Amazing action film.

Rating: 9/10 (29 June 2003)

I will start off by saying that I watch movies both for entertainment and from a critical,thoughtful point of view. This is definitely an entertaining movie, but it stands up critically aswell. I watch virtually any genre of film, but action is one of my favourites. And this is my favourite action movie. Despite my high regard for Die Hard, I think this is better. It succeeds in so many ways. Firstly, the plot: Well, its pretty damn simple, but in this case thats a good thing. A guy has rigged a bus so that if it goes above 50 MPH a bomb is armed and if it drops below that speed again, it blows. I have heard much criticism of this being unrealistic, but I don't see why. Think about the amount of destruction modern technology can cause today, and it seems plausible. Another guy, a cop, is trying to stop the worst from happening by boarding the bus. The Actors/ Characters: Keanu Reeves is excellent and likeable as LAPD officer Jack Traven, the type that fears nothing and will do anything ,no matter how dangerous. Dennis Hopper is the ex - cop that has rigged the bus. This is an incredible performance. In my opinion,in terms of action films, the best bad guy ever and one of the finest pieces of completely addictive acting in any type of film ever. Sandra Bullock is Annie, a normal woman that ends up driving a bus haphazardly through busy city steets at 55 MPH - and she was originally worried about being late for work!! I don't know if she is like this in real life, but if she is, she must get annoying. I don't like this character very much because she screams stupid things and repeats herself all the way through the film. Joe Morton and Jeff Daniels are solid as Jack's superior Mac and his partner Harry. As for the action sequences- they are thrilling, like many people have said, because they are real. They don't rely on special effects at all. And that means they are much more exciting. You are kept on the edge of your seat throughout and that feeling doesn't falter - I have seen this movie LOADS of times and it still excites me in a big way. It really does grip you. This is partly thanks to the fantastic score by Mark Mancina. This makes sure that even if the action starts to bore you, which is unlikely, you are still captivated. The scores' only flaw is that a certain bit of music gets a bit repetitive after a while. In conclusion, this film is a cracking, thrilling, exhilirating rollercoaster ride of an action movie, that has yet to be equalled. As a piece of entertainment, its brilliant. From a critical perspective, it has only a few minor flaws - i.e Sandra Bullocks infuriating screaming and a few quotes that are very tin - eared and unnatural, which is a shame because what makes this film so great is that the action IS natural, as oppose to obviously CGI. The film fanatic in me loves this film, The critic applauds it. 9 and a 1/2 out of 10.