Wild fun at 50 MPH and over!

Rating: 9/10 (9 September 2006)

Pop quiz, avid moviegoers. You're looking for a serious thrill ride without having to spend your last paycheck in its entirety. What do you do? Tell me what do you do?
There are two possible answers: 1)You go to the mall and you buy "Speed" on VHS or DVD or 2)You rent "Speed" at your local video rental store.
You're gonna tell me that these aren't the only possible answers, but I tell you that these are the best ones.
One of the best action thrillers of the 90s (if not of all time), "Speed" never takes a moment to get its breath back and that's the reason why it's one of the great thrills of modern Hollywood.
The story, for those who don't already know it, concerns a Los Angeles public bus on which a bomb has been placed by a cop-turned-terrorist (Dennis Hopper). The bomb will be armed when the bus goes over 50 MPH and it will blow up if the bus's speed drops below 50.
The only hope for the unfortunate passengers is devil-may-care police officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves), who previously wrecked a plan from the same terrorist.
To make such a ride and to throw away cheap introductions and conclusions, "Speed" has been scripted in order to put minor rides between the principal one. While the bus is the hamburger's meat, the two bread slices are an hijacked elevator and a runaway metro train. And the three parts of the story work well in their own way.
Jan de Bont gets his first directorial effort here, after working as a cinematographer for movies like "Die Hard". Cinematography is one of the key elements of "Speed" and especially aboard the bus. The numerous camera angles and positions make the vehicle a pleasure to watch and almost becomes an entity.
Also outstanding are the performances of the three main actors. Keanu Reeves is at his coolest as he plays Jack. Sandra Bullock, in her breakthrough role, is the most three-dimensional person of the lot and she is really fine as the bus' 'substitute driver'. However, Dennis Hopper is the finest character of all. His role as the former cop who wants money for "revenge" is menacing and maniacal. So, Hopper's performance is the best of his career, after Frank Booth in David Lynch's "Blue Velvet".
"Speed" is dubbed as an action thriller, but it's more of a thriller than an action film. Or, if it's action, it could nearly be called 'unconventional'. Because there are no gunfights, a very short battle sequence (which ends very creepily) and while the vehicles run to full speed, there are absolutely no chases.
What could be called action in this movie are Jack's attempts to enter inside the bus and his battle with Hopper on the top of the subway train.
The movie mostly succeeds on its 'thriller' segments. We could count among them: the initial elevator rescue, Jack's attempts to stop the bus before it goes over 50 MPH (even if we know that he failed) and the numerous elements that happen during the bus trip, which include a rescue attempt, a big jump and a failed attempt to dismantle the bomb.
It's perhaps the only modern movie where an odometer is the key element of the story...
You wouldn't want to miss a single second from this astonishing tour de force by Jan de Bont, from the imaginative elevator title sequence to the final notes of Billy Idol's "Speed" (the title song) at the end of the credits.