SPEED
US, 1994, 116 minutes, Colour.
Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels, Alan Ruck, Glenn Plummer, Beth Grant.
Directed by Jan de Bont.
Energy is the key word for Speed. And I found that often during the film I was pushing my feet against the floor, vicariously driving and moving with speeding vehicles.
You practically get three films in one. The first 25 minutes to set in a lift, explosives and rescue, very effectively done.
But that is only a curtain raiser .Most of the action is on an ordinary bus, rigged with explosives that will detonate if the bus goes under a certain speed or of any of the passengers get off. A strong premise for exciting action. And it is.
Debut director Jan de Bont has been a director of photography for more than 30 years. His credits include Die Hard, Black Rain, Lethal Weapon 3, Jewel of the Nile, Hunt for Red October. He has not wasted his time and has learnt all the tricks – and, with the effective editing, here they all are.
Keanu Reeves proves to be a more credible hero than Bruce Willis. Dennis Hopper stays calm and quiet, unmannered, to make for a believable villain. Sandra Bullock is at the beginning of her star career and indicates how strong that career would be.Though the plot has holes (which you don’t think about while it is on screen), it is all quite plausibly implausible.
Oh, and there’s another 20 minutes on a speeding train after the bus action!
1. A box-office hit of 1994? The ingredients for success? Action, disaster, rescue, good versus evil? The cast?
2. Los Angeles, the credit sequence and the elevator shaft? the building and the elevator, the offices, the action? Police precincts? The streets, the bus, the freeways? The train and the underground? The musical score?
3. The success and editing for impact of the action sequences: the lift, the rescue, the bus, its speed, the helicopters, the accompanying vehicles? The airport, the crash into the plane? The train, the underground, in the carriages, on the roof?
4. Jack and Harry, police work, their friendship, their boss? Going to the rescue of the people in the elevator? Using their wits? The passengers, executives, fear, handling the situation? Jack and Harry getting them out, the fearful woman and urging her out, the impact of the crash? The encounter with the bomber? The theory of shooting the hostage, Jack shooting Harry in the leg, upsetting the bomber, his escape? Their receiving commendations and metals?
5. Dennis Hopper as the bomber, his past, injuries, a gold watch, his hardships, wanting the money, wanting revenge? His detailed plans, the equipment, the setting up of the elevator? His surviving? The contact with Jack, blowing up the bus? The setup on the bus, the surveillance, his threats about people getting off, his watching? His not realising that the sequence of the bus had been recorded and was playing over and over? Harry and the group going to his house, the bomb blast? His reaction to the passengers being freed? His meeting Annie, taking her, strapping the explosives? The underground, on the train, killing the driver, the threats, going to the roof, his decapitation?
6. Keanu Reeves as Jack? The contact from the bomber? His getting on board the bus, the leads? Assessing the bombs? The phone contact, the information to Harry? Annie driving after the driver was shot? The passengers not being allowed off the bus, the woman and her attempt, the death? His going under the bus, the dangers, getting out and back on the bus? Getting the passengers off, Annie and Jack and the final escape?
7. Annie, racing, getting on the bus, the unwelcome attention of the tourist, the driver being shot, taking over, her liking speed? driving the bus, crashing into the cars, the difficulties, the leap over the missing bridge? Into the airport, the bus crashing into the plane?
8. The driver, wounded, about to get off? The passengers, the tourist and his flirting, his ultimate fear? The scared woman and her death? The man with the gun and afraid of the police, his being overcome? The Hispanic man and his help?
9. Audiences identifying with the action and the adrenaline, the speeds, the bus being held up, not allowed to go under 50 miles an hour, the leap, the airport?
10. The film as a classic of this kind of action show?
