"Pop quiz, hotshot. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?"
Back in 1994, Keanu Reeves made a film where he was entirely watchable and that film was Speed. With such a simple concept (if the bus slows below 50mph it will explode), audiences were treated to a thrilling action movie that became a surprise critical success. In Speed, the mastermind behind that concept was Dennis Hopper's Howard Payne, a dangerous and twisted terrorist who brought LA to a standstill and cemented himself as a movie terrorist worthy of the likes of Die Hard's Hans Gruber. From the opening sequence where he rigs an elevator with explosives, to the first bus explosion, Payne tests Reeves' maverick Jack Traven to his limits. Even after the passengers (Bullock's Annie included) manage to escape the bus before it explodes, Payne continues to be a menace, kidnapping Annie, strapping explosives to her and leading her onto a packed metro train, threatening the lives of all on board. It's a rather dramatic series of actions for Payne, a former bomb disposal expert who lost his finger in an explosion...but hey...sometimes even the loss of the smallest pinkie can be the point in which someone snaps and rigs a bus with explosives. Oh wait, that only happens in the movies.The Method Behind His Madness Absolute chaos...and $3 million. Payne snaps after he his accident, making him far more dangerous than any terrorist with a genuine cause. The Degree Of Terror And Destruction He Leaves In His Wake Not as much as he wanted. The poor driver of the first bus, oh and all of Traven's colleagues, when they locate Payne's house, filled with explosives. His Sheer Force Of Character Howard Payne is a madman with a bomb. Lots of bombs. You can't get more dangerous than that.