Speed (1994)
February 27, 2025 10:59 PM - Subscribe
A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
Los Angeles police officer Jack (Keanu Reeves) angers retired bomb squad member Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) by foiling his attempt at taking hostages. In revenge, Payne arms a bus with a bomb that will explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour. With the help of spunky passenger Annie (Sandra Bullock), Jack and his partner Harry (Jeff Daniels) try to save the people on the bus before the bomb goes off, while also trying to figure out how Payne is monitoring them.
Allison Rose: Speed was the first time (but not the last) Reeves and actress Sandra Bullock (Demolition Man) appeared onscreen together. The two had/have an undeniable chemistry that is evident every time they look at each other. Interestingly, years later the two actors, on separate occasions, both confessed to Ellen DeGeneres that they had a crush on each other while filming Speed. They are joined by a wonderful cast including Daniels, Hopper, and Joe Morton (Terminator 2: Judgement Day). For de Bont, this turned out to be a magical team that helped make the movie somewhat unique.
The action in Speed is unrelenting for the most part, moving from one explosion to another and keeping the viewers entertained throughout the almost two-hour running time. For screenwriter Graham Yost (Broken Arrow), the movie was mainly a success with a few blaring issues. First, there are some incredibly cheesy lines that break the viewer's concentration and makes one want to literally groan out loud. Second, it seems rather ironic and unusual that the two out-of-control modes of transportation that Jack and Annie (Bullock) find themselves on are both subject to "unfinished" construction projects
Lisa Marie Bowman: And yet, even though most viewers will know exactly what is going to happen, the film remains a fun watch because of the chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. This was one of Sandra’s first major roles. This was also one of Keanu’s earliest attempts to helm a big budget, major studio action picture. (Director Jan de Bont insisted on casting him after seeing him in the film Point Break. The studio preferred Tom Cruise.) In Speed, both Keanu and Sandra are young, likable, attractive, enthusiastic, and they have smiles that light up the screen. As soon as Sandra takes over driving and Keanu tells her that she cannot allow the bus to slow down under any circumstances, the two of them just seem to belong together. The film’s enduring popularity is about more than just watching a bus try not to go under a certain speed. The popularity of Speed is also about watching the characters played by Keanu and Sandra fall in love.
Who would have guessed it? Well, certainly not whoever put together the film’s original theatrical trailer.
Colin Marshall: Whereas "Speed's" first act uses the generic verticality of downtown Los Angeles, its second uses the distinctive horizontality of greater Los Angeles, so vividly that the rest of the movie seems to have faded from popular memory. Homer Simpson once spoke of having seen “a movie about a bus that had to speed around the city, keeping its speed over fifty, and if its speed dropped, it would explode! I think it was called 'The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down'.” No matter its title, the film, which for its central section drew inspiration from earlier pictures set on runaway trains in Alaska and Japan, couldn't have taken place in any other city, nor could it have used any other city to stand in for Los Angeles, a metropolis defined over the second half of the twentieth century by nothing so much as its region-spanning urban freeways.
Trailer
Los Angeles police officer Jack (Keanu Reeves) angers retired bomb squad member Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) by foiling his attempt at taking hostages. In revenge, Payne arms a bus with a bomb that will explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour. With the help of spunky passenger Annie (Sandra Bullock), Jack and his partner Harry (Jeff Daniels) try to save the people on the bus before the bomb goes off, while also trying to figure out how Payne is monitoring them.
Allison Rose: Speed was the first time (but not the last) Reeves and actress Sandra Bullock (Demolition Man) appeared onscreen together. The two had/have an undeniable chemistry that is evident every time they look at each other. Interestingly, years later the two actors, on separate occasions, both confessed to Ellen DeGeneres that they had a crush on each other while filming Speed. They are joined by a wonderful cast including Daniels, Hopper, and Joe Morton (Terminator 2: Judgement Day). For de Bont, this turned out to be a magical team that helped make the movie somewhat unique.
