You will be aware of the director - but not as a director. Jan De Bont was Cinematographer/Director of Photography on classics like 'Die Hard & The Hunt for Red October'. He then had a massive hit with his debut as Director in 'Speed' and then followed it up with the excellent 'Twister' and we thought a new star action director was born. Then he made Speed 2 and that killed that idea.
He was kinda that old school actions craftsmans that likes of Peter Hyams and Renny Harlin were. Maybe what Michael Bay still represents. Dudes who loved to wear caps, use biggest lenses and set everything on fire.
"Pop quiz, hotshot!" Inoffensive and fun action flick. 😎 👍 Fun Fact: The birds flying through the gap in the freeway were digitally added visual effects. What Script Fact: The bus jump scene was not in the original script. Director Jan de Bont came up with the idea one day when he was driving around Los Angeles and noticed one section of the 105 was missing. Budget Fix Fact: The film literally ran out of money before it was completed. When the film was first previewed for an audience, the subway scenes were animated storyboards. A producer realized they might have a hit movie on their hands when he noticed that, during test screenings, audience members would walk backwards when they needed to go to the bathroom, so they would miss as little as possible. The audience loved them so much, the studio came up with the funds to shoot the scenes properly. Power Couple Fact: Sandra Bullock actually learned to drive a bus for the film, passing her test on her first attempt. The scene in which Annie takes the chewing gum out of her mouth and pretends to put it on her seat in order to have an excuse to change seats and move away from the obnoxious Stephens (Alan Ruck) was improvised by Bullock. Keanu Reeves did approximately ninety percent of his own stunts. Reeves breaking the glass on the bus door in the beginning of the movie was an accident, however it was left in the final cut. Jan de Bont insisted that Keanu Reeves get a sensible haircut as would befit a hard-working cop. 20th Century Fox executives were horrified when they saw the buzzcut he adopted for the film, going so far as to threaten postponing the film so he could grow his hair back.
So true. And they did a great job in this movie. But a lot of the stuff was real. They really did jump a bus. There was no gap in the road though. And, of course, blowing up the plane was real.
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock reunited for the 2006 film, The Lake House, which I'm very fond of (truthfully I quietly absolutely love the movie), especially since I grew up watching Speed. It's a romantic drama with a very relaxing atmosphere, and has something of a time-travel twist to it. It would make for a nice watch/reaction.
Speed 2 is a guilty pleasure but definitely not a good film by comparison or by any measure other than stupid fun. Not sure it's worth reacting to for most but I would enjoy it lol Keanu doesn't return unfortunately but the villain is Willem Dafoe and is batshit crazy haha
Great fun movie!! I remember seeing this in highschool when a classmate brought a VHS tape for movie time. The scene with the cans ALWAYS catches people off guard 😯😯😁
"I saw this movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode! I think it was called, 'The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down.'" - Homer Simpson
Shan, if you haven't seen True Romance (Christian Slater · Clarence Worley ; Patricia Arquette · Alabama Whitman ; Dennis Hopper · Clifford Worley ; Val Kilmer , Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson) to name a few.......one of Hopper's best performances. Written by Tarantino
YES!! GET READY FOR RUSH HOUR! Jan De Bont was picked to direct the film after John McTiernan dropped out to make Last Action Hero and DIE HARD 3. This wasn't going to be De Directorial debut. He was hired by Sony to direct GODZILLA for a 1996 release date, but it was cancelled due to budget concerns. Before Keanu Reeves was cast as Jack Travin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Charlie Sheen, Tom Hanks, Emilio Estevez, Alec Baldwin, Mel Gibson, Stephen Baldwin, Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson were considered. Ellen DeGeneres, Meryl Streep, Halle Berry, and Anne Heche were considered for the role of Annie. Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and Robert DeNiro were considered for the villain. The scene where Reeves jumps from the car to the bus was done for real, and it was done in one take. The script was rewritten by Joss Whedon, namely the action sequences. The film was a box office and critical success, making $350 million dollars against a $40 million dollar budget. Its regarded as one of the best action movies ever made.
I prefer Jan de Bont's work as a cinematographer, behind the camera on so many incredible movies, for example, Basic Instinct, Flatliners, Black Rain, The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard, The Jewel of the Nile, and even Cujo.
The bus jump was filmed on the 405 Southbound to 105 Westbound freeway interchange during the actual construction of the 105. The 105 was specifically designed to take traffic to LAX airport. So that was all real, except jump, of course. I drove the entire length of the 105 on the night it opened after I got off work nearby. The long, lit up, left sweeping tunnel of the Westbound 105 to Southbound 405 interchange is featured in many, many movies, Heat for example.
Did you ever see the movie "Blown Away" with Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones from 1994? It's like the sister movie to this. Same year, as movies always come out in twos you know. As an explosion junkie, as am I, you will certainly enjoy it. They filmed the huge blast in the Boston area and shattered many inadvertent windows in East Boston that day. Rumor is that they just used too much explosive or underestimated the concussion wave.
In the summer of 1994, there were two great action movies that came out, almost at the same time, this movie and True Lies. I must’ve seen each one of them a dozen times in the theater alone. This movie is so much fun.
