Release Date: June 10, 1994
Box Office Gross: $121,248,145
Rotten Tomatoes Freshness Rating: 90%
Pertinent Review Line: “Speed cinches its spot as the thrill ride of summer by providing characters to hiss at and root for. Jack and Annie actually manage to strike up a convincing romance even at hyperspeed and without taking their eyes off the road. It’s an impressive feat enhanced by the film’s knack — shared with The Fugitive — for serving up two hours of pure pow without gratuitous gore.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone 

That’s right. I’m claiming a movie that basically every critic liked and made over $100 million at the box office is totally underrated. “You’re defending popular blockbuster Speed,” asked an incredulous Lady E the other night. That’s right, baby! You probably enjoyed this movie way back when, but you almost certainly cannot remember why. That’s why I’m here.

The Case for Why It’s Not Underrated

As mentioned above, Speed received excellent ratings, made more than $100 million at the box office, got great performances from every single one of its lead actors, and somehow managed to make Keanu Reeves a convincing and intense leading man instead of a mouth-breathing stargazer for two hours. Relentlessly exciting, disarmingly funny in places, and the epitome of summer popcorn entertainment. What the hell are you talking about, Dagger?

The Case for Why It Is Underrated

When was the last time you watched Speed? When was the last time you even thought about it? Years? Several years? Over a decade? Knowing this audience, I’d say the last time you thought about this film was the last time you heard Homer Simpson say, “I saw this movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode! I think it was called ‘The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down.’”

And what do you remember? The premise, right? Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, 50 mph, yada yada yada, the bus blows up, everyone goes home happy. Do you remember what it felt like to watch this movie the first time? Roger Ebert refers to this movie as a “forearm bruiser” because you constantly grab the forearm of whoever’s sitting next to you because this movie knows exactly what it’s trying to do, and executes it brilliantly. I’m not arguing that this movie was underrated when it came out; I’m arguing that this movie is underrated now.

Peter Travers compares this movie to The Fugitive in the review I linked above, which as we all know, is perhaps the greatest lazy weekend cable movie ever made. And what makes The Fugitive so great? The same thing that I recently realized was so great about Speed since HBO has finally gotten around to putting this one back in rotation. You can jump in at literally any point, get sucked in, and find yourself an hour later breathlessly watching the climactic resolution.

Speed, like The Fugitive, moves at a double time pace leaving no dead spots, and thus, becomes one of the most rewatchable films of all-time. And while the action set pieces are truly spectacular, when I say no dead spots, I mean that the story is woven so tightly, the quick character asides feel just as fun as the bus racing down the wrong side of traffic. Alan Ruck as the smarmy tourist bounces off gruff construction worker Ortiz (also referred to as “Gigantor” which always made me chuckle) with delightful ease, Jack and Harry have the rhythms of an old married couple, and Dennis Hopper undercuts his palpable malice with a slight wink.

Which is to say nothing of the ingratiating and palpable chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. I’m admittedly not a huge Bullock fan, but she owned this role and made a potentially goofy pairing with Reeves work brilliantly. Aside from the mind-bendingly idiotic final sequence of Speed 2, I think the main reason it failed was because it missed the spark between the leads. And why wouldn’t it? Has anyone ever checked Jason Patric for a pulse?

Even though the bus is speeding through Los Angeles, the movie makes the front of the bus something of a love lounge and lets the natural charms of both Bullock and Reeves run free and bounce off each other. We’re aware of how that space uniquely belongs to the Jack and Annie characters when Ortiz comes to the front of the bus and Annie barks, “Hey, get your ass behind the yellow line” at him. Which brings me to my next point.

The bus itself is probably the most underrated character in the film. It’s the flawed hero carrying innocent citizens to their jobs safely, cheaply and expediently working as a noble public servant for the people of Los Angeles. The only problem is: It will almost certainly kill everyone inside of itself. And where many directors would make the bus feeling like a fast-rolling straight jacket, Jan de Bont makes the bus feel like a complete home. Vignettes throughout the movie take place in a different section of the bus filling each little area with a signature stamp from the plot. The love lounge at the front, the access panel where Gigantor pulls Reeves from underneath the bus, the rear exit where they all finally escape – the bus is like a house full of rooms and each room is filled with its own set of memories from the film.

Given that tidal wave of praise, why doesn’t this movie get any repeat viewing love like The Fugitive, Fight Club, or its other close contemporary, True Lies? My guess is that the careers of the actors post-Speed overshadowed their excellent work here. Reeves went on to become Neo in one of the biggest trilogies of the last 10 years. Bullock made a ton of chick flicks and at one time was referred to as “America’s Sweetheart.” Dennis Hopper has been and always will be a sort of creepy guy who’s been in iconic work like Easy Rider, True Grit, Blue Velvet, and about 200 other movies.

We all simply forgot that this gem sat there waiting for us to pop it in and get that adrenaline rush one more time. I remember when this came out, some called it “Die Hard on a bus” which is sort of true. A ton of Die Hard-styled movies came out in the 90s, but this is one of the few worth remembering.

Pop quiz, hotshot: You’ve got a 15 year-old movie that made over $100 million and earned great reviews. Is it underrated? Is it?

Yeah. And shoot the hostage.

edagger@crujonessociety.com