"Speed" Turns 25
Monday, June 10, 2019 at 1:00PM by Lynn Lee
When Speed was first released a quarter century(!) ago, the premise seemed ridiculous: Bomb on bus is triggered to go off if the speed ever drops below 50 mph. A bus in Los Angeles, no less. At rush hour! (Actually, it’s always rush hour in L.A., then as now, which only reinforces the preposterousness of the scenario.) Nevertheless, Speed managed to suspend viewers’ disbelief – and their breaths – with a combo of taut white-knuckle thrills that didn’t require elaborate special effects and light humor that relieved but didn’t distract from the constant tension.
A major hit both critically and commercially, it went on to win two Oscars (for sound mixing and sound editing) and elevate the then up-and-coming Keanu Reeves to full movie star status. Now that Keanu seems to be having another “moment” in his long and eclectic career, it feels like an especially opportune time to revisit the movie that vaulted him on to Hollywood’s A list.
How does it hold up?
