For the next few weeks, we will be counting down our 25 favorite blockbusters! Read all of the entries here.

6. Speed (dir. Jan de Bont, 1994)

by Matt McCafferty, Staff Writer

Speed was the first movie that I owned on VHS as a kid. I was nine years old when I got it as a birthday present from my aunt. My parents bought plenty of movies up to that point, but they were all added to the family collection. None of them felt like they were mine. Speed was mine. It was also Rated-R. As a nine-year old, that was exciting. So as you can imagine, I watched this movie A LOT. 

Speed is one of those high-concept movies where you can summarize its plot fairly well in one sentence: An L.A. city bus is armed with a bomb that will explode if it drops below 50 miles per hour. There’s obviously more to it than that, but it’s the simplicity of this setup that helps make this movie so thrilling. We don’t get distracted by a complicated plot trying to do too much. Once Jack (Keanu Reeves) gets word of the bomb on the bus, it’s as simple as him doing whatever he can to stop it from exploding and killing everyone on board.

Sure, almost everything that happens in this movie is totally improbable. The bus making that fifty-foot jump over a freeway gap is one quick example. I mean, there’s no incline whatsoever to make that jump look even slightly possible. But it doesn't matter. Observations like these never stop the movie from being such a good time. In fact, it’s the film’s willingness to embrace these improbabilies that makes it so much fun.

A lot of movies get slapped with the “non-stop thrill ride” label. As cheesy as that may sound, this is one of the rare movies that actually deserves that description. You get a few short breathers here and there, but that’s about it. I hate to sound like an old man with this next comment, but oh well. These 90s action movies are in a totally different league from what we get today within this genre. I’m not saying we don’t get good action movies today, but very few are on par with Speed and many of the other action movies that came out around that time. 

The cast is another big reason for the film’s success. There’s a reason Keanu Reeves is still a big action star today. It doesn’t matter how he delivers his lines, he always manages to be so cool with everything that he does. I can remember as a kid running around the yard with a Nerf gun pretending to be Jack Traven on my way to dismantle a bomb with that music running through my head. If you haven’t heard the main theme in a while, do yourself a favor: put on some headphones and take a walk/jog around your neighborhood. You’ll feel like you’re right in the middle of your own 90s action movie. Ok, maybe that’s a little far-fetched since I’m not nine-years old anymore, but it’s a great listen nonetheless.

Sandra Bullock is terrific as the impromptu heroine-bus driver. She blends together a tough yet sweet demeanor that we’ve now seen from her countless times over her career. The romantic chemistry between her and Jack is also a nice touch that lightens up some of the non-stop chaos that goes on around them. There’s also Dennis Hopper who shows up every few scenes to deliver some of the most quotable lines of the movie. Hopper is clearly having a blast playing the out-of-his-mind bomber villain looking for his payday. This is without a doubt my favorite performance of his.

There’s obviously some nostalgia going on with my love for this movie. I watched it again in preparation for this piece to see if a fresh viewing would change my rating in any way. Nope. It’s still a perfect action film. The latest thing that I came to appreciate on this rewatch was just how good the effects looked. No CGI explosions or any kind of green screen tricks. When it came to the subway scene at the end, miniature trains were used to show it crashing out onto Hollywood Boulevard. It’s an old school filmmaking approach at this point, but it’s one that delivers amazing results when it’s pulled off so well like it is here.  

I’m also glad to see Speed land so high on our collective Summer Blockbuster List at #6. I never would have guessed it to rank this high. Regardless of its ranking, I’m just happy it made the list to give me another reason to watch it again.