De Bont has assembled it with masterly precision. And Speed looks terrific. There are breathtaking aerial shots, mind-boggling stunts, and camera positioning that you just don't expect. It's a rocketing eyeful.
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Speed
Overview
Tensions run high when a crazed bomber rigs a Los Angeles bus with a device that will kill everyone on board if the vehicle's speed dips below fifty miles per hour.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
A riotously enjoyable locomotive of action, Speed is driven by a premise of such crystalline purity that its ridiculousness becomes part of the fun.
Believe it or not, the most exciting movie of the year takes place mainly in an elevator, on a city bus and on a train car.
Action directing is a put-up-or-shut-up game, a skill that can't be faked or finessed; even a 10-year-old can tell if you've got it or not. And on the evidence of the invigorating Speed, Jan De Bont has definitely got it.
The deft arabesques of cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak juice up the suspense, and if you're not too put off by the sheer ridiculousness of the story you won't be bored.
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