Other Hollywood action films that year include Leon: The Professional, The Crow, Stargate, & Clear and Present Danger. In Hong Kong, Drunken Master 2 & Fist of Legend were released.
1994 is known as one of the greatest years for cinema: Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, Lion King, Leon: The Professional, Natural Born Killers, Ed Wood, Speed, True Lies, The Crow, Interview with the Vampire, Drunken Master 2, The Mask, Stargate, Legends of the Fall, Heavenly Creatures, Fist of Legend, Clear and Present Danger, Maverick, Clerks, Dumb & Dumber, etc...
Fun bit of trivia about the screenwriting: Joss Whedon was working as a script doctor around this time and contributed the majority of the dialogue to the screenplay.
There’s only one unrealistic thing that I can’t simply forgive and that is that even with news cameras and helicopters being kept away from the airport, the explosion would be seen for miles and the resulting smoke would be visible for tens of miles. I find it hard to believe that the explosion wouldn’t be on the news for Payne to see well before figuring out the looped footage. Ah well.
Great reacrion as usaully and really fun film Phone booth is a really good film, it a bit underrated because on the surface it seems like a bit of a dumb but fun movie but looking a little closer its really well shot, acted and written, the plot is solid.
Great action movie, so happy to see you reacting to it. About to watch your reaction and I already know someone jaw will drop in some of the explosions😂😂😉
Took my son to get a haircut and this was playing. Realized that I've seen this entirely too many times when I quoted everything. Also, kinda wanna giggle at the Guess no one would give me three mil for just you as they only offered 2 mil when he was John Wick. Edit: Can't recommend Speed 2... just... no.
I remember watching Speed in theaters like it was yesterday. We would endlessly quote this movie as kids. I saw Speed 2 and remember it was on a ship and Keanu wasn't in it, and that's all I can remember.
Consider reacting to the 2000 thriller drama "The Watcher" with the surprising roles of Keanu Reeves as the serial killer and James Spader as an FBI agent.
You can easily find an *implosion* to watch in Vegas. The next one is currently being negotiated, but will be within a year or two... "Tropicana has to be removed from the site by late 2024 so construction can start. That puts the time line on the second-longest tenured property on the Las Vegas Strip at around a year (or maybe less)."
Beth Grant, who stars as Helen in this, is also in Rain Man, No Country for Old Men, Donnie Darko, Little Miss Sunshine, Jackie, The Office, The Artist, etc. etc. That's three Best Picture winners! She's in everything lol
One of the greatest action movies of all time! Have to suggest watching, what I consider to be *Speed* on a train, *Unstoppable* with Chris Pine and Denzel Washington. Not quite as over the top as this one, and more realistic than this (I think). Very good movie to watch after this one.
Yup. Easy Rider, Blue Velvet.....and the first movie he made with Keanu Reeves "The River's Edge"! Keanu's first film, super creepy true crime story. (But yeah, DEFINITELY Easy Rider and Blue Velvet.
Speed 2 stars Jason Patric, Sandra Bullock, Willem Dafoe, Bo Svenso. Maybe you've seen Jason Patric in "Sleepers", together with Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, Minnie Driver
Shan...you LOVE explosions. The flick Needful Things (1993) is one of the _best_ Stephen King movies. The Devil in a small town sewing sins and conflict. Hell (ahem) of a cast. And then, at the climax, a Hell (ahem) of a great explosion. "Don't call me Buster." 💥
FILMING LOCATION-that is LAX in Los Angeles and that freeway is next to it (all practical). I live 7 miles from there, I remember them filming this movie 🍿
There's very little CGI in this movie, aside from the elevator shaft in the intro, and maybe some compositing work in some scenes. Other than that, it was all practical and miniature effects. The miniature of the bus during the "50ft jump" was great. They covered that on Mythbusters, IIRC. CG is great when used sparingly and looks good, but it's SO over-used in many modern movies. Older movies like this just look so much better without tons of CG, imho. Twister (also directed by Jan De Bont) was good. Speed 2 is worth a watch, but no Keanu, and it's even cheesier. tbh, the extra cheese makes it better in some ways. lol
The bus jump was a practical effect with the city background added later. They actually jumped a remote controlled bus from an 8' ramp at, I think, 60mph. At the time it was a world record bus jump.
The 105 freeway is an actual freeway in LA. The bus jump was a stunt of course, using one bus and a ramp, to jump from the 105 to the 110. Also, the 105 freeway was indeed under construction at the time the movie was in production and the gap was added in post-production.
7:41 - absolutely one of the best 90s action score And it's made by Mark Mancina who after Speed composed for movies like Bad Boys, Assassins, Tarzan (Disney animation) and Moana just the names of few.
Great movie. You should defiantly watch The Running Man it is a great movie and also is Phone booth . Great movie. You should watch Other Keanu great old movies like Point Break , Constantine , The Devil Advocate and Chain Reaction. Another early fun underrated Keanu Reeves movie is The Night Before you should see it. Speed 2 sucks don't waste time it is not even with Keanu.
