Everything You Need To Know About 'Speed' For Its 30th Anniversary

By Brian Richards | Film | June 30, 2024 |

By Brian Richards | Film | June 30, 2024 |

After the monumental success of Die Hard in 1988, which made Bruce Willis an even bigger star than he was when he starred on Moonlighting, Hollywood released numerous action films in an attempt to follow in its footsteps, to varying degrees of success, with the “Die Hard in/on a X” concept. Under Siege was Die Hard on a Navy battleship. Passenger 57 was Die Hard on a commercial airliner. Sudden Death? A hockey arena. Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down? The White House. (If you ask devoted fans of the late author Vince Flynn, both of those films seem to have ripped off their plots from his novel Transfer of Power) Air Force One? Well, its location is right there in the title. Skyscraper took place in…well, yet another high-rise building.

But out of all those films, one stood head and shoulders above the rest. That film was The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down Speed, which was partly inspired by both Runaway Train and The Bullet Train, and which opened in theaters June 10, 1994.

In a Los Angeles office building, Howard Payne (the late Dennis Hopper), a ruthless extortionist who specializes in explosive devices, takes over an elevator car occupied by several employees, and threatens to detonate a bomb that will drop the entire elevator and its occupants thirty floors down to death and destruction if he doesn’t get the $3.7 million he is demanding. A SWAT team, led by Capt. “Mac” McMahon (Joe Morton), is called in to resolve the situation, and two of his team members, Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels) are able to rig a cable from the roof to the elevator car to secure it and prevent it from hitting the ground floor if Payne chooses to detonate, which is exactly what he does. Both Jack and Harry end up confronting Payne face-to-face after foiling his plan, a confrontation that ends when Payne detonates the bomb vest he is wearing, and dies by suicide rather than be taken into custody.

The morning after Jack and Harry are awarded by the city for their heroic actions, Jack is getting his morning coffee and muffin when he witnesses a nearby city bus explode down the street from him, killing its driver. He responds to a call on the pay phone near that explosion, and discovers that Payne is still alive, and willing to continue wreaking havoc until he gets his money. Payne tells Jack that he has placed a bomb on another city bus, a bomb that will become armed once the bus hits 50 miles per hour. If the bus drops below 50 mph, the bus will explode and kill anyone who is on board. Jack immediately springs into action to reach the bus, and once he makes his way onboard, it’s up to him, and a passenger named Annie (Sandra Bullock), to keep the bus in motion and above 50 mph, while also trying to figure out how to disarm the bomb and keep everyone alive, especially with Payne threatening to trigger the bomb if anyone leaves the bus.

When Speed opened in theaters, the late, great Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review along with his late and equally great partner, Gene Siskel, and Ebert stated that one of the reasons why he liked it so much was because it simply doesn’t stop for anything. From the moment Payne launches his reign of terror, the film becomes a balls-to-the-wall rollercoaster ride that slows down for a minute or two so that you can catch your breath, but does not stop until the end credits begin rolling to the music of Billy Idol singing the title song. Not only that, but Speed is both believable and scary as to what is happening to this bus and its passengers, and the obstacles that are constantly thrown in their path to make things even worse. Traffic with other vehicles during morning rush hour. Pedestrians being forced to quickly avoid the speeding bus heading in their direction as if brakes and traffic lights don’t exist. Pedestrians crossing the street who are paying little or no attention to said bus heading in their direction. Passengers who are utterly scared about what’s happening to them, and resort to either gunfire or attempting to leave the bus, both of which end in bloodshed. News helicopters following them, and seemingly broadcasting their every move. An unexpected gas leak resulting from a failed attempt to defuse the bomb attached under the bus, and to do it while the whole damn bus is moving over 50 mph. The terrifying realization that the freeway this bus is driving on is unfinished, because there’s a huge gap in the middle of it that’s nearly impossible to cross. And that the only way for them to survive is to do their best Evel Knievel impression, and put the pedal to the metal to launch the bus over that gap, and still keep the bus going over 50 mph if they actually make it to the other side.

(FYI: The team from MythBusters tested the realism of this action set piece, and whether it was actually possible for a bus to accomplish such a feat in those conditions. Spoiler alert: It’s not, but would you want a movie like this to let a couple of minor things like realism and the laws of physics get in the way of a rollicking good time?)

For anyone who is all too familiar with how hellish it can be to drive on the freeways of L.A., how bizarre it often is to watch high-speed car chases on those very same roads (The fact that millions of people went to theaters, and saw Jack race across the city in his Ford Bronco seven days before those very same people turned on their televisions to watch O.J. Simpson and Al Cowlings in a slow-speed chase on the freeway in a Ford Bronco, is a darkly humorous coincidence), or who has had to rely on public transportation at its worst to arrive at their destinations? Speed is a movie that really couldn’t be made anywhere else other than the city of Los Angeles.

