150 Word Review: 'Speed' (1994)
Get off the bus!
The cinema’s most essential illusion is the impression of movement: fast cars, roaring locomotives, galloping horses. And there are few movies more dedicated to making an audience feel like it’s careening forward at an impossible rate than Jan de Bont’s 1994 action all-timer Speed. This is peak blockbuster nonsense, a perfect duet between high-concept, big-budget popcorn spectacle and star power. The star was young god Keanu Reeves as a good cop who’s the only man who can stop a vengeful mad bomber’s plot: if L.A.’s only public bus goes below 50 MPH, then boom!
Anyway, the actual star of Speed was newcomer Sandra Bullock as the first of many charming, dorky, gal-next-door roles, a working girl who steers the bus as Reeves’ character frantically tries to save its riders, a diverse cast of colorful locals. Dennis Hopper is in full bug-eyed lunatic mode here, hootin’ and hollerin’ for his supper.