10 Great Films From Bad Directors
4. Speed - Jan De Bont
The most 90s thriller to ever thrill in the 90s, this Keanu Reeves action vehicle (haha) is a much-beloved relic of late century action cinema. Speed follows maverick cop Jack Traven as he boards a speeding LA bus that will explode if it goes below fifty miles per hour.
Featuring excellent performances from everyone involved - particularly Dennis Hopper as the unhinged terrorist responsible - Speed blew up at the box office, grossing nearly ten times its original budget. It did well critically, too, even netting a couple of Oscar nods for its trouble. The film’s impact has seen it lovingly parodied in everything from Robot Chicken to Father Ted, which makes you think the director of the work must be a real talent, no?
This was actually helmer Jan de Bont’s directorial debut, no small feat given the film’s runaway success, and should have charted an excellent career for the young Dutch director. Alas, de Bont never helmed anything of note ever again; returning for the much-lampooned Speed 2: Cruise Control, the limp 1999 remake of The Haunting and the disappointing Tomb Raider Cradle of Life sequel.
Sometimes beginner’s luck really counts for a lot, and this appears to be the case here. De Bont appears to have retired from Hollywood altogether, with his last credit being as cinematographer on 2012’s Nema aviona za Zagreb.