Speed

4/4

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels, Joe Morton

Rated R for Violence and Language

Action movies are generally given little respect among cineastes.  Considering some of the entries (“Pathfinder,” the “Transformers” franchise, to name a few), it’s not hard to see why.  Still, there are a few entries that deserve as much attention as movies like “Casablanca” or “The Godfather.”

“Speed” is one such movie.  With a brilliant premise and a script that gets as much mileage out of it as possible, it has a number of things going for it.  Add masterful special effects and superb direction by ex-cinematographer Jan de Bont and a cast of great performers, there’s no way this movie could be anything less than a masterpiece.  Indeed,  there are few other movies that can get the adrenaline pumping to the level that “Speed” does for ten seconds, much less two hours.

A bomber (Hopper) has rigged a bus and wants $3.7 million or he’ll blow it up.  The catch is that once the bus goes above 50 mph it’s armed, and if it drops below that, it goes off.  Officer Jack Traven (Reeves) is on the case, but the chances of survival for him and everyone else on the bus (including a beautiful and feisty passenger named Annie (Bullock)) are slim to none because they’re in downtown Los Angeles.  And, it’s the morning rush hour.

This is about as close to perfection as you can get.  The film gets off to a great start from frame one; the camera starts descending down an elevator shaft, getting faster and faster, and it’s perfectly complimented by Mark Mancina’s aggressive score.  It’s a brilliant way to start the film, and the film only gets better from there.

The acting, surprisingly enough, is terrific.  Keanu Reeves may never be known as the world’s greatest actor, but the man’s work here is great.  With his SoCal cool (to the point where I was reminded of Paul Walker) and bulging muscles, he’s the perfect lead for this movie.  Dennis Hopper is the perfect foil for Jack; he’s intelligent and skilled at making bombs, which makes him all the more dangerous.  And this movie will be forever known for giving Sandra Bullock, one of Hollywood’s most likable and charismatic actresses, her big break.  She’s delightful as Annie, the passenger who has had her license revoked for (of all things) speeding.

Too often, we see a movie with a great premise but no follow through.  The story has potential, but lazy screenwriters and hack directors settle for clichés and stock characters.  Not here.  Graham Yost has a dynamite premise, and he takes advantage of all the possibilities.  Yost is constantly throwing wrenches into the script, and none of them are clichés.  You never see what’s coming next.

But the true master at the helm is Jan de Bont.  de Bont’s direction is truly awe-inspiring.  The film is frantically paced; he never gives us much time to catch our breath before hurtling us into another crisis.  He also has a knack for character identification.  None of the characters, even the leads, are particularly fleshed out.  But they have personalities, and that’s what makes us care about what happens to them.  Compare that to the “Clash of the Titans” remake, where every one of the heroes was interchangeable.  Who cared about a bunch of Schwarzenegger-wannabes who were carbon copies of each other?

In a genre where there are so many forgettable entries where all that matters is lots of gunfire and explosions, it’s nice to see a movie that understands what makes these movies so great.