Released in the summer of 1994, Speed was a massive hit and is still one of the mid-90's most memorable films. I hadn't seen the movie in probably ten years but, I was surprised when rewatching it how well it still holds up.
The film stars Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, and Jeff Daniels and is about an expert bomb-maker who is trying to extort the city of L.A. for $3million. The villain named Howard Payne (played by Hopper) initially threatens to blow-up an elevator full of people if he isn't given the money, but his plan is thwarted by two SWAT officers Jack Traven and Harry Temple (played by Reeves and Daniels respectively). Sometime later, Payne strikes again; this time rigging a bomb to a bus. He contacts Jack to inform him of the bomb, make his demands (this time $3.7million), and to lay out the rules; the bus's speed cannot drop below 50mph and no passengers are allowed off of the bus until the ransom is paid. This sets up the bulk of the film and leads to the majority of the movies most memorable scenes. It's a tension-filled ride as the bus careens through the busy city of L.A. always mere moments away from catastrophe, with one of the passengers named Annie (played by Sandra Bullock) at the wheel. Of course, like any good crowd-pleaser action flick, in the end the good guys win.
Overall, this is a good movie. I was worried that it might not be as good as I remembered, but it was. Yes, some of the dialogue is a bit cheesy and a few scenes are pretty far-fetched, but I had fun revisiting this one. It's a simple yet solid tension-based action film, without really any dramatic reveals or hidden motives. The bad guy is bad and he wants money, the good guys are good and want to stop him.
Straightforward and entertaining, I give Speed a 4 out of 5.
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