The action in Speed is unrelenting for the most part, moving from one explosion to another and keeping the viewers entertained throughout the almost two-hour running time. For screenwriter Graham Yost (Broken Arrow), the movie was mainly a success with a few blaring issues. First, there are some incredibly cheesy lines that break the viewer's concentration and makes one want to literally groan out loud. Second, it seems rather ironic and unusual that the two out-of-control modes of transportation that Jack and Annie (Bullock) find themselves on are both subject to "unfinished" construction projects
Lisa Marie Bowman: And yet, even though most viewers will know exactly what is going to happen, the film remains a fun watch because of the chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. This was one of Sandra’s first major roles. This was also one of Keanu’s earliest attempts to helm a big budget, major studio action picture. (Director Jan de Bont insisted on casting him after seeing him in the film Point Break. The studio preferred Tom Cruise.) In Speed, both Keanu and Sandra are young, likable, attractive, enthusiastic, and they have smiles that light up the screen. As soon as Sandra takes over driving and Keanu tells her that she cannot allow the bus to slow down under any circumstances, the two of them just seem to belong together. The film’s enduring popularity is about more than just watching a bus try not to go under a certain speed. The popularity of Speed is also about watching the characters played by Keanu and Sandra fall in love.
Who would have guessed it? Well, certainly not whoever put together the film’s original theatrical trailer.
Colin Marshall: Whereas "Speed's" first act uses the generic verticality of downtown Los Angeles, its second uses the distinctive horizontality of greater Los Angeles, so vividly that the rest of the movie seems to have faded from popular memory. Homer Simpson once spoke of having seen “a movie about a bus that had to speed around the city, keeping its speed over fifty, and if its speed dropped, it would explode! I think it was called 'The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down'.” No matter its title, the film, which for its central section drew inspiration from earlier pictures set on runaway trains in Alaska and Japan, couldn't have taken place in any other city, nor could it have used any other city to stand in for Los Angeles, a metropolis defined over the second half of the twentieth century by nothing so much as its region-spanning urban freeways.
Trailer
Also, am I crazy or is Fanfare gaslighting me. I would have sworn this was posted before.
posted by Carillon at 11:16 PM on February 27
posted by Carillon at 11:16 PM on February 27
Maybe it was just never posted. Or it might have been posted by someone who got their account wiped, which deletes every thread they ever posted.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 4:19 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]
posted by TheophileEscargot at 4:19 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]
It was posted under its original title, "The Bus that Couldn't Slow Down." /Simpsons
posted by AndrewInDC at 4:27 AM on February 28 [9 favorites]
posted by AndrewInDC at 4:27 AM on February 28 [9 favorites]
I am positive this was posted before.
Another casualty of the thing where people blast a big hole in the site on their way out.
[Does some math] Dang, if I did that, just short of three out of every ten movie posts would POOF.
I would never do that, though.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:04 AM on February 28 [13 favorites]
Another casualty of the thing where people blast a big hole in the site on their way out.
[Does some math] Dang, if I did that, just short of three out of every ten movie posts would POOF.
I would never do that, though.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:04 AM on February 28 [13 favorites]
The passengers come together becuase of who they are, but you don't need to know everything
In the original script you were supposed to know a lot more! For one of the early episodes of the movie podcast "I Was There Too," which featured interviews with minor supporting players in well-known movies, the guests were five actors who played passengers on Bus 2525. They describe how each of them had fully developed backstories that were meant to play a big role in the movie, and how they all got progressively marginalized when the chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock became more and more obvious to the filmmakers.
posted by How the runs scored at 6:24 AM on February 28 [6 favorites]
In the original script you were supposed to know a lot more! For one of the early episodes of the movie podcast "I Was There Too," which featured interviews with minor supporting players in well-known movies, the guests were five actors who played passengers on Bus 2525. They describe how each of them had fully developed backstories that were meant to play a big role in the movie, and how they all got progressively marginalized when the chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock became more and more obvious to the filmmakers.
posted by How the runs scored at 6:24 AM on February 28 [6 favorites]
Another casualty of the thing where people blast a big hole in the site on their way out.
Ugh, how frustrating. What a charming practice.
As to the movie, it's quite bloodless for an action movie. It's up there I think with The Fugitive in that there's a lot of tense action, but very little in the way of death or gunfights.
posted by Carillon at 8:08 AM on February 28 [4 favorites]
Ugh, how frustrating. What a charming practice.
As to the movie, it's quite bloodless for an action movie. It's up there I think with The Fugitive in that there's a lot of tense action, but very little in the way of death or gunfights.
posted by Carillon at 8:08 AM on February 28 [4 favorites]
I just rewatched this last week with my girlfriend, who'd never seen it before. I enjoyed it, having not seen it in a couple of decades. She... had some difficulty suspending disbelief. Parts of the movie really depend on people acting in the dumbest way possible (Annie getting out of the ambulance is a prime example) and, in the Year of Our Lord 2025, reminders that people are often very dumb are painful.
posted by hanov3r at 8:31 AM on February 28
posted by hanov3r at 8:31 AM on February 28
This is one of two movies I saw twice in a single day because I was so excited. The other being Edge of Tomorrow.
posted by Gorgik at 11:59 AM on February 28
posted by Gorgik at 11:59 AM on February 28
As to the movie, it's quite bloodless for an action movie.
