Action & Action But Aging

Rating: 7/10 (15 December 2007)

This is a film where the viewer is pulled into the action & eventually gets pulled in by the acting.
Dennis Hopper is very good as the mad retired cop bomber who just seems to want a bigger pension & will do anything to get it. When he is foiled the first time he tries, he develops a vendetta against his foils. That vendetta between him & Jack (Keanu Reeves) is a big part of what makes this movie go.
The other part is Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock) & Jack developing a relationship when thrown together by circumstances controlled by Howard Payne (Hopper). Bullock became a name from this film. The film moves as 116 minutes go fast. It's only weakness is the uneven moving from sequence to sequence. There are 3 main sequences, the opening, the main body of the film, & the conclusion. While each sequence is well done, the chops between each one are distinct, & abrupt. The better one is between the opening & the main part as the awards ceremony for Jack & Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels) gives this chop more coherence.
If there were a way to do this kind of action in live theater, this film is structured like a 3 act play. If you want 2 hours to fly by, literally, this film is good as it tells a story in a very traditional way but with lots of action.