OK, Shan, enough is enough. I'm a loyal subscriber and (still) think you're the best reactor on YT. I also appreciate that you're a fan of explosions, even though I can take them or leave them. I was even close to becoming a Patreon, though my funds are limited. However, Im getting sick to the back teeth with your continual focus on action films, and nothing else. Widen your focus, or lose subscribers. You'll certainly lose this one.
The sequel isn't worth much. There are some awesome stunts and explosions, and Willem Dafoe is always an entertaining villain, but other than that, forget it. I don't know how you make Sandra Bullock not charming, but the writers of that movie managed to do it. And Jason Patric makes Keanu look like a Shakespeare-trained actor
Yet another example of why you should never be a professional driver in an action movie. Car, bus, plane, subway, boat, whatever. If you're the driver you're gonna get shot.
Flashback will always be my favorite Dennis Hopper movie. I did get to go backstage and watch them film Kiefer Sutherland in the prison cell scene. The cell bars were rubber covered in foam.
This movie is a masterclass in tension. The simple yet ingenious idea is executed to a perfection, with likeable characters, great camerawork, awesome soundtrack, sound design, editing, stunts, practical explosions and destruction. It deserves all of the praise it gets and it's deff a movie i don't mind sit through every now and then. From "Speed" to "Speed 2" i've not seen such a huge drop from great to crap since "Highlander" and "Highlander 2: the quickening" I saw "Speed 2" only couple of years ago for the first time and usually with these "bad movies" i try to keep an open mind especially if they have a notorious reputation of being bad. Most of the time it's not the case in my opinion but "Speed 2" has absolutely earned it's reputation. It's one of those movies that make you constantly ask "What the hell were they thinking?". It's decisions doesn't lead to unintentional hilarity which would make it actually entertaining, but instead to tedious and boredum. Hence, why it's considered such a shit movie.
Speed 2 is absolutely terrible, avoid. The Subway crash is a mixture of miniatures and full size "sets". The only CGI of note is the removal of the road during the bus jump, which itself was a real stunt. @Shan Another opportunity for you to see big explosions are aircraft testing grounds. Here in the UK I live near an Aerodrome which regularly blows up large commercial planes, or parts of planes to understand what might happen during a terrorist incident or engine explosion, not quite movie impressive but still pretty amazing and very loud.
Don't bother with the sequel! Fun fact: Sandra and Keanu both admitted to having crushes on each other on set but they didn't act on it and only found out years and years later :)
Dude! Check out Johnny Mnemonic, Street Kings and Chain Reaction, please! I'm especially curious to get your opinion on the latter because at the time of release, I think it didn't do too well but I enjoyed.
definitely a classic! you should skip the sequel tho; it's not worth it imo. for more Sandra Bullock 90s action, I'd recommend The Net from 1995. it's a fun ride and doesn't get as much traction as it should. ❤
Nobody believed the jump on the day this film came out, but, of course, it doesn't matter. It's a practical effect of some kind. The entire film isn't believable - it's an adventure :)
Forgotten classic. It's what Hollywood needs now. It is a simple live action movie with no political or social message. Just some cinematic fun. If you haven't seen it, please do The Last Boy Scout.
Jan de Bont is a Dutch cinematographer/director so the 't' is not silent, otherwise just pronouncing his name in English is fine. The underground metro crash was a scale model as was still the norm at that time. CGI was still too limited and expensive to be used on an action flick budget, T2 and Jurassic Park were big budget and the CGI there formed the main attraction and was only used for characters.
Here’s the kicker, I know there’s an episode of Mythbusters where they successfully jumped a city bus across a 50’ gap. I’m sure you have at least one person here who’s actually seen that particular episode.
During the Bus jump scene, the fact that the front of the bus just pops upward before it jumps, just takes me out of it completely. I'd prolly be ok with it otherwise, as an acceptable action sequence.
I believe Hopper shot the control panel as well as the driver of the subway. I don't think he could slow it down. Did he speed it up or just kept the same speed to derail it, i can't remember. Speed 2 Cruise Control shows the return of Bullock and also features Willem Dafoe I believe. I saw it a few times as a kid. I don't remember it being that bad, but I was a kid. I think the general consensus on it will be that it's a big turd burger though.
I'm in the minority here but I rather enjoyed Speed 2. Is it better than Speed? Absolutely not. But it is entertaining and does provide fun and exciting action and one awesome explosion just like the airplane/bus in this movie.
I actually saw Speed 2 first (don't ask, I was young and had missed Speed when it came out), so I wasn't affected by the changes in the cast. I think it was my first time seeing the actor who plays the villain (avoiding the name intentionally to avoid spoilers) in anything, and I seem to remember being quite impressed and disturbed by him at the time. Totally worth a watch IMO, Shan!
Should you do Speed 2, you ask? Well, Sandra Bullock returns. Keanu doesn't, so they had to pair her with someone else. Willem Dafoe is the new villain. Essentially the same nefarious plan, with the same motivation, as in the first film. So with that kind of sequel, the main distinctive will be to ramp up the action on steroids. Does it succeed? One way to find out.
