What it’s about
Madman Howard Payne (Hopper) wreaks havoc in Los Angeles, strapping a bomb under a municipal bus set to go off if the acceleration goes under 50 mph. Annie Porter (Bullock) is one unlucky woman on that bus due to too many speeding tickets. Officer Jack Travern (Reeves) is the LAPD bomb expert assigned to rescue the passengers.
Why we love it
Though I may quibble with both Reeves's and Hopper's performances (the first acts like scenery, while the second chews it), “Speed” was neither written nor directed as an actors' showcase, thank goodness. Rather, it's one long adrenaline rush with enough twists and turns to sustain its running time, and certain to keep action fans wide-eyed all the way through the closing credits.
Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels Jan deBont