SPEED (Jan DeBont, 20th Century Fox, 1994)

Almost twenty years after its release I recently re-watched SPEED (Jan DeBont, 20th Century Fox, 1994) and was struck by how much my perceptions of the film have changed.  Some good changes, some bad but the realization of how much my movie watching tastes have, shall we say matured, is striking.  The film is still damn good, a non stop action thrill ride but those perceptions.  Hmmm.

I remember anticipating SPEED and being really hyped to see the film.  I am fairly certain I saw it in the theaters at least twice.  You had a great premise, Keanu Reeves was just starting to rise as a movie star (I am an unapologetic Keanu fan), the promise of Dennis Hopper and a trailer full of great action.  And the film didn't disappoint.  The film plays out at a breakneck pace, transitioning from one action sequence to the next.  The rest and recover moments for the audience are few and far between and even those are loaded, so the rise and fall of tensions is slight.  More like ramped up and left at a high level. The narrative to the film was plausible enough.  Keanu is great as Jack Traven and Hopper does a good turn as the insane Howard Payne.  Even Sandra Bullock was cute and bubbly and a nice complementary piece to Keanu's Jack.

Ah but times have changed.  The narrative not only suspends disbelief it shatters it.  How did a young me ever buy into a bus loaded with passengers jumping an unfinished section of freeway?  A 50 foot section at that.  Or that this same super bus, driven buy a passenger would careen around curves and turns throughout Los Angeles?  Also, and this is strictly a qualm for a Los Angeles resident, how they get from downtown, to the west side and back to Hollywood and all over town without traffic being a constant concern is truly mind boggling.

Next the writing.  Shall I say not superb?  I understand writers seeking to be authentic and attempting to keep their dialogue grounded in reality.  Then what the hell was the "pop quiz" routine all about?  Maybe to annoy its audience.  There are other spots of inane dialogue but it is an action film, I guess I should expect it.  Keanu is good but I was really disappointed in all of the other actors. Jeff Daniels is always great, but here he seemed asleep.  Bullock was good, not great.  And Dennis Hopper?  A little over the top.

The action sequences and stunts hold up fairly well and two things stood out as outstanding.  As the films titles roll at the beginning of the film they do so following an elevator as it travels down the elevator shaft.  Just a really cool idea to place the camera there, and that leads me to the second thing.  The cinematography was really good with constant placement of cameras in unexpected places.  When I see the camera being maneuvered like this it always shows me thought and creativity.

SPEED is still a really good film, a great action vehicle and one of Keanu's best.  Wonder what it will look like in twenty years.