The first action sequence begins when the audience sees through the aforementioned door with a tracking camera shot. Inside, with no music except a high pitched wail, the bomber, Howard Payne is first seen. The lack of music in this scene really adds to the tension, as does the bomber’s twisted sense of humour, “Nothing Personal.’’ This shows that even at a very early stage in the film, there will be many unexpected twists. The worker is obviously not expecting this to happen, and neither are the audience. The bomber appears to be just innocently getting his work order out but, as in the rest of the film, has a far more sinister purpose. All this innocence he has built up is shattered in the twist of a knife, into the side of the Security guards head “Nothing Personal.’’
This warped sense of humour also adds to the tension because if he can kill the Security Guard without thinking, what else can he do? Evidently, we will find this out later in the film.
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At the start of the next scene, the end of an apparently successful business meeting, with people walking away chatting, relives the tension. It appears they don’t have a care in the world, as they enter into the lift. Inside, the audience sees the lift has a slightly unusual colour, yellow. Is it just coincidental that that is the same colour as that found on the caution sign near the door to the elevator? Eventually, when the events unfold this proves to be a very intricate and effective detail by the director. But as the lift starts moving, “The lights on, but you never know it might be broken!” gives a foretaste of what is to come. The showing of the floor counter also adds to the tension by showing that it is a long way down. Then, as the 13 passengers get ready to hit the brakes, the bomber strikes, with a close-up shot of him detonating the brakes. The audience then hear screams and a fast camera flick between four cameras, one on the bomber, one in the lift, one on the floor counter and one in the lift shaft. When the lift reaches a stop, near floor 32, the scene ends with “Jesus, Bob, which button did you push?”
The next scene starts with a typical over the top cinematic entrance by the heroes of the film, the LAPD SWAT team. In this case, an unmarked car taking a huge leap before a sharp hand break turn. The 360˚ degree cinematic rule is broken during the sequence, after which the scene cuts to the inside of the building, with the leader of the SWAT team issuing orders. It is also at the point that the audience is introduced to the films hero, Jack Traven. The extent of the problem facing the team is then laid out:
- 13 passengers on an express elevator
- Blown breaks, emergency ones still in tacked
- A demand for $3,000,000- or the emergency brakes are blown
- 1 hour time limit
- Leaving 23 minutes
The last one is the piece of information that really provides the tension. On this occasion, the tension is relived in a microcosm by “What will stop the Elevator from falling?” “The basement.” Whilst this is true, it does not help the situation. Then, after Jack volunteers Harry, the commander decides that they should both “go for it.” Then as they run up the stairs to level 32, the counting off of levels from 29 – 32 also adds to the tension, showing that it is a long way down, even after the fall from floor 42. Then the scene ends at the top of the stairs, whilst the rest of the SWAT team are confirming that the building is safely evacuated. The music also helps during this scene keeping a steady fast pace going.
The first thing seen in the next scene is Jack drilling though a lift access panel. This shows that it is not easy to get into the lift, suggesting that the recovery of the ‘hostages’ will be equally difficult. Despite this, the hero appears to be the epitome of calm, carefully going though the motions, and chewing gum. Despite this, Harry, his assistant in this mission appears nervous and wants to keep talking, often a sign on nervousness. One of the most telling times he does this is when Harry gives him the question ‘‘You’re at an airport, 100feet away from a gunman holding a hostage going onto a plane. What do you do?’’ ‘‘Shoot the hostage.’’ Despite Harry’s put – downs of this comment, this is exactly what happens later on in the film when Harry is captured. The tension in this scene is also immense. The clock is ticking, Jack and Harry are precariously balanced in the lift shaft, and the passengers seem petrified and no closer to getting out. The bomber is also getting worried and tense, and a close up is shown of his finger being precariously close to the
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button that will detonate the lift. This is shown shortly after Jack’s announcement of his gut feeling that “he (the bomber) will blow it anyway” – this is a cleverly added line that creates tension. The scene then ends with a rush up onto the roof of the building, with fast paced music in the background to attach the hook onto a crane. Again, Jack is a forerunner in this plan.
After this dramatic rush up onto the roof, Jack takes a daring dash alongside the building again showing his apparent fearlessness, whilst looking for a crane to attach the rope to. He eventually finds one, with Harry in pursuit all the way, with the fast paced music continuing to play. Harry then again lowers Jack down the lift shaft. All the way though this part of the film, the camera appears to look up at Jack, so the audience both metaphorically and literally look up to him. As this plan is put into action, Harry watches on anxiously as he lowers Jack down the lift and ponders whether it is worth the danger when all they will receive is “a small pension and a cheap gold watch.’’ The ironic thing that is seen later in the film is that the bomber uses a “cheap gold watch’’ as his timepiece for when to blow the emergency brakes – it’s not very good though, as is revealed later in the film when it blows six minutes early. As Jack is being lowered, a squeaking sound is heard, which is the crane buckling underneath Jack’s weight. Just as Jack attaches the crane onto the top of the lift, to hopefully prevent it from falling even if the bomber blows it, he does just that, sending the lift spiralling down to floor 27. When it is blown by Howard, the screams of the passengers inside are heard, and a lady almost falls though the hole blown in the bottom right corner of the lift. As it is collected at floor 27, when the crane’s cable is stretched to high tension, just like the audience, it is relieved (on the audience anyway) by the phrase ‘’normally they fall down now.”
The next scene is the most important in the whole of the film: The escape of the passengers from the lift – and Jack surely obtaining hero status. However the regular shots of the crane buckling under the weight of the lift add to the tension on a scene which also brings immense relief to the audience. However, it is a true race against time, and they only manage to get the 13th and last person out of the lift seconds before it drops. The other 12 people are removed from the lift rather without incident, except for the lift dropping about ½ metre halfway though the rescue of the occupants of the lift. Then, with three minutes to go, the wire to the crane gives way, sending the crane flying though the building. There is no humour to release the tension in this scene. The passengers are then hurried away from the scene of the incident.
After the elation of rescuing the passengers, Jack realises that the bomber is still in the building. The men know that he is in the building, just not where. The music starts again, and Jack and Harry find the freight elevator that runs parallel to the passenger lift. The bomber is surely at the bottom of it. The bomber is then found. He corners Jack and Harry, by holding Harry hostage. The earlier pop quiz about the airport suddenly becomes reality as Jack does indeed shoot Harry in the leg so as to “take him out of the equation.”
The other thing that is shocking the officers is the large amount of dynamite that is strapped onto Payne’s chest, suggesting that he is a desperate man. He also possesses a sophisticated gun, which is pointed at Jack’s head. The problem for the officers is that it appears that Howard Payne doesn’t care if he dies, but wants to see them dead. He takes the elevator
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down to floor 3, but not the ground floor as Jack warns him that “50 cops will be ready to arrest you”. Then, as the lift stops at the third floor, the bomber gets off and blows himself up with the dynamite he reputedly reckons will be able to “Blow the building in half.” When Jack attempts to follow him, he is blown back into the lift.
This is then the end of the lift scene in the film Speed, a scene full of tension and suspense. Tension is created in many ways, whether it is from the danger, (will the hostages be safely released from the lift?) attempts at humour “Nothing Personal”, music and other factors. The film is generally aimed at a young(er) male audience due to the special effects, guns etc involved in it. As the opening to an action movie, it is highly successful, because of the tension, action and suspense it creates.
David Ballard. 9 W 1/ 9L.
