Saturday 23 September 2017

Freeview film of the day : saturday 23rd of September

Speed (1994 111min.) [Film4 9.00pm &+1]

An LAPD cop discovers a psychopathic criminal has planted a bomb on a crowded bus, primed to go off if the vehicle drops below 50mph. He boards the vehicle and helps the hapless passenger who has been forced to take the wheel to keep a constant speed to avoid a disaster. Action thriller, starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper and Jeff Daniels.

A film that was a huge deal at the time and spawned an enormous number of cash-ins (and a less than wonderful sequel of its own) but which seems to have fallen from favour slightly over the past twenty years.

Watching it now you're struck by the amount of moments which have become cinematic cliches since they first featured here.
The central performances (Keanu, Sandy and Dennis) are all very good and Jan De Bont certainly knows how to direct this kind of film (he also directed the excellent Twister).

I watched it again last year and was struck by how well it's stood up over the passing years, unlike many big budget, effects heavy Hollywood blockbusters of the nineties.

Well worth another look.

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