Speed

1994 Action/Adventure

If you don't think Speed is the fastest-moving adventure film ever made, we challenge you to find a faster one. Keanu Reeves stars as an LA Bomb Squad specialist whose principal antagonist is elusive bomber-extortionist Dennis Hopper. Seeking vengeance after his latest ransom scheme is thwarted, Hopper presents a personal challenge to Reeves: A wired-for-destruction city bus, which will detonate if the speedometer drops below 50 MPH. Playing the reluctant civilian who is pressed into service as the bus' "substitute driver," leading lady Sandra Bullock became a major star in her own right. Once Speed gets to the meat of its story, the excitement never lets up--not even after the boobytrapped bus is out of the picture.

Director: Jan de Bont

Starring: Keanu Reeves,Dennis Hopper,Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton,Jeff Daniels

 28 Reviews  12 Awards

Reviews

  • We've seen this done before, but seldom so well, or at such a high pitch of energy.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

  • The film takes off from formula elements-it's yet another variation on "Die Hard"-but it manipulates those elements so skillfully, with such a canny mixture of delirium and restraint, that I walked out of the picture with the rare sensation that every gaudy thrill had been earned.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • The result is clean, delirious, and, yes, speedy-the best big-vehicle-in-peril movie since Clouzot's "The Wages of Fear."

    Anthony Lane - The New Yorker

    27 April 2013

  • De Bont and his team have turned in a visually sophisticated piece of mayhem that makes the implausible plausible and keeps the thrills coming.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    27 April 2013

  • If you're looking for action movie heaven, try Speed, a crackling blend of suspense and fun that gives you the rush of a runaway roller coaster.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

    Academy Awards (1995)

  • Best Actress

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1995)

  • Best Edited Feature Film

    American Cinema Editors (1995)

     

  • Best Foreign Film

    Awards of the Japanese Academy (1995)

     

  • Best Editing

    BAFTA Awards (1995)

Lists

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