack is the LAPD guy who has to stop the bomb. Dennis Hopper plays Howard Payne, the mad bomber, with a vengeance.
The great thing about Speed is that it gets you started with a bang and never lets up. The movie moves quickly and efficiently from action sequence to action sequence giving us a breathless ride that makes us forget about all the things that are silly about the story.
Keanu Reeves is great as Jack Traven. Reeves makes for a good believable action hero. His character is not given too much in order of showing an acting range, but Reeves works well with the material he is given. I would enjoy seeing Reeves in more action roles like this. Sandra Bullock is very likeable as Annie. She has a lot of onscreen charisma and it makes the movie all that more fun to watch. Hopper is eery and creepy as Harry Payne. His performance is way over-the-top, but it is also fun to watch.
After you finish watching Speed you'll be worn out from the sheer energetic approach that Jan de Bont employs to direct Speed. Sure, there is a lot of silliness going on in Speed, but who cares? Speed is one of the most fun films to watch. Don't Miss Speed!
Get Ready for Rush Hour.
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