Speed (1994) (R)
Directed by Jan de Bont
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels
Daughter Says:
Speed is about a vengeful terrorist, Howard Payne, (Dennis Hopper) who wants to get back at a cop named Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves)(Who is hot!) Payne ends up putting a bomb on a bus that can't go below 50 or it will explode. So now Traven is faced with the daunting task of stopping the bomb from exploding and killing about 15 people.
I'll start with the pluses of this movie. First of all, the casting for this movie was amazing. Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves are both fantastic actors, so putting them together would make a brilliant cast of talent. Another thing is Dennis Hopper makes out to be a believable bad guy. He had me getting the creepies. He is so evil and such a mastermind in Speed. But all these actors couldn't do that on their own. I must give Graham Yost praise for doing such a great job on the script and everything.
Now to the bad. This movie did feel a little redundant at times. For example, the bus comes to a gap in the road. What does Traven do? He speeds the bus up and "jumps" the 50 foot gap. Then later on he is on a subway and the track isn't finished once again. What does Traven do this time? Hmmm... I don't know. He speeds up the train so it jumps the track. Oh, what a surprise. Not. Another problem I had with Speed is some of the scenes were so fake. And if you haven't figured out by now, I hate things that I can tell are fake. They drive me up the wall. I won't tell you where the fake parts are, I'm sure you can figure that out by yourself.
But don't let my little errors stop you from watching this movie. I just suggest turning off your brain and enjoying a train wreck (literally).
Rating for Speed: ***1/2.
Daddy Says:
A fast-paced thriller, Speed lives up to its name. There are several little moments I enjoy in this film. Sandra Bullock's acting especially seems very natural. She really seems like an ordinary person caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Watch her when she's handcuffed to the metal pole on the subway car and needs to get off before it crashes; her acting doesn't feel like acting at that point, she really seems like someone who knows their about to die and like a rabbit caught in a trap is ready to gnaw her own limbs off if she could to get away with her life.
Another moment when her and Keanu have just gone for a thrilling ride at high-speed on a piece of metal plating from under the bus. Keanu asks her if she's alright, she covers her eyes and nods her head "no, I'm not alright". I don't know if that was in the script, but it felt like a completely real moment.
Keanu Reeves, while not being a great actor, does his best to live up to the character. Jeff Daniels does a good job as the "brains" of their team. And the late Dennis Hopper (rest in peace, sir) is wonderful as the mad bomber.
The editing, while keeping up the fast pace, let me down at several points in the film. I really dislike cutting away from the action to show me something completely unrelated because it gives away what's going to happen next. For instance, we cut away from the speeding bus going the wrong way on a busy city street, to show us two women saying goodbye to each other, one of them wheeling a baby carriage. They've now told us that the baby carriage is going to be involved very soon, and sure enough here comes the speeding bus to plow right into it. Luckily, it is only full of aluminum cans. Now imagine how much more shocking and powerful the scene would have been if we hadn't seen the baby carriage until right before the bus hit it. We would have been just as shocked and scared for the "baby" as Sandra Bullock was. But, instead, we were expecting it to be hit and neither shocked or surprised when it happened.
Yes, the story is unrealistic at times, but the movie carries you along with its literal "speed", so there are only a handful of times you'll notice it. I've always enjoyed Speed, and I'm quite willing to overlook its flaws in favor of some great action scenes, a handful of suspense, some good laughs and some surprisingly good acting.
Rating for Speed: ****1/2.
Directed by Jan de Bont
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels
Daughter Says:
Speed is about a vengeful terrorist, Howard Payne, (Dennis Hopper) who wants to get back at a cop named Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves)(Who is hot!) Payne ends up putting a bomb on a bus that can't go below 50 or it will explode. So now Traven is faced with the daunting task of stopping the bomb from exploding and killing about 15 people.
I'll start with the pluses of this movie. First of all, the casting for this movie was amazing. Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves are both fantastic actors, so putting them together would make a brilliant cast of talent. Another thing is Dennis Hopper makes out to be a believable bad guy. He had me getting the creepies. He is so evil and such a mastermind in Speed. But all these actors couldn't do that on their own. I must give Graham Yost praise for doing such a great job on the script and everything.
Now to the bad. This movie did feel a little redundant at times. For example, the bus comes to a gap in the road. What does Traven do? He speeds the bus up and "jumps" the 50 foot gap. Then later on he is on a subway and the track isn't finished once again. What does Traven do this time? Hmmm... I don't know. He speeds up the train so it jumps the track. Oh, what a surprise. Not. Another problem I had with Speed is some of the scenes were so fake. And if you haven't figured out by now, I hate things that I can tell are fake. They drive me up the wall. I won't tell you where the fake parts are, I'm sure you can figure that out by yourself.
But don't let my little errors stop you from watching this movie. I just suggest turning off your brain and enjoying a train wreck (literally).
Rating for Speed: ***1/2.
Daddy Says:
A fast-paced thriller, Speed lives up to its name. There are several little moments I enjoy in this film. Sandra Bullock's acting especially seems very natural. She really seems like an ordinary person caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Watch her when she's handcuffed to the metal pole on the subway car and needs to get off before it crashes; her acting doesn't feel like acting at that point, she really seems like someone who knows their about to die and like a rabbit caught in a trap is ready to gnaw her own limbs off if she could to get away with her life.
Another moment when her and Keanu have just gone for a thrilling ride at high-speed on a piece of metal plating from under the bus. Keanu asks her if she's alright, she covers her eyes and nods her head "no, I'm not alright". I don't know if that was in the script, but it felt like a completely real moment.
Keanu Reeves, while not being a great actor, does his best to live up to the character. Jeff Daniels does a good job as the "brains" of their team. And the late Dennis Hopper (rest in peace, sir) is wonderful as the mad bomber.
The editing, while keeping up the fast pace, let me down at several points in the film. I really dislike cutting away from the action to show me something completely unrelated because it gives away what's going to happen next. For instance, we cut away from the speeding bus going the wrong way on a busy city street, to show us two women saying goodbye to each other, one of them wheeling a baby carriage. They've now told us that the baby carriage is going to be involved very soon, and sure enough here comes the speeding bus to plow right into it. Luckily, it is only full of aluminum cans. Now imagine how much more shocking and powerful the scene would have been if we hadn't seen the baby carriage until right before the bus hit it. We would have been just as shocked and scared for the "baby" as Sandra Bullock was. But, instead, we were expecting it to be hit and neither shocked or surprised when it happened.
Yes, the story is unrealistic at times, but the movie carries you along with its literal "speed", so there are only a handful of times you'll notice it. I've always enjoyed Speed, and I'm quite willing to overlook its flaws in favor of some great action scenes, a handful of suspense, some good laughs and some surprisingly good acting.
Rating for Speed: ****1/2.
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