Speed (1994 film) = Finished
Added 2018-11-13 05:01:36 +0000 UTCHow do you make a movie after Die Hard, that's very much like Die Hard (complete with a similar antagonist, progression, characters, etc.), as the cinematographer of Die Hard, after people keep turning you away saying they don't want to copy Die Hard?
It turns out you just, uh...make it anyway.
Speed is one of the greatest testaments to the principle that ideas, in themselves, have little value. The team behind the idea are what bring it to life. As a result, no two implementations will end up with the same final product. It can be a difficult concept to wrap your head around, but a few years of collaborating with others will show you how quickly different creative minds will diverge, even when considering solutions to the same problem.
Keanu Reeves is a very different person than Bruce Willis. His decisions both behind the screen, and on it, push the movie that tiny bit further from its obvious inspiration. Joss Whedon's dialogue obviously presents a different version of our reality than that put forward by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza in Die Hard, and down the list of names on IMDB we go. An endless chain of people and decisions. A domino effect of intentionality, happy accidents, and a longsuffering bus, resulting in a fresh take on a familiar concept for a self-contained thriller.
Is it just Die Hard on a bus?
From a certain perspective, yeah. Sure. You could say that.
That doesn't make it any less valid, creative, or fun to watch, though.
