Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd o...
Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd op every now and then......
Member since:16.01.2001
Reviews:369
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This was the film that was to transform Keanu Reeves from loveable air guitar geek Ted "Theodore" Logan into credible hard action man. Shorn of hair, but not of accent , it doesn't quite come off. His partnership with Jeff Daniels almost mirrors the Bill & Ted union, Jeff being the Bill S. Preston Esquire (Alex Winter in the Bill & Ted Films), with lots of wise cracks amid the explosion. Sandra Bullock is added as the love interest, but you get the feeling she's more sorry for him than attracted to him.
Anyway to the film.
Howard Payne is an embittered ex- bomb squad cop pensioned off when he loses digits in and explosion. The character is played perfectly by Dennis Hopper, with a suitable disregard for human life and personal property. He is continually foiled by the presence of Reeves and Daniels (not Reeves and Mortimer note). This annoys him as he continues to miss out on the 3.75 million dollars that he is "owed" by the city.
There are three sequences in the film: _
1) The Lift
Howard wires up an express lift containing a number of executives and traps them on the 42nd floor. Ransom required 3 million otherwise he blows the emergency breaks. R & D run around in the lift shaft secure the lift , just before Payne blows it and rescue the last passenger as the cable gives way and the lift plunges to the floor. Cue lots of SAOL (Smart Assed One Liners) and back slapping.
2) The Bus
This is the main part of the film, which involves a wired up bus that cannot drop below 55 miles per hour, otherwise the bomb goes off. The driver is shot , cue Sandra Bullock to look cute and take over the driving of the bus. This includes lots of smashing cars, driving on the hard shoulders, and Evel Kneivel style open space leap and right angled turns, before running the gates at the airport, rescuing all the passengers , and a final explosive climactic collision with a jet. The great thing about this is that it's totally ludicrous, totally impossible. You could never keep a bus going above 55 miles per hour in those conditions, but Jan De Bont's direction keeps you glued to the edge of your seat. The action doesn't let up for a second. It takes great talent to completely transcend your audiences disbelief and De Bont does this brilliantly.
3) The Underground
Shades of Pelham 123 when Payne kidnaps Sandra Bullock, and wires her up with lots of explosive, setting up the final showdown on the roof of the underground train carriage. Needless to say the good guys win and the bad guy gets his comeuppance, with another great set piece as the train erupts on to the street and comes to rest in front of a Universal Studio Tours bus.
All in all a brilliant , totally over the to action film. Get it on video or DVD , put it on , and suspend your disbelief for two hours.
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Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Action/Adventure - Director: Peter Jackson - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Andy Serkis
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
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Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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romance in a film you'll want to see again and again. Keanu Reeves stars as Jack Traven an LAPD Swat team specialist who is sent to defuse a bomb that a revenge-dri...
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![Speed [DVD] [1994]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78545125.jpg "Speed [DVD] [1994]")
May 29th, 2001
(May 30th, 2001)
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