SNMR 6.7: "Speed"

Tonight's SNMR feature is "Speed" (1994, R, 116 minutes), starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, Joe Morton and Alan Ruck. The film was directed by Jan DeBont.

PLOT SUMMARY: Disgruntled, retired ex-cop Harry Payne (Hopper) has it in for LAPD Jack Traven (Reeves) after he foils Payne's elevator job, ruining two years of planning. Now the bomber forces Traven to take on a new challenge: he must prevent a bomb from going off on a city bus by ensuring that the bus doesn't go slower than 50 MPH.

MY OPINION: I sort of remember that when this movie came out fifteen years ago that it got all kinds of negative press and bad reviews from the movie critics.
I even thought this movie sounded stupid when I first heard about it. Turns out this movie was right up there near the top of action movies made in the early-mid 1990's.
Maybe Keanu Reeves is not the best actor in the world, but his performance in this movie is good. This movie catapulted Sandra Bullock to fame as an actress, and she was actually reasonably good-looking in this movie - not that you care about stuff like that. Jeff Daniels turns in his usual solid performance. However, Dennis Hopper makes this great action movie even better with his likable bad guy.

The script is suspenseful and well written. Rookie director Jan DeBont manages the cast fairly well. The special effects are well done, too. There's only one scene that I found unrealistic, even though it looks cool when you're watching it. That's the scene where the bus jumps the 50+ foot gap in the highway. No way.

The edition I watched has some informative special features on disc two.

Still a gripper after all these years.

**** out of *****