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| Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bulloch in Speed (1994) |
Mega Hollywood stars usually have people driving them in limousines, but Sandra Bulloch is taking the bus [in Speed (1994)] and then the ship [in Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)].
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Speed (1994) poster
Speed
(1994)
A mad terrorist
motivated mainly by money (Dennis Hopper, no introduction needed) sets a bomb
on a bus full of civilian passengers (led by Sandra Bulloch) that will explode
if the vehicle stops speeding over 50 miles per hour. Police officer Jack
Traven (Keanu Reeves, in a career-defining performance) gets on the bus and
tries to find a solution.
Written by
Graham Yost (known mainly for his work in television), this is your typical
‘the clock is ticking’ action story, and the direction by Jan de Bont (a
cinematographer by trade) is even more conventional, but somehow it is all
well-executed enough to keep your interest and allow for a good time to be had.
It made a massive $350.4 million at the box-office and it even won a couple of
Oscars among other awards, which doesn’t often happen in pictures of this
genre, therefore it has become a classic of sorts.
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Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Speed
2: Cruise Control (1997)
A hacker (and
embarrassing and embarrassed Willem Dafoe) gets a hold of a cruise’s control in
order to drive it into an oil tank, as if terrorists opt for such bizarre
actions. It is now up to glorified cop Alex Shaw (Jason Patrick, who for a
leading man doesn’t have too much screen time, and we are grateful for that)
and his love interest Annie (returning Sandra Bulloch, who probably couldn’t
say no to the fat check) to save the day.
Doomed to fail
from the get-go not only due to Keanu Reeves’ last minute absence but also
because you can’t make a film called Speed
about a cruise boat because these things are not very fast, so director Jan de
Bont is left with a gigantic budget ($160 million) to save the day, and he
doesn’t even do that as the whole thing is exceptionally mundane, with every
scene resorting to basic coverage and resembling a bad TV movie. It was
destroyed by the critics, hated by the paying audiences, and it grossed $164.5,
merely making its money back and putting a tombstone to the promising
franchise.
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