“Speed” (1994)

Speed

Grade: C

Speed, or “The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down,” delivers non-stop action but surprisingly isn’t dumb enough — or smart enough, I guess — to fully lean into its own stupidity.

Directing:

Rookie director Jan de Bont delivers impressive spectacle on a modest budget, making sure Speed lives up to its title by literally never slowing down, with constant eye-catching explosive action involving bus, plane, train and elevator shaft. The stunts, no matter how unrealistic, are the best part of the movie.

Acting:

Keanu Reeves has a few hilariously bad line deliveries, but this is more of a physical role anyway, and Reeves — when he’s not speaking — brings the intensity required of an LAPD bomb-squad super-officer. Unfortunately, Dennis Hopper, who spends most of the movie isolated from the action, doesn’t bring the Blue Velvet-gravitas necessary to make a compelling psychological foe. Sandra Bullock plays the only believable character.

Writing:

Filled with cheesy dialogue, physics-defying action and a far-fetched premise (i.e., bomb on bus will explode if bus goes slower than 50 mph), Speed is the type of movie that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain, treating its subject matter with utmost sincerity and earnestness, needlessly complex, not nearly as satirical as it should be.

Music:

The orchestral bombast of composer Mark Mancini’s soundtrack is a bit dated, yet it’s still a good fit for Speed’s constant adrenaline, delivering the brash intensity needed for a high-octane 1990s thriller. Perhaps the film’s campiness would’ve been more apparent if they used the expanded score from the Speed OST (released on Fox Records), featuring hard rock songs from the likes of Billy Idol, Rod Stewart and Kiss.

Ending (SPOILERS):

Despite all the dumb recklessness, there is true emotional catharsis when Jack (Reeves) and Annie (Sandra Bullock) finally save Los Angeles from the runaway bus. But when Speed renews the threat on a runaway subway train, the film loses all previously earned goodwill and credibility, doubling down on an ending that is louder, faster and more over the top — and, therefore, more forgettable — than anything that came before.

“I’ll be damned. You go to the University of Arizona?” — Officer Jack Traven

Why Speed gets a C

Frustratingly dumb action movie, à la Cameron’s True Lies (1994) or Woo’s Windtalkers (2002).

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