Speed

Die Hard is arguably the best action film ever made and for that matter one of the greatest movies to have ever graced our senses.  I definitely would have a hard time arguing against that.  It offers the best that you could ask for in a movie, seriousness, humor, a relatable but tough badass hero, a thoughtful but ruthless villain, actually memorable henchmen, a really great idea for a story, strained but mendable bridges between the hero and the love interest (in this case his wife) and of course action.  Just about every action scene in this film is a classic.  You always feel the sense of danger too.  You never get the impression that McClane is Superman because he gets so fucked up during the movie.  But he keeps on going and as worked over as he is, he still manages to save the day and get the girl.  I love this fucking movie.

So why did I just gush all over Die Hard?  Well because the cinematographer for that movie was Jan de Bont.  He’s done some really awesome and beautiful work on films like Basic Instinct and Black Rain.  He’s even tried his hand at directing.  And who knew that the cinematographer from Die Hard would go on to make his directorial debut with Speed.

I think most people like Speed but at the same time I feel like it gets left out of the mix a lot.  I’m not totally sure what it is.  Is it because it doesn’t star Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme or Seagal but Keanu Reeves?  It can’t be Dennis Hopper.  I dunno.

Well we all know the story of a bus that can’t go under 50 mph or it’ll explode.  Fine.  But I think the scene that opens up the movie is just as awesome.  Really they could’ve made a whole film about a guy holding an elevator full of people hostage but it’s also really interesting that it’s only the intro and there to establish our main characters.

Keanu Reeves (Dracula (1992), The Devil's Advocate) plays Jack Traven and Jeff Daniels (Dumb & Dumber, Arachnophobia) plays Harry Temple.  These two guys are almost like they took John McClane and separated his two distinct characteristics.  Traven is the guy who wants to get shit done and is willing to take a risk to do it.  I wouldn’t call him cocky really but more like he’s anxious to help.  Temple is the guy that doesn’t have a whole lot of confidence and isn’t sure if things are going to work out.  But this doesn’t stop him from going along with Traven’s hunches.  It’s interesting though that Traven starts to take on more of Temple’s personality by the end of the movie.  There’s a point where he thinks that he can’t save the bus and that everyone’s going to die.

Annie Porter, played by Sandra Bullock, is the everyday citizen that gets to drive a bomb laden bus.  Remember when Bullock did a chunk of action movie like Demolition Man, The Net and this?  Anyway, she does just fine here as a scared shitless person that holds the lives of a dozen people or so in her hands.  Traven has to guide her and help her however he can but it’s really Porter that has to perform and overcome all of the obstacles that are set in front of her.

And Dennis Hopper as the villain, Howard Payne, was such a great choice.  The dynamic of his character plays so well in this movie.  When he’s on the phone he’s fairly calm and exudes confidence in his voice.  But in person he’s a total fucking maniac.  His face gets this absolutely fuming look to it.  You can clearly see that he hates anyone messing with his plans.  But he’s not just a bomber.  Payne loves to kill people from a distance and have it be impersonal but he also has no problem with killing people close up in a personal manner.  For instance in the very beginning of the movie he stabs a guy in the head with a screwdriver.  He also shoots a subway conductor towards the end.  So he’ll do whatever is necessary to see that his plans are carried through.  And I love that he gives them clues about him being a former cop.  Payne doesn’t really care that they know who he is.  In fact he’s counting on it so he can kill more people.  He really doesn’t give a shit, he just wants to fuck with people and get his money.

De Bont does a great job here keeping all of the bus stuff exciting.  It doesn’t go on so long that it gets boring.  The whole movie never feels like one long car chase.  The bus isn’t just driving around for an hour or so with the only danger being some cars on the road.  They hit you with problem after problem to keep you interested.  I think this premise could have easily fallen into monotony so I give them credit for having to invent some wacky stuff like a bus jumping a million foot gap or some shit.  Also it was smart to not have the entire movie be about a runaway bus.  It’s great that they sandwiched it with two non bus scenes and these two scenes are really exciting.  The elevator scene never has you wondering, “when are they going to get to this fucking bus?” and the subway scene doesn’t have you thinking, “I wish they were back on that fucking bus”.  They ditch the bus just in time but not before you get to the point where you’re so glad to not have to be constantly moving.  It’s a relief to get back to being on foot or even to be aboard another vehicle.

Now of course since de Bont is a cinematographer this movie looks good and is shot well.  It has a real pro feel to it and not like it’s someone’s first directing job.  The movie delivers almost pure meat.  But as I have come to realize you can’t have just meat.  Rambo: First Blood Part II taught me that hard lesson.  There needs to be emotional investment in all of the characters.  If you’re not with the bad guy then why do you care if the good guys are trying to catch him?  If the good guy is bland as can be then why do you care if he gets killed?  If a ton of bad guys get slaughtered you have to understand where each side is coming from.  Just showing a million deaths or action scenes doesn’t mean that you’re automatically going to care.     

But anyway it’s really sad to see that Jan de Bont’s career as a director went downhill so quickly after this debut.  I mean Twister wasn’t very good but it was certainly watchable.  It’s the streak of Speed 2: Cruise Control, The Haunting (1999) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Dearly Beloved We Have Gathered Here Today To Get Through This Thing Called Life Jesus Why Is This Title So Long that’s unforgiveable.  Speed was his only R rated movie too which I think is kinda odd.  Jan fooled me into thinking he was going to be some fucking new cool director with a sense of what should be in an action movie.  All of his movies besides Speed feel like they were done by a different director.  They’re cheesier, blander and don’t have any charm to them.  Maybe weirder still is that he doesn’t seem to do anything anymore.  He stopped doing cinematography in 1992 and hasn’t directed a film since 2003.  He’s supposed to direct some live action version of Mulan but I think I can pretty much guarantee that I won’t be seeing it.  Jan, maybe you should go back to being a cinematographer buddy.  As for Speed, that was a helluva fluke man.