Starring Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels, Joe Morton, Alan Ruck, Richard Schiff, Richard Lineback

(9-Great Film)

Taut. Exciting. Proficient.

Stephens: Did you have any luck with the bomb?

Jack: Yeah, it didn’t go off.

In terms of intention and execution, Speed is basically a perfect movie. Keanu Reeves (the ultimate action star) plays a cop, Jack, that becomes the target of a maniacal bomb-expert, Howard Payne (Hopper). After Jack and his partner, Harry (Daniels), foil Payne’s plans for terrorizing the city of Los Angeles into paying him millions, Payne comes back with a vengeance. This time, he’s rigged a bus to explode if it drops below 50 mph or if anyone attempts to get off. Bullock plays a cute girl thrust into the action. Speed is a brilliant example of Hitchcock’s famous bomb theory. The suspense of knowing there’s a bomb is much more thrilling than the bomb actually going off. Speed is relentless in pace. The stakes are well-established. The stunt-work is incredible. Reeves and Bullock’s chemistry is dazzling. The film, a classic.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

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