A Very Thrilling and Intense Action/Thriller

Rating: Null/10 (17 August 2000)

RATING: ***1/2 (out of ****)

If you were to ask me what was the most exciting, intense action film of the decade, I'd definitely say Speed. Excellent action, very intense, and very entertaining equals a very good film.
The movie starts out in a building where Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) put a bomb on a elevator with some passengers and so he's holding them for ransom and if he doesn't get the money, the elevator explodes. So Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels) go out to rescue the passengers. They do and then they confront Howard and he grabs Harry and holds him hostage. So Jack shoots Harry in the leg to make Howard let go of him. And then Howard goes into another room and presumably kills himself.
But Jack quickly finds out that Howard is not dead when he blows up a bus. So Howard ends up explaining the situation to Jack by a phone. There's a bomb on a bus, once the bus goes 50 MPH, the bomb is armed, if the bus drops below 50 MPH, it blows up and he wants the money by 11:00. So now Jack has to race against time to keep the bus from dropping below 50 MPH.
Like I said, the movie is very intense especially when Jack is trying to keep the bus going 50 MPH. There's a lot of action in the movie; of course; and a lot of thrills. The performances are good especially Hopper, who plays the perfect villain and Reeves who plays the perfect cop. Along for the ride is Annie (Sandra Bullock) who drives most of the time and; of course; they end up falling in love.
I can only find one problem: that very dumb sequel! But that won't go against the score the film gets. So if you're looking for an intense ride with lots of action, and you haven't seen this movie yet, then go rent Speed, better yet, buy it! You definitely won't be disappointed, highly recommended.