Speed does ask us to suspend our disbelief to enjoy what’s happening onscreen, but it fortunately doesn’t ask viewers to check their brains at the door, as we watch Payne prove that he is (in Jack and Mac’s words) crazy, but not stupid, and Jack and Annie doing their best to remain cool under pressure, while also having to make life-and-death choices at high speeds behind the wheel with little to no hesitation. (That being said…why exactly is Payne inflicting all of this carnage on the people of L.A. instead of doing so in his hometown of Atlanta, where he originally served on the police department’s bomb squad, and was forced into retirement after his injury on the job? Why is Harry tagging along with the rest of the bomb squad to kick in the door at Payne’s house when he’s still recovering from being shot in the leg? *insert GIF of Elmo shrugging his shoulders here*) To see the main characters trapped in a deadly and seemingly inescapable situation, and wondering just how they’ll survive is a large part of what Speed so exciting and thrilling. It’s also smart enough to know when to finally bring the bus ride to a satisfying end before moving on to Jack and Annie being terrorized on another form of high-speed public transportation, which is the Red Line of the L.A. Metro Rail.

However, none of the stunts and pyrotechnics would mean all that much without the cast giving terrific performances throughout the film. Joe Morton as Jack and Harry’s commanding officer, doing everything he can on his end to keep Jack and the passengers alive and safe; Jeff Daniels as Harry, Jack’s snarky and reliable partner who helps solve the puzzle as to who Howard Payne is, only to realize far too late just how brilliant and merciless Payne truly is (Kudos to Daniels for all of the emotions conveyed on his face right before Payne’s bomb goes off); Alan Ruck and Beth Grant as two of the passengers whose morning bus ride becomes an absolute nightmare; and Glenn Plummer as the Jaguar owner who is forced into assisting Jack with warning the driver and passengers, and then getting onto the bus.

Sandra Bullock in her breakout role as Annie, who finds herself having to take the wheel like Jesus when the bus driver is shot, and doing everything she can behind the wheel to keep herself and every other passenger alive, no matter how terrified and worried she is. And of course…Keanu Reeves as Jack, who goes above and beyond in his attempts to defuse the bomb, put a stop to what Payne is doing, keep all of the passengers calm, and keep the bus moving as fast as it can, no matter what. (And as a bonus, he does all of this while looking incredibly hot in a white T-shirt and black tactical vest showing off his arms, along with his buzzcut.)

Excuse me one moment…

Besides its nonstop action scenes all over the streets of Los Angeles, Speed is also remembered for the romance that slowly develops between Jack and Annie, and the amazing chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock that makes the audience root for them to hook up and exchange kisses, even though they’re a little too busy breaking all traffic laws to remain in one piece. That chemistry between the two actors wasn’t limited to their work together on Speed, as it soon became clear via interviews how fond they were of each other off the set as well.

From Esquire:

“He’s a listener,” Sandra Bullock says. “And it drives. People. Crazy.”

Bullock met Keanu on the set of Speed, which came out in 1994. They had friends in common. They had the same publicist, which sometimes meant they wound up at the same Hollywood event, and they’d get a drink after. They never got-together got-together—never. “Nope,” she says. She has always maintained that getting-together getting-together would have ruined a great friendship. “But who knows?” she says suddenly. “Keanu’s a guy who, I feel like, is friends with every woman he’s ever dated. I don’t think there’s anyone who has something horrible to say about him. So maybe we could have survived. I don’t know. But we didn’t have to survive anything. We just get to grow up together on parallel roads and tip our hats and meet for a dinner and try to work together. And the longer time goes on, the more in awe I am of the human being. Would I have been able to say that if he had dumped me and made me angry? Probably not.” A year or so after Speed came out, Bullock and Keanu were hanging out, talking about whatever, and somehow the subject of Champagne and truffles came up, which is not really a subject at all, but Bullock said, offhand, that she had never had Champagne and truffles. A nothing comment. “Really?” Keanu said. “Nope, never had ‘em,” Bullock said. The conversation wandered to other topics.

A few days later, Bullock was sitting in the living room of the little house she had bought—her first house—with a girlfriend. They were painting their nails. She heard an engine outside, which turned out to be Keanu’s motorcycle. He rang the doorbell, and Bullock opened the door to find him there with flowers, Champagne, and truffles. He said, “I just thought you might want to try Champagne and truffles, to see what it’s like.” He sat on the couch. Bullock poured some Champagne, and they opened the truffles. Keanu put his hands out, without a word, and Bullock painted his nails black, same as hers. He didn’t stay long. He had a date, in fact. He called his date, said he would be there soon, and left.

