Not What One Would Refer to as a Christmas Movie

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2014)

Yet, that's when I saw Jan de Bont's Speed, cuddled up in our new house in the wee hours of Christmas morning, 1994, I think. I couldn't turn it off.
And the reasons for this were:
Speed is a wonderfully energetic piece of film-making. It mixes the formulaic with the fresh, the mad criminal (Dennis Hopper) with the hero (Keanu Reeves), but this time, with a strong and gutty blue-collar woman (Sandra Bullock). The hook--the bus that can't slow down or the bomb will go off--is both simple and effective. And, de Bont never lets the action subside. He knows he has a winner here, and he'll be damned if he'll let anyone be a slacker!
Is Speed great cinema? Yes, but it's because it's a technically superior piece of entertainment. Nobody's going to remember it for the acting.
What we will remember, past the thrills, is meeting Sandra Bullock.
Bullock is such a big star now that her breakout performance may get forgotten for younger audiences. De Bont must have seen that she would power this picture with her humanity, quirky good looks, and chutzpah.
Which brings me back to Christmas morning, 3 a.m. or so. Across the room sat the TV and VCR. I held the remote, and when my wife would stir, I would pause the tape and wait. It took some time to get through the movie because, although she slept well that morning, my wife was and is a light sleeper.
The only reason I mention this Christmas stuff is that watching Speed felt like that Christmas present your folks let you open on Christmas Eve. It was a delight, and considering how good Sandra Bullock is as an actress--and I forgive her for The Proposal--and how deeply lovely she is, Speed is a present that I still appreciate 20 odd years later.
Now, Keanu Reeves in the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, that's where my forgiveness and Christmas spirit dry up.