Today, Keanu Reeves is firmly established as one of Hollywood’s most important action stars. Franchises like The Matrix and John Wick have placed him alongside other icons like Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone. Though in real life, he’s supposedly a pretty nice guy, but you don’t want to mess with most of the characters he plays.
However, it all started somewhere. 1991’s Point Break was a notable project that showed his range as an action star, but a few years later, Reeves would lead another major action thriller that shot him further into stardom. We’re talking about Speed, the 1994 action masterpiece where he plays a courageous LAPD officer. Directed by Jan de Bont and co-starring newcomer Sandra Bullock, the film is about a bus carrying a bomb around traffic-ridden L.A., and Reeves’ character trying to save everyone. It is literally hard to find a film that’s more important than this one in the career of the actor famous for playing iconic characters like Neo, Theodore “Ted” Logan, and John Wick.
A new streaming arrival on Hulu, Speed was a huge blockbuster, grossing over $350 million at the box office and putting Reeves and Bullock in the Hollywood spotlight. It was also a major critical success, eventually earning a whopping 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and only sitting below Toy Story 4 (96%) as the highest-rated project starring Reeves. The 1994 action thriller also won Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Sound Editing at the 1995 ceremony.
‘Speed’ Set a New Template for Action
The 1994 action extravaganza is part of a lineage of films designed to deliver thrills, with the logic of the story kept on the back burner. Speed revolves around the basic premise that “the bus must stay above 50 miles per hour,” with many events happening around what’s already a white-knuckle concept. Nevertheless, de Bont and writer Graham Yost are also all about the elaborate set pieces that make the experience much more intense and absurd story-wise. Though it doesn’t make much sense that Dennis Hopper’s villain Howard Payne is able to pull everything off without many restrictions, we’re willing to suspend our disbelief. This is a theme park ride in the form of an action blockbuster, and we’re not supposed to ask many questions.
Starting with the first scene in the elevator, Speed is a masterclass in stunt sequences. Although there was already access to early CGI “enhancements,” de Bont relies on practical effects and spectacular editing that make the thrills more tangible. The sequences aboard the bus are nothing short of mesmerizing, with the main story ending in a literal plane explosion — and that’s not even the end of it. There’s one final scene involving a subway train that will also leave you out of breath. They sure don’t make them like this anymore, despite how many movies have been made subsequently that establish specific criteria for their premise.
Much like how many movies could be described as “Die Hard, but…,” Speed established a new formula that imitators have spent decades trying to replicate. Some have triumphed, like Tony Scott with Unstoppable, but that essence is truly hard to capture without the vision to take things to the next level and leave logic aside. It’s also quite difficult to do so without the presence of a lead like Keanu Reeves.
Taking His Talent to New Heights
At the time, Reeves wasn’t necessarily considered a great actor. Even though his role in 1991’s My Own Private Idaho was impressive, his performance in 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula was criticized. This meant he could go back to the one genre that had worked out for him.
With Speed, Reeves took the basics of the surfer cop from Point Break, but ultimately delivered a whole new version of the hero figure – a fearless defender who dives into the eye of the storm if that’ll get him closer to saving the world. While the movie follows the rules of the action genre – one that isn’t known for nuanced, strongly built characters – Jack Traven was well-written as an interesting and flawed action hero that took his job very seriously. His performance was compelling enough to get Reeves top billing for the first time in his career.
When Jack discovers he must stop this speeding bus, audiences know that he has to intervene somehow, even though the vehicle has to keep its momentum, which showcases Reeves’ commitment to throwing himself into the middle of the action. Naturally, as viewers, all we can think of is how? How, exactly, will this basic premise lead to a solution where all passengers aboard the bus will be safe at the end of the day? After all, the villain’s message includes that all of them must remain inside the train, or else he will detonate… something. And he proves his point, violently.
Even though your nails will be gone by the time Traven gets on the bus, Reeves’ career-defining realization of an action hero is a glimmer of hope against a very rotten and capable villain.
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