SPEED - 1994
Directed by Jan de Bont
Starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Joe Morton, Alan Ruck, Glenn Plummer, Richard Lineback, Beth Grant, Hawthorne James, Carlos Carrasco, and Jeff Daniels
Genre: Die Hard on a Bus….sorta (Audio clip)
For some reason I have always remembered this as The PERFECT Summer Movie! It could be the timing of it for me personally....my first summer off from college driving and working outside a lot...I was ahead of the curve on my young guys my age at least TRYING to approximate Keanu's suddenly popular close-crop cut....it was unusually scorching outside for Long Island in June making a packed air conditioned theater all the more enticing...or maybe it's just the overall vibe of the movie itself. 🤔 Non-stop action taking place amidst sun-drenched LA traffic sprinkled with gobs of silly humor and JUST the right amount of romance....Sandra Bullock's demure smile certainly played a part. ;)
This was just the right summer blockbuster at the right time...along the lines of Die Hard which had come out six summers prior. It's certainly no accident that this WAS the directorial debut from the DP of Die Hard (Jan DeBont), that the story kicks off with a clever suspense sequence set at the SAME skyscraper where Die Hard was filmed, or that there are apparently visual Easter Eggs (watch the shipping brands) suggesting that this story could conceivably take place within the SAME universe as the Die Hard films. 🤫 But the bottom line is that this was and remains one of the most perfectly executed action thrillers of its era....or any era since then!
All of the elements are in place including TWO very appealing protagonists working together....seriously what Keanu and Sandy pull off here seems almost effortless but it says a lot that SO many star pairings amidst action since then have just fallen so flat by comparison, no matter how big the stars. 🙄
Beyond the two main leads, you have a canny supporting cast including Dennis Hopper (as the villainous bomber Howard Payne....who is NOT insane ;)) delivering his best spin on an embittered, blue collar version of Hans Gruber who never lost his affectations from living it up during the '60's. Joe Morton always delivers as a utility player, here bringing in all of the necessary gravitas and exasperation as Captain McMahon, continuously being challenged to coordinate the most daring caravan in the history of Los Angeles. "You're FIRED, you're ALL f@#king fired!!!!" The characters ON the bus have always been a bit of a mixed bag for me but I can at least still appreciate Ortiz (Carlos Carrasco) coming through in the clutch with the right can-do attitude. ;)
And of course thanks to writer Graham Yost (with a polish by Joss Whedon), you have a screenplay providing the ideal three act structure built upon three distinct set-pieces (elevator, bus, subway) never overcomplicating the plot. There's just enough exposition often expressed adeptly through action - just the way their car barrels to a stop at the base of the building for that opening sequence AND how they each exit the car afterwards tells you everything you need to know about the relationship between Jack and Harry. The stuntwork atop or near high speed vehicles is just mind-boggling, the pyrotechnics are impressive, and you never lose sight of the geography of where everything is occurring, and this thing just MOVES (literally) containing all of this varied action within a runtime which tops out at less than two hours no less. :)
There are no shortage of audience-applause moments (as I personally witnessed) resulting in lightning in a bottle akin to Die Hard but more propulsive and admittedly a bit sillier. (This still stars Keanu at the end of the day)
Best Needle-drop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):
Considering the time period during which this came out – an era of mega-soundtracks for The Bodyguard, Singles, or Boomerang….and when even most of your fellow Die Hard clones like an Under Siege or Executive Decision could be counted on to have at least ONE clever retro needle-drop inserted in at some point – Speed really doesn’t have any….except for one pretty cheesy self-titled Billy Idol song playing well into the closing credits….Nope it's pretty much ALL score but it’s a pretty iconic score at that, actually one of the more catchier action themes of the ‘90’s….well at least it is to me because you can rest assured that I will catch myself humming this several days after any rewatch…..see I’m even doing it now. (Audio clip)
And that score would be from Santa Monica, California’s OWN Mark Mancina a journeyman composer of many genres who probably had his most prolific run in the ‘90’s conducting music for several big movies including Twister, Tarzan, Bad Boys, and Money Train….but THIS one is very likely is most iconic score. And for good reason….it’s fast-paced, loaded with synth notes, and has a bit of an emotional hook which pulls you in. We hear it at length during those now iconic opening credits where the camera simply takes us down an elevator shaft…..and then we hear different variations of it throughout the remainder of the movie. It’s simply referred to as the “Theme From Speed” but what else do you need? (Audio clip)
Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):
I love the drollness and weariness coming off of Jeff Daniels' Harry who is the more seasoned partner to Keanu’s Jack. I just kinda wish he and Keanu had a couple of more scenes together and find myself still a bit perturbed by the fate of his character. ☹️ I’m not saying that Daniels isn’t perfect for this role, I just would have loved a BIT more of him. (Audio clip)
Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):
My absolute favorite moment in the movie is still around the 100 minute mark as they finally exit the bus in the nick of time TOGETHER....as the camera pulls back a bit following them sliding together on that medal hatch untethered from the bus cascading through a sea of street cones off the runway. All we hear is Mark Mancina's underrated score swell for a few beats....it's such a brief moment but seeing the image of them embracing on that nutty escape contraption is just the ideal blend of action and romance rarely pulled off SO effectively. Major props to DeBont and HIS DP Andrzej Bartlowiak (Falling Down, The Verdict) for taking something - which could have looked clunky or awkward in lesser hands - and elevating it!
MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):
Now back to those two leads…..we watch a bond develop between these two organically and yet their chemistry never stops the movie in its tracks. (Or how could it considering how Annie has to keep her feet on the gas of that bus 😜) We WANT to see them together but we're grateful that we only get a true glimpse of that JUST before the credits kick in.
It's s just all of those indelible moments we catch between Jack and Annie throughout whether it's the grin on his face early on when she tells him she lost her license....or her slight giggle after he has referred to her as "Mam" for the 20th time. :) It's sweet, touching, funny, and it helps keep the stakes of the story real….their relationship is what drives this story as much as anything and it’s no accident that BOTH actors became A-List stars in the wake of this film’s success. For leading the charge on-screen for one of THE best action films of all time, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock are your CO-MVP’s.
Final Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Hell this has me wondering as to WHY this isn't being re-released into theaters as we are approaching its 30th Anniversary. Summer movies STILL need to be viewed in air conditioned theaters, none more ideal than this one!
Streaming on Starz
And that ends another POP QUIZ HOT SHOT review!