“That’s what I mean that it drives you crazy,” Bullock says. “When I first met him, I would spend as much time as I could filling a silence, just to feel comfortable. And the more I jibber-jabbered on, the quieter he would get. And I thought, I don’t understand what’s happening! He’s looking at me with eyes of confusion. He’s quiet. Did I say something to offend him? And then a day or two later, he would arrive with a note or a little package, saying, ‘I thought about what you said.’ And he would have his response.”

Bullock, who sometimes speaks in spectacular streaks, is quiet for a moment. Then she says, “How many people do you know like that?”

It’s stuff like this that has numerous fans convinced that, despite Bullock’s protestations, the two of them have dated and/or hooked up at least once. Which is what most of them also think about Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet after working together on Titanic, and about David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson during/after their original nine-season run on The X-Files.

Keanu and Sandra worked together once again for the 2006 film The Lake House, but when it came to the inevitable sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control? Keanu chose not to reprise his role as Jack Traven, and he was replaced by Jason Patric, who played SWAT officer (and Annie’s love interest) Alex Shaw. The film follows Alex and Annie’s romantic getaway on a luxury cruise ship, which is hijacked by a former employee of the company that owns the cruise ship (Willem Dafoe), and who has programmed the ship to collide with an oil tanker.

Unlike the first film, which was a critically acclaimed box office hit, Speed 2 received mostly negative reviews, and ended up failing at the box office. As for why Keanu chose not to appear in the sequel? He didn’t need the money after appearing in Speed, he didn’t want to take on another action role so soon after making Chain Reaction, and he especially wasn’t impressed by the screenplay for the film. As he once described it: You just can’t do Speed on a cruise ship. And honestly?

There has recently been discussion about a third Speed film hitting the big screen, an idea that both Keanu and Sandra were very open to making a reality when they discussed it on the 50 MPH podcast.

…There is a road to redemption after Speed’s 1997 sequel crashed and burned: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Jan de Bont — Speed 3. They hear it all the time, of course.

“I mean, you know — we’d freakin’ knock it out of the park,” Reeves says.

But whether it’s Speed 3 or The Lake House 2 (j/k), both actors would love to share the screen again. They’re well aware that whatever it is they have together, it simply works.

“There’s no formula. It just is,” Bullock says. “Before I die, before I leave this planet, I do think that Keanu and I need to do something in front of the camera. Are we, you know, in wheelchairs or with walkers? Maybe. Are we on little scooters at Disneyland?”

Adds Keanu, with trademark heartfelt consideration: “It does feel like there is a siren call to it, like there’s something that wasn’t done. I would love to work with you again before our eyes close.”

A couple of Twitter users recently expressed their opinion that Speed is a mid-budget action movie that has the look, sauce, and swagger of a big-budget action movie. (At the time of its production back in 1993, the budget for Speed was between $30-$37 million.) And the problem is that we don’t get too many action movies like that anymore, especially not in theaters, as most movies with smaller and mid-sized budgets are relegated to streaming services, where they can easily be shelved and removed from circulation for tax-related purposes. There are no lies to be found in that statement, either, and not just because there are too many genre movies that seem to demand much larger budgets that aren’t entirely necessary, which can make it more difficult for said movies to break even at the box office. (Hence why critics and studio execs pin all of their hopes — and potential headlines — on how the opening weekend turns out.)

Speed is the type of action movie that doesn’t get made nearly as often as it should, and it has plenty of factors that contributed to its success and its status as a classic of the action genre: a talented director (Jan de Bont, who made his directorial debut with Speed after working as a longtime cinematographer, and who used the success of Speed to secure the job of directing Twister), a clever and inventive screenplay by Graham Yost (who would later become the showrunner/executive producer for Justified) with some uncredited script contributions by Joss Whedon (I hate to say it, but he is partly responsible for the film’s quality and success), a pulse-pounding score by composer Mark Mancina, and a great cast who helped make all of the explosive action worth watching. I’d honestly be fine if it never gets made, but if Keanu and Sandra do choose to reunite with their former collaborators (not you, Joss, your ass can stay in the Phantom Zone where you belong) for Speed 3, and make it into a sequel that is every bit as awesome and memorable as the original? I’d be willing to see the next villain give their variation of “Pop quiz, hotshot!” right before making life — and public transportation — hell for both Jack and Annie.

Speed is now streaming on Hulu and Starz.