
When a young Los Angeles police department, Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) officer called Jack Traven angers retired Atlanta police department bomb squad member Howard Payne, by foiling his attempt at taking hostages stuck in an elevator with a bomb, Payne in retaliation arms a bus with a bomb that will explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour. With the help of spunky passenger Annie, Jack and his partner Detective Harry Temple try to save the people on the bus bef... (Full plot summary below)
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When a young Los Angeles police department, Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) officer called Jack Traven angers retired Atlanta police department bomb squad member Howard Payne, by foiling his attempt at taking hostages stuck in an elevator with a bomb, Payne in retaliation arms a bus with a bomb that will explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour. With the help of spunky passenger Annie, Jack and his partner Detective Harry Temple try to save the people on the bus before the bomb goes off, while also trying to figure out how Payne is monitoring them.
Leave your thoughts about Speed.
| Orlando SentinelJay BoyarBelieve it or not, the most exciting movie of the year takes place mainly in an elevator, on a city bus and on a train car. |
| Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittKeanu Reeves and Dennis Hopper are fun to watch as the dueling protagonists, and Sandra Bullock is fetching as an astonished commuter who finds herself behind the steering wheel. |
| TheMovieReport.comMichael DequinaAn exhilarating thrill machine that goes from 0 to 50 in the opening minutes and never lets up. |
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWe've seen this done before, but seldom so well, or at such a high pitch of energy. |
| The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe result is clean, delirious, and, yes, speedy—the best big-vehicle-in-peril movie since Clouzot's "The Wages of Fear." |
| Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe film takes off from formula elements-it's yet another variation on "Die Hard"-but it manipulates those elements so skillfully, with such a canny mixture of delirium and restraint, that I walked out of the picture with the rare sensation that every gaudy thrill had been earned. |
| Filmcritic.comBlake FrenchAudiences may have experienced similar stories before, but they are seldom done this well and with this level of energy. |
| Rolling StonePeter TraversIf you're looking for action movie heaven, try Speed, a crackling blend of suspense and fun that gives you the rush of a runaway roller coaster. |
| ReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's an ingenious premise that first-time director Jan De Bont has turned into a tremendously well-executed motion picture. |
| rec.arts.movies.reviewsScott RenshawJack Traven is the perfect role for Reeves. He is asked to do little more than set his jaw and look good in a tight T-shirt, and he's good at both. |