"Speed"-y delivery...

Rating: 9/10 (30 April 2000)

Pop quiz, hot-shot - what's the most exciting action movie you've ever seen with a bus in it?
Right, the answer is "Speed" and if you've seen it then you'll have to agree that there is more action in this one movie than any ten generic action flicks that have been released in the last ten years.
A trend-setter the likes of "Die Hard", "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Lethal Weapon", "Speed"'s premise is simple - a bus is wired by a madman (Dennis Hopper) to blow up if it drops below 50 MPH. This is to give the cop (Keanu Reeves) who ruined his last effort a run for his money in trying to save the day. In the ensuing efforts, a woman (Sandra Bullock) is recruited to drive the bus and keep it over 50 MPH at all times.
And for as deceivingly simple as it is, "Speed" pulls out all the stops by making every scene a nail-biter (the bomb discovery, Keanu getting aboard the bus, Sandra driving over an incomplete gap in a highway, etc. - the list is endless) and all the main characters (and a few of the supporting ones) are about as smart as your average movie-goer and have enough of these kinds of movies to figure out what the other guy's move will be and act on it. I LOOOOVE movies like that.
Keanu is far more heroic in this movie than he has been before (and since); Jeff Daniels is born to play best pal and does so with good-nature; Sandra is a delight to watch as well as hear - she has a voice you literally can wrap yourself up in; Hopper adds to his nutso roles with some droll lines that sound all the spicier delivered Hopper-style. Everyone is great and gives their all.
The movie is all one long action set-piece, which is what the action fan expects when they plunk down their money then sit down with their popcorn. They get their money's worth here and then some. "Speed" was obviously written by someone who loves action films as much as the action film fans that watch them. Good match-up.
Nine stars for "Speed", and let's hear it for the magic of surveillance cameras.