Speed (1994)

Fifty miles per hour. Drop below it and the bus blows up, which is a ridiculous rule and one of the best movie pitches ever. Speed is really three action movies stacked in a trench coat. The elevator opener is great, the bus is legendary, and then an extra chase gets stapled onto the end like the movie was scared you’d leave early. The famous bus jump over a missing chunk of freeway also ignores physics so hard that physics should sue. Keanu Reeves plays Jack with a buzz cut and total sincerity, a guy who solves every problem by running at it. Sandra Bullock makes Annie the funniest person on the bus. Dennis Hopper plays the bomber like a cranky uncle who got cut out of the will. Made for a reported $30 to $37 million, it pulled $350.4 million worldwide. An 8.2 because the bus hour is near perfect and the ending runs a lap too long. $472 says you climb onto your next bus and quietly grab the seat closest to the driver, just in case.

What works: The bus hour is about as tight as action gets, and Bullock and Reeves turn two strangers into a team you’d trust with your life.

What doesn’t: The last act staples on an extra chase after the bus story is basically done, and the movie feels a lap too long because of it.

Who it’s for: People who like their action simple, loud and built around one gloriously ridiculous rule.