Speed (1994) -Revisited

In the mood for a fun action movie, I decided to re-watch this classic '90s blockbuster and was delighted by its ability to still entertain after all these years.  Before Sandra Bullock was an Oscar-winning megastar and when the idea of Keanu Reeves as an action stud seemed far-fetched there was this perfectly executed, silly movie that's the definition of a thrill ride.  Sure the bus has every stereotype present and there's no way that bus could have done some of its stunt work, it works because its simply story line is perfect movie fodder.  Dennis Hopper plays a great villain with every line coming out of his mouth about as juice and fun as a piece of gum.  "Pop quiz hotshot!"  I can see him reading the script when he first got it and drooling at how much fun he was going to have, even though at the end his character goes off the rails (pun intended, sorry) a little too conveniently for the sake of the plot, oh well.  It's nice to know that some movies from my younger days still hold up.  Grade: A-.