Speed (Jan De Bont, 1994)

 

Speed has a clever and addictive story, there is no doubt about that. And the action scenes there are fulfilling and thrilling. But there is something that seems to spoil the fun. And that is the characteristic that the film has of being quite non believable to the eyes of the spectator. I mean when the bus flies when there is no road you seem to lose every interest that you had for the film. This characteristic of the American film industry to want to make movies that have that element where the things that are happening don't happen in real life in any way, seems to spoil the atmosphere of the movies. And the interesting thing is that Speed no matter how "phony" it may look at moments, is a movie that really wins the spectator. This whole idea with the bomb in a bus and that claustrophobic emotions that you get seem to work pretty awesomely. But I think that the problem here is that the film is going for easy solutions. It could have made the action scenes in a more believable way, but it preferred the easy road. You know the road that would astonish the dumb viewer, the road that would satisfy the viewer who doesn't ask much from an action movie. Action is a thing that many times is synonymous with things that don't convince not even the dumbest spectator. We seem to think that the most outrageous an action scene is the most successful is the movie. But that is a huge mistake. Action is a thing that must apply to some rules. When the bus flies from the ground, the spectator loses interest for the movie. When there is nothing else to do, the movie gets excessive. And that doesn't mean that the adrenaline is high. On the contrary the viewer feels that he is been take for a fool. But the truth is that no matter the visual flaws of Speed the film succeeds to its purpose. It delivers a clever, thrilling and fast action movie with some scenes that really freeze your blood and with a general attitude that speaks about a film that really moves higher than the average Sunday noon action piece. Speed is a film that will take you to places. It's a movie that will permit you to take that beautiful ride inside the action genre and finally is a film that will make your heart jump from its seat and land in the safe hands of an action movie that with the exception of some scenes respects itself to the fullest.