Speed (Widescreen Edition)

One of the most legendary of action movies (and deservedly so) "Speed" is a full-octane thrill ride bolstered by great performances and an unusually potent level of character interaction. In revenge for the foiling of his plot to hold an elevatorful of hostages for ransom, a maniacal villain (Dennis Hopper) targets one of the cops who stopped him (Keanu Reeves) by launching a plot that makes him responsible for saving a busload of civillians. With the bus wired with a bomb that will detonate if its speed drops below fifty miles an hour - intentionally making Reeves's attempt to board and save it a suicide bid - Hopper demands another ransom, thus going after revenge and profit in the same gambit.

As in most of the best action movies, the deck is really stacked against the movie's protagonist. The bus can't slow down, it can't stop at red lights, it can't be refueled, and it's forbidden for anyone to try to leave the bus: with helicopter news crews capturing the whole thing live, Hopper can monitor events at leisure from his hideout. Sandra Bullock plays Annie, a girl who ends up driving the bus after its original driver is incapacitated early on, and the great chemistry between her and Reeves is a big plus in the movie (that chemistry worked again a few years later in The Lake House (Widescreen Edition)). Actually, the interactions among everyone on the bus play off very well and believable. "Speed" features some of the more innovative action sequences for this kind of movie and succeeds in creating a good rush with them. A film that compares well with the best "Die Hard"s and the first Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut), this is, needless to say, an essential for action fans, as well as one that even those who rarely go for the action movie should check out.

After the first 30 minutes of non-stop action and hair-raising close calls with little or no dialog-- about the time the super-charged bus made a death-defyimg leap across a freeway chasm-- I figured there had to be a pause coming up. You know the old-fashioned type movie-making when the audience gets a chance to catch its breath and anticipate the action to come. Maybe even a few minutes of human interest. But that pause never came. Then after the second 30 minutes of non-stop action and hair-raising close calls-- about the time the bus blows up the airplane real good-- I figured the pause had to come. But no, it never did. Instead, there was another 30 minutes of non-stop action and hair-raising close calls, and about the time the subway began to get a mind of its own, something really strange happened. I realized I had gotten bored. Now you wouldn't think that with all that non-stop action and hair-raising close calls, a viewer could actually get bored. But I was. Something, I think, about too much of one thing becoming first familiar, then old, and finally tedious. Then when the non-stop action and hair-raising close calls finally did come to a stop, as all things must, I had my final revelation. What I had just sat through only looked like a real life movie. But it wasn't. Not really. Instead it was only a cartoon version of non-stop action and hair-raising close-calls with human versions of those familiar characters the Roadrunner and Wylie Coyote. Unfortunately, the money I spent was not cartoon money.

This is one of those rare action/suspense movies that will far surpass your expectations. You will be on the edge of your seat a lot because the suspense build up is done that well. The cast is what impressed me the most. I knew what to expect with the Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves pairing, but the supporting characters were a surprise as they were outstanding. Jeff Daniels is always wonderful on screen. Dennis Hopper was great as the lunatic holding them hostage.

If you have seen Planet Earth in HD, this movie will disapoint you in terms of picture quality. Don't get me wrong, it's better than a upscale 1080p DVD.

I guess technology is not there yet to convert old movies compared to the ones that were shot in HD format originaly.

Sound is good, DTS HD at 1.5Mb but not PCM 5.1 which is at 6Mb.

If you always push for the best quality and sound this movie is not for you.

If you are a fan buy it.

Movie is great. Acting is pretty good. Video quality for Blu-ray DVD is poor. There is no extra material (as seen on the Special Edition DVD). But it looks better than the regular DVD version. A buy if you love the movie.