One of cinema's best pure action films.

Rating: Null/10 (16 March 2004)

*** 1/2 out of ****
Keanu Reeves is a rarity: he's a second-rate actor (at least compared to other big movie stars like Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford) who has kept his career afloat courtesy of a critically and commercially successful film every now and then. These films usually have the tendency to keep his big-screen acting career going steady for another five to six years, by which then he somehow latches on to another big hit. I hear he's going to be starring in the period epic Tripoli, so expect his career to extend to at least 2012.
Speed is one such film, his second after Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure), but it's actually worth of all the acclaim it's received and then some. Bringing together a highly unlikely cast (Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, and a then unknown Sandra Bullock) and first-time director Jan De Bont, it must have spelled a recipe for disaster.
But by miracle or just pure filmmaking bravado (more the latter than the former, though if the film had been made yeseterday, I might be more inclined to agree with the former), they pulled off a great action film, one of the best in big-screen history.
After beginning with what must be one of the most intense opening credits sequences, the plot quickly gets underway. Mad bomber Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) has just rigged explosives to drop an elevator and its apparently wealthy occupants down quite a few floors to their deaths. But his plan to extort $3.7 million is foiled by quick-thinking LAPD cop Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and his partner (Jeff Daniels, in pretty much the thankless role that really doesn't go anywhere).
Out for revenge, Payne raises the stakes further in his ransom demands by rigging a bomb under a city bus. Once the vehicle goes over 50 mph, the bomb will be activated, and once the bus goes below 50, it'll be detonated. Traven makes a mad dash for the bus, arriving after it's already passed 50 mph, but able to keep the bus from going below. Unfortunately, the driver is shot in a mishap, leaving spunky passenger Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock) to take the wheel. To make matters worse, they're in the middle of morning rush hour; staying about 50 mph will be almost an impossible task.
Speed is divided into essentially three acts and setpieces: the opening elevator sequence, the centerpiece with the bus, and finally a climactic (or post-climactic as some may see it) resolution which I won't divulge here. The bus sequence is easily the movie's highlight, quite possibly the longest action scene I've ever seen. The whole setpiece lasts just a little over fifty minutes and throws in every imaginably plausible hindrance there is to keeping a bus over 50 mph.
The stark simplicity of the premise is what fuels the film. There's probably no greater compliment I can pay the movie than to say that I can't imagine the plot being pulled off better. Every strand related to story and script is merely a means to keep the action and suspense going; I've rarely seen films maintain such a high level of intensity and pure thrilling, crowdpleasing fun for such a lengthy period of time.
Director Jan De Bont's work here is probably among the best feature film debuts out there (only Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead comes to mind, but was that even released in theaters in the U.S.?); he keeps the editing super-tight and the pacing frantic, but still putting the action together with crystal-clear comprehensibility. That's a fantastic accomplishment. Whatever happened to the De Bont who knew how to deliver such kinetic thrills? Each of his successive films are progressively worse, and he's even gone as low as making a Tomb Raider sequel. Mr. De Bont, you're better than that.
The acting and dialogue are adequate enough that they don't distract from any of the action or thrills. limited as his talent may be, Keanu Reeves is just one of those actors who I can't help but like. His performance here is better than usual and occasionally even quite good, but still fraught with obvious moments of poor acting. Still, he's a pretty damn easy guy to root for.
Sandra Bullock is perhaps the real standout of the picture. As feisty and sexy in a girl-next-door way as any heroine, Bullock is appealingly down to earth and entirely convincing as just a normal bystander caught in an unbelievable situation. She also has damn good chemistry with Reeves, one of the vital elements missing in the sequel. Dennis Hopper is fine as the villain, this isn't really anything we haven't already seen from him in one form or another but his schtick was still amusing at the time. Cast directors must also be applauded for all the extras and character actors they used to play the bus passengers; there's a genuine sense of teamwork and solid chemistry at hand.
At no point does Speed ever crumble; its perfectly lean storytelling ensures that it never strays from the thrills on hand and it's so exciting only the biggest hard-hearted churl would try to nitpick the implausibilities. The last few minutes might seem a little excessive when one considers how exhausted we already are from all the non-stop action. That said, the third act is still very exciting, just not as inventive as the action that came before it.
Speed was inevitably followed by a sequel, which wasn't entirely unenjoyable in its own right, but misses a lot of the spark that's evident in this picture. Hell, I'd even say it needed Keanu Reeves, but by that magical Keanu rule of blockbuster hits, he wisely passed reprising the role of Traven and went on to star in The Matrix. Yup, I don't see his career extinguishing any time soon.