Speed (1994) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Life can go by in the blink of an eye when you’re in the Fastlane. If you don’t think so, you’re likely not going at full Speed.


PLOT


The 1994 film follows LAPS SWAT bomb disposal officers Jack Traven & Harry Temple narrowly rescue people from a bombing on a city elevator. They try to stop the extortionist Howard Payne, but he seemingly avoids capture by blowing himself up. Some time later, Payne would resurface and contact Jack that he’s planted bombs on two city buses. The first one goes off after being activated upon reaching 50mph and slowing below it. The second bus is set to have a similar detonation, but is also set to go off by late noon. The ultimatum in saving the second bus is $3.7 million. Jack races through traffic and hops onto it once he finds it. A felon panics believing the cop is after him, resulting in the bus driver Sam Silver (Hawthorne James). Fellow passenger Annie Porter steps in to take the wheel while Jack contacts Harry for help. Payne does allow Sam get off the bus and be picked up by paramedics, but sets off a smaller bomb that gets Annie’s seat mate Helen killed when she tries to escape. With Payne on constant surveillance, Jack & Annie get to maneuver the bus through multiple obstacles, including jumping a gap on the freeway that directs them to Los Angeles International Airport where they prevent further traffic issues. As Harry investigates on his own, he does discover that Howard was a bomb squad officer in Atlanta and when he leads a team to raid his house, they walk into a trap full of explosives that kills them all. When Jack finds the hidden camera, he has the help of Lieutenant Herb McMahon to loop it long enough to ruse Payne. This gives enough time for everyone on the bus to escape before the bomb goes off. Payne doesn’t realize what happened until it’s too late, resulting in him to quickly abduct Annie still demanding the ransom. Jack chases him down the subway system where he stops to see Annie has a bomb vest strapped to her. He gives Payne the money, but has him fall for a dye pack in the duffle bag. This leads to the villain fighting him on the roof of the train, but it’s active speed leads to him being decapitated. Jack then deactivates the vest but when unable to slow down the train, he instead accelerates it where it ends up derailing and crashing onto Hollywood Boulevard. With onlookers in awe of the crash, the film ends with Jack & Annie emerging unscathed and sharing a kiss.


THOUGHTS


I am such a sucker for action movies because they do know how to stir the pot in an unconventional yet intriguing way. Director Jan de Bont and writer Mark Gordon were aware of this and took creativity to a whole other level. Seeing a bus full of people held hostage where they gotta keep driving until they can’t is quite an exciting plot to say the least and it just feels bigger as time progresses. The editing and cinematography pay off big time to make each driving and shootout sequence captivating and feel the fast paced environment that ensues. Seeing a train crash is already impressive after seeing The Fugitive, but a city bus making a big jump over a freeway gap is goddamn impressive. That is what moviemaking is all about, where the unimaginable became reality. Apart from the technical aspects being a big payoff, the main reason this has stuck to me due to how it reaches viewers the gift of resilience and inner strength when under pressure. I quickly catch onto this when following Keanu Reeves peak at being breathtaking as Jack Traven. Traven is a big standout role to look back on because he chooses to be daring rather than lack needed ambition to succeed, which pays off exponentially since this was a challenge where many would fail on paper. Like any cop protagonist, he’s always concerned about looking out for others and a bus full of citizens definitely puts him on the edge of his seat by constantly getting in harms way for them, even if it didn’t always work the way he’d want it to. The brightest side that comes from his selflessness is that he still gets all the help he needs. Jeff Daniels makes Harry the polar opposite to Traven because he’s usually more rational when on the field. But when the stakes are higher, he knew when to change his mindset. It made sense for him to narrow down who Payne was since he was ideally someone who had intricate knowledge to plan things the way he did. While this backfired and led to his death, it’s easy to say it wasn’t in vein since Payne was still stopped from having his way. Joe Morton was also great as Mac because he was able to match being on the fly when it comes to working through chaos. He knew recording just a minute of surveillance footage would be enough to fool Payne and he knew sending Jack & Harry to the elevator was gonna pay off and boy did it all ever. The most unexpected ally Jack got was someone that would be his unexpected equal. Sandra Bullock was a goddamn delight as Annie because she gave the right amount of skepticism and you relate to her wanting to avoid talkative tourists the way Alan Ruck depicts fellow passenger Doug Stephens. And it’s top tier irony that she was on the bus in the first place because she lost her license for speeding. I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it, but I think she’s a hero in her own right for being on the wheel as long as she was. She got along with Jack so well in her given time because due to how she had to power through being afraid as everything was happening, she was inspired of his bravery and he respected her figuring out how to be calm in the damnedest of situations. Off of that, it is a shame their relationship didn't continue to blossom in the sequel Cruise Control. The irony would only continue knowing their romance begun thanks to one of the most sadistic antagonists to date. Dennis Hopper makes Howard Payne a standout villain of the few he's played because he's vengeful on how he commits his actions. He was forced into retirement after an accidental arson cost him a thumb and he was deemed ineffective to continue working. He felt rejected for doing what he was supposed to do and he feels retaliating was his best way to go about it. In a crazy way, it proved his point he still had the efficiency to keep working, but he chose to use his creative mind for the wrong reasons like many who are down on luck. Had he thought of a better calling, he would've not gotten himself killed the way he did. He may not be the last terrorist out there in this world, but if good people like Jack and Annie are still around to stop them, then there is nothing to worry about in the future. This movie still kicks ass on its own, but even dope stuff like this have confusing moments you pick up on during a rewatch. From the top, Payne already messes up by leaving his bag out in the open so far anyone else was bound to see from the access door. I’m not trying to root for the villain here, but he sure messes up if he doesn’t want to get caught and it felt dumber than the security guard not rationing it in before he gets killed. Hell, Payne doesn’t even need to stay in the other elevator once the cops show up because the plan was for him to get what he wants either way. And if he really wanted to see the elevator crash, he could’ve had a surveillance elsewhere. It’s also a goddamn miracle the bus never hit 50 before Jack catches up to it. Coming from a local, Los Angeles has crazy traffic and not everyone can maintain the rush by avoiding going past it. Then luck is way too high when Sam gets shot and Annie has to take the wheel. I respect the illusion when Annie hits a woman’s stroller full of recycle cans, making us think she hits a baby on accident, but it’s totally on the lady choosing to cross without looking. All that side money she lost is so on her and you can’t deny it because she also could’ve gotten herself killed. And I want to say I’m impressed Payne can see the high school logo on Annie’s sweater which explains why he kept calling her a wildcat, but it’s such a stretch because o wouldn’t even read it from his perspective since the surveillance is black & white instead of colorized. It then gets a little absurd for Annie to not have guards with her when she was left at an ambulance. It’s the one last advantage Payne gets and it’s insane how he had that last amount of luck when he shouldn’t have. That is more shocking than Annie choosing to step out. Lastly, its ridiculous for him to forget there’d be a dye pack in the duffle bag. Of all things to remember when being on the force, it should definitely be that. Other than that, this movie is still a freaking blast. In short, Speed earns its place as one of the many action classics of the 90s for redefining how exhilarating a cinematic experience can be. If you are into those kind of movies, see this now.