Speed

Reeves is a Los Angeles SWAT cop, Hopper the regulation bomber-with-a-grudge who wires first a lift, then a public bus. If the bus's speed drops below 50 mph, boom! Keanu hops on board to map-read, and, when the driver retires hurt, feisty passenger Bullock takes the wheel - and effectively steals the movie. It's mindless, but ingenious. Graham Yost's script dispenses with excess baggage: a handful of characters face certain - well, near-certain - death. First-time director De Bont (cameraman of Die Hard and Basic Instinct) makes good use of a hand-held camera and conveys a real sense of volition: you'll believe a bus can fly! He seems to identify so thoroughly with the characters that the pace never flags. Eventually, inevitably, he goes too far, too fast, and ends up off the rails.