Speed (1994)

Directed by Jan de Bont. Starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, Joe Morton, Alan Ruck, Beth Grant, Carlos Carrasco, Hawthorne James, Daniel Villarreal, Richard Lineback, Glenn Plummer. [R]

Mad bomber Hopper sticks enough C-4 to blow “a hole in the world” aboard a Los Angeles city bus that arms itself once the bus exceeds 50 mph, and will subsequently detonate if the speed drops below that threshold. Enter SWAT hotshot Jack Traven (Reeves)—who, of course, has a personal beef with the lunatic responsible—racing against the clock (and heavy traffic) to keep that from happening. A hyperkinetic wind-up machine that rarely lets up, which is a good thing since anyone who pauses to think about any of it for more than two seconds won’t be able to take any of it seriously (there is precisely 0% chance that the bus wouldn’t have slowed down enough to burst into flames on at least a half-dozen occasions during its bumpy journey). But it’s a professionally-made amusement park ride, so why fret the contrivances? Reeves is in his earnest comfort zone (with emoting secondary to stunt coordination), Hopper does another routine variation on his 90s crazed-villain role (below Waterworld, but way above Super Mario Bros.), and Bullock leaped from “cute lady in support” to “star vehicle” roles in playing the plucky bus passenger-turned-driver. Directorial debut for longtime-cameraman de Bont, and it’s the only picture he ever helmed that’s not god-awful. Joss Whedon did some uncredited work on Graham Yost’s screenplay.

70/100