It’s important to spoil Speed in order to get at the messy guts of it all. So here’s the ending. Dennis Hopper has strapped Sandra Bullock into an explosive vest, he has a wad of cash, and he’s just gunned down the driver of the train he’s fleeing in. On the roof of the train is Keanu Reeves, Hopper’s nemisis. I can’t remember why he’s on the train rather than in the train. I’m not sure what he’s gaining from this, but there he is, clinging on and dodging onrushing obstacles. Meanwhile, inside, Hopper hahahas and explains to Sandra that she’ll die, and all the left over body parts will look like Hopper, and no one will suspect he’s escaped. I’m not sure about the logic behind this statement, since a man fleeing with cash isn’t the kind you’d assume would blow himself up. More likely you’d assume he’d flee with the cash and leave a mass of dead bodies behind him, but then likewise, I’m not sure what Keanu is doing on the roof.
So Dennis, he opens the bag of money, we assume this is the first time he’s looked. It explodes. Both the money and his face are coated in a purple paint; the money is worthless now. Of course, it should be worthless already; whenever ransom money is paid the serial numbers are counted and flagged, if anyone deposits the money the authorities will be contacted. He’s marked too, he has paint on his face, but worse, he has a crippled hand, so obviously crippled that anywhere he goes in the world, as soon as he removes a glove, he’ll stand out as an oddity.
Yet this infuriates him. He can’t use the money and his cover has been blown, but the money would be worthless already, and the authorities would find him reasonably easy to pick up as a man whose hand is so obviously mangled, yet this paint infuriates him. He fires his machine gun into the air, shouting at Keanu. We never know if Keanu hears him shout, one would suspect the sound of the train is too loud for any cries to be heard, but he does manage to dodge the bullets. Back and forth he rolls, and the bullets all miss.
So Dennis tosses the gun, and with a cry clambers up on top of the train. He brings with him the detonator for the bomb, the one strapped to Bullock. He wants to kill Keanu with his own hands, and he’s bringing the detonator, because if he loses he’ll drop the detonator and everyone dies. His mind is clouded; if he leaves now, Keanu will die in the blast, but instead he fights him on the roof, he fights the younger, fitter man, a man who can use both hands.
Dennis presents Keanu with a dilemma; he can let Dennis beat him to death, or, now that Dennis is close enough, he can overpower the disabled villain and take the detonator. Keanu, initially confused that Dennis would make such an obvious error of judgement, chooses the latter course, and in doing so, manages to decapitate Dennis.
As Dennis’ head falls from his shoulders we’re left with this: a continual mess of illogical behaviour, sewing together scenes that really shouldn’t be taking place, and this: a series of set pieces tied together with an absence of explanations. There is a place for the spectacularly dumb, and Speed is spectacularly dumb, but more importantly, Speed doesn’t bore you with ridiculous explanations, it doesn’t stare at Sandra’s chest for minutes on end, it just happens, scene after bewildering scene. It’s wonderful how it lacks pretension, how the female characters aren’t sexualised and how the leads are capable without bragging about it. As a loud, over the top action film, it’s amazing how quiet it is, and how willing it is to just get on with providing thrills. It’s crap, but inoffensive, faint but fitting praise.
Discussion
No comments yet.