Friday, September 30, 2011

Speed Review













Speed


Release Date: 30th June 1994 - Australia


Production Companies
20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Action/Thriller

Rating: M

Runtime: 116 minutes


Budget: $30,000,000

Box Office Gross: $350,448,145 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
A revenge-seeking extortionist sets up a bomb on a bus, and Jack Traven, a specialist from L.A.P.D.'s SWAT team, is sent to disarm the explosive before all the passengers get killed. With the aid of a passenger, Annie Porter. They must speed the transport vehicle through the streets of Los Angeles and stop it from slowing down before the bomb detonates.


Cast
Keanu Reeves - Officer Jack
Traven
Dennis Hopper - Howard Payne
Sandra Bullock - Annie Porter
Jeff Daniels - Det. Harold
"Harry" Temple
Joe Morton - Lt. McMahon
Richard Lineback - Sgt. Norwood
Alan Ruck - Doug Stephens
Margaret Medina - Officer
Robin Barnette
Hawthorne James - Sam
Beth Grant - Helen
Carlos Carrasco - Ortiz
Glenn Plummer - Jaguar Owner
David Kriegel - Terry
Natsuko Ohama - Mrs. Kamino
Daniel Villarreal - Ray
Margaret Medina - Robin
Jordan Lund - Bagwell
Robert Mailhouse - Young Executive
Patrick Fischler - Friend of Executive
Patrick John Hurley - CEO
John Capodice - Bob
Thomas Rosales Jr. - Vince
Richard Schiff - Train Driver
Sandy Martin - Bartender
Neisha Folkes-LeMelle - Mrs. McMahon

Crew
Director - Jan de Bont
Writer - Graham Yost
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Ian Bryce
Producer - Mark Gordon
Co-Producer - Allison Lyon Segan
Technical Advisors: Police - Randy Walker
and Ed Arneson
Casting Directors - Risa Bramon Garcia
and Billy Hopkins
Production Designer - Jackson DeGovia
Art Director - John R. Jensen
Set Decorator - K.C. Fox
Property Master - Trish Gallaher Glenn
Costume Designer - Ellen Mirojnick
Director of Photography - Andrzej Bartkowiak
First Assistant Camera - Michael Condro,
Mikael Glattes, Vern Nobles Jr. and Steve Adcock
(Uncredited)
Second Assistant Camera - Christopher Blauvelt
and John J. Ellingwood
First Assistant Director - David Sardi
Second Unit Director - Alexander Witt
Stunt Coordinator - Gary Hymes
Assistant Stunt Coordinator - Brian Smrz
Transportation Coordinator - Randy Peters
Special Effects Coordinator - John Frazier
Visual Effects Supervisor - Boyd Shermis
Supervisor: Grant McCune Design -
Grant McCune
Computer Graphics Supervisor: SPI -
Ron Brinkmann
Director of Photography: Subway Crew -
David Drzewiecki
Film Editor - John Wright
Supervising Sound Editor - Stephen Hunter Flick
Supervisor ADR Editor - Victoria Rose Sampson
Supervising Dialogue Editor - Gary S. Gerlich
Dialogue Editors - Gregory H. Gerlich,
Elliott Koretz, Pieter Hubbard,
Marvin Walowitz and Hal Sanders
Re-Recording Mixers - Bob Beemer,
Gregg Landaker and Steve Maslow
Music - Mark Mancina
Composer: Additional Music - John Van Tongoren
Executive Music Producer - Ralph Sall
Music Recordists and Mixers - Jay Rifkin
and Alan Meyerson


Awards

1995 Academy Awards
Best Sound - Gregg Landaker, Steve Maslow,
Bob Beemer and David MacMillian (Won)
Best Sound Editing - Stephen Hunter Flick (Won)
--------------------------
Best Film Editing - John Wright (Nominated)


Review
From start to finish, SPEED was a full-throttle action sensation. It features the well-talented performances of Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper and Sandra Bullock and excellent direction by Jan de Bont. It is a thrilling blockbuster movie where it is hero vs. villain as the hero has a certain amount of time to disarm a bomb in a bus, and the villain sits back and devises evil plans to cause havoc and destruction. The stunt performances were extraordinary in a limitless spectacle, especially considering the age of this feature and the limited technology that existed when it was released.

With the exclusion of the bus jump scene, which is proven theoretically as poor physics, the bus clearly could not have cleared a jump of that length, given its weight and size. That explains some of that Hollywood magic.

SPEED does qualify as one of the great action hits. It is pleasurable for movie viewers to enjoy it in an action-oriented marathon or just one viewing. This high-octane action-thriller is close to being the best film of the year, which now goes to The Lion King.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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1 comment:

  1. You have a very simialr taste in movies as I do. I also really enjoyed Speed. One of my favorites.

    -James

    ReplyDelete