CANS!!!
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 12:09 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]
CANS!!!
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 12:09 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]
It's no Speed 2. How could it be without UB40?
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:43 PM on February 28
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 2:43 PM on February 28
Second, it seems rather ironic and unusual that the two out-of-control modes of transportation that Jack and Annie (Bullock) find themselves on are both subject to "unfinished" construction projects
only unusual if you're not from LA... the projects in question* had been being argued over/about/worked on for so long they should have been paid actors. the only way it could have been more la was if it had included the 210/710 connector**
In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the denouement with the subway erupting in Hollywood has done more to promote awareness of the LA subway system than ANY marketing dollars the MTA ever spent.
*Fun Fact! Both the 105 freeway and the subway/light rail projects were supposed to improve (among other things) access to LAX, as evidenced in the film. but they finished BOTH those projects WITHOUT a last-mile light rail connection actually INTO LAX, a separate project which is still under construction today with a completion date in 2026.
**but one assumes they wanted a project ACTUALLY BEING WORKED ON! [rimshot].
posted by ApathyGirl at 5:17 PM on February 28 [7 favorites]
only unusual if you're not from LA... the projects in question* had been being argued over/about/worked on for so long they should have been paid actors. the only way it could have been more la was if it had included the 210/710 connector**
In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the denouement with the subway erupting in Hollywood has done more to promote awareness of the LA subway system than ANY marketing dollars the MTA ever spent.
*Fun Fact! Both the 105 freeway and the subway/light rail projects were supposed to improve (among other things) access to LAX, as evidenced in the film. but they finished BOTH those projects WITHOUT a last-mile light rail connection actually INTO LAX, a separate project which is still under construction today with a completion date in 2026.
**but one assumes they wanted a project ACTUALLY BEING WORKED ON! [rimshot].
posted by ApathyGirl at 5:17 PM on February 28 [7 favorites]
only unusual if you're not from LA... the projects in question* had been being argued over/about/worked on for so long they should have been paid actors. the only way it could have been more la was if it had included the 210/710 connector**
It's true of California overall! We had torrential rains wash out a large portion of the 2-lane highway and bridge that led to the coast. They actually did a really good job of quickly stabilizing the damage so it didn't get worse, permitting people to continue using the roads. But after the road stopped deteriorating, then workers were called away with about 80% of the job done. The construction equipment was just...left, with the unfinished road work, for about a year as everyone in the community sent increasingly unhinged complaints to Gov Newsom.
As a kid, I remember (as with Jurassic Park) this had a reputation as a really dumb popcorn movie. Perhaps as a result of "popcorn" movies becoming the main product of Hollywood, it feels like we're all reconsidering the value of the good ones? Like...something can be goofy, but require a lot of skill to do well. There's also the blanket 90s suspicion/derision of Keanu as an actor (though honestly when I think about him as a Serious LAPD Officer with a Moriarty Nemesis I also laugh, so).
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:32 AM on March 3
It's true of California overall! We had torrential rains wash out a large portion of the 2-lane highway and bridge that led to the coast. They actually did a really good job of quickly stabilizing the damage so it didn't get worse, permitting people to continue using the roads. But after the road stopped deteriorating, then workers were called away with about 80% of the job done. The construction equipment was just...left, with the unfinished road work, for about a year as everyone in the community sent increasingly unhinged complaints to Gov Newsom.
As a kid, I remember (as with Jurassic Park) this had a reputation as a really dumb popcorn movie. Perhaps as a result of "popcorn" movies becoming the main product of Hollywood, it feels like we're all reconsidering the value of the good ones? Like...something can be goofy, but require a lot of skill to do well. There's also the blanket 90s suspicion/derision of Keanu as an actor (though honestly when I think about him as a Serious LAPD Officer with a Moriarty Nemesis I also laugh, so).
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:32 AM on March 3
FWIW, this actually does not appear to have been posted to FanFare before -- or if it was, it was deleted so hard that it left no trace in the infodump.
Obsessives might enjoy the 50 MPH podcast; I have to confess that it was quite a lot too much Speed for me.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 5:56 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]
Obsessives might enjoy the 50 MPH podcast; I have to confess that it was quite a lot too much Speed for me.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 5:56 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]
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posted by Carillon at 11:04 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]