SPEED

I couldn’t find a tagline!

“Pop quiz, hotshot. There’s an article about Speed on this website right in front of you. What do you do?”

Good you made the right choice and are reading the article. Here are my thoughts on Speed. I honestly don’t understand this movie. After listening to a podcast made by some of the greatest pop culture/sports fanatics ever, I learned that after Die Hard they just plugged that plot into anything. So out came Speed. (If you want to listen to that podcast, check out The Rewatchables pod, episode 13). Anyway, this article/random series of thoughts will be unedited, so please excuse any grammar mistakes I make.

Let’s begin. I think I’ll do some questions followed by some answers. Here we go:

[Warning: There might be a couple of spoilers] 

What did you think of the movie overall?

I thought it was an interesting movie with a very neat idea. This really isn’t just some run of the mill action movie, like Skyscraper or Independence Day: Resurgence. I’m sorry those were pretty bad examples. And I can’t find any better ones. While Speed didn’t really have any thought-thought-provoking ideas, it had a concept that was strong and neat to think about. What if you couldn’t stop going. 

Did you have any expectations going into Speed?

Yeah. I thought that they would have to spend like days on the bus, trying to get food thrown into the bus. Or whenever they ran out of gas, do a transfer or something.

They did have to transfer gas into the car from a moving vehicle.  

No they never got to that. Keanu Reeves just got really bored of standing in the front of the bus and just crashed it. Of course the only reason he did that was because while riding under the bus he stabbed the fuel tank with all his might for absolutely no reason.

Oh right. That was one of the weaker parts of the movie.

For sure. I also really liked the beginning. When Keanu Reeves is just chewing gum and looking down elevator shafts with Jeff Daniels. Speaking of elevators, I gotta say, whenever Dennis Hopper showed up onscreen, I was like: “Wait. I know him from somewhere.” Immediately looked up his movies, then remembered he played Bowser in the Super Mario Bros Movie. (Not a failure, just misunderstood). So sorry Dennis Hopper, that’s the only other movie I’ve watched with you in it. 

Did you like his performance in this?

Actually yeah. He really did good as a cop gone wrong. The fact that his character was treated as a genius who had figured everything out before-hand was nice for a change. Most bad guys in action movies just have goons and guns. Like the guy in Skyscraper (I’m reaching aren’t I?). 

Yes you are. Did you like Sandra Bullock?

Yes. The only other movies I’ve seen her in are While You Were Sleeping, and Ocean’s 8 (apparently she was in Prince of Egypt but I don’t remember that movie very well). And in each movie I’ve watched, her character has been different. My favorite role is thief/hustler Debbie Ocean fro Ocean’s 8. Although the role of Annie Porter wasn’t too bad. 

Besides the part where Keanu Reeves stabs the gas tank, was there anything else you didn’t think was very thought-out? 

One more part. Whenever Keanu Reeves goes full on action hero and tells Sandra Bullock to speed up (get it?). And they launch over the unfinished bridge. Which both looked unrealistic and totally is unrealistic.

Yeah. That was kinda bad. Any closing thoughts?

Not really. I enjoyed Speed a lot, and thought it was one of the best action movies I’ve ever seen. I kinda wished I had grown up watching this, or at least watched it in my early teens. Because then I could have had more of a connection to Speed earlier.