Speed (Definitive Edition) (DVD)

...is all about keeping the speed of a bus above 50mph or facing an untimely death. There is plenty to keep you entertained whilst they negotiate with the terrorist, whether or not some of it defies reality is up for debate - if you've seen the movie you will know at least one of these scenes I am referring to. Jack is hellbent on getting on that bus and taking down Payne, that is why he puts himself in the thick of the action with leading lady Annie ...
...the role as a bus driver, ironically after only using public transport due to her license being revoked for speeding, whilst the rest of the characters on the bus question their choice of why they had to take the bus today.

===THE OPINION===

Oscar wins for both effects and sound shows you just how dated this movie actually is, and I am sure a young Keanu Reeves would not have expected this movie to lead him on to a ... more

THE STORYLINE

"The bus that couldn't slow down," is just the bulk of what this movie is about and the bus scenes in the movie are what many may only remember about 1994's Speed. Being close to nearly two hours in length, there is a beginning and an end surrounding the bus commotion. Jack Travern (Keanu Reeves) stars as a police officer who has an ongoing battle against terrorist Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper), determined to earn an extra retirement fund with the use of his bomb expertise. You are propelled immediately into the midst of things, defining the movie as apart of the 'action and adventure' genre, as lives hang in the balance quite literally with ordinary men and women trapped in a bomb-rigged elevator. If you are one of those people that has only watched the movie over the christmas period for the past ten years, you will be forgiven for forgetting all this, and the showdown between Payne and Jack, along with his cop partner - Harry (Jeff Daniels), the 'brains' of the operation.

As we learn, Payne is no stranger to explosions and discovers a variety of ways to attempt at blasting things disasterously out of proportion, and this is the centre of the movie that is all about keeping the speed of a bus above 50mph or facing an untimely death. There is plenty to keep you entertained whilst they negotiate with the terrorist, whether or not some of it defies reality is up for debate - if you've seen the movie you will know at least one of these scenes I am referring to. Jack is hellbent on getting on that bus and taking down Payne, that is why he puts himself in the thick of the action with leading lady Annie Porter (Sanra Bullock). Annie finds herself having to take on the role as a bus driver, ironically after only using public transport due to her license being revoked for speeding, whilst the rest of the characters on the bus question their choice of why they had to take the bus today.

THE OPINION

Oscar wins for both effects and sound shows you just how dated this movie actually is, and I am sure a young Keanu Reeves would not have expected this movie to lead him on to a starring role in a movie as 'pretty' as The Matrix. On the other hand, a Sandra Bullock that never seems to age has appeared in a long list of movies since and it would be fair to say that these have been a catalogue of characters. Whilst I have gone on about how the beginning and the end do feel tacked on to a movie that is only remembered for the bus, I would say that the introduction to the movie was good in setting the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, when you have better things to do you would like the bus to conclude the movie, but the story would not be complete without discovering if they can trap the criminal mastermind as he relishes in the satisfaction of seeing his elaborate plan unfold under the media spotlight - perhaps similar to that of the badguy in the 'Saw' franchise.

"Get ready for rush hour," as a slogan demonstrates how old this film is, I'd like to think that in the noughties we have taglines with a little more substance. The movie is for the most part entertainment, although I feel that if you see it twice too close together it would become quite annoying, which makes it no surprise that its television apperances are spaced out over aproximately twelve months. A budget of $30 million generated a revenue of over $350 million, and that is why there was no question regarding a possible sequel. I would not like to ruin the original for anyone who has somehow missed it by suggesting what members of the cast return, but I shall tell you that based on a boat 'Speed Control' reached nowhere near the dizzy heights of its bus-orientated older brother. 

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