Keanu Reeves starred in an exciting high-octane action movie that is both chilling and thrilling. His role in 1994’s Speed as LAPD bomb disposal officer Jack Traven is iconic, but in real life, things are quite different. His portrayal faces scrutiny from a real bomb expert.
A recent critique by a real-life bomb expert sparked debate on the film’s portrayal of bomb disposal techniques. It reveals a chasm between Hollywood action and reality.
Bomb Expert Critiques Keanu Reeves’ Portrayal in Speed
Master EOD Technician Jay Ly’s analysis which was featured on Insider offers a fresh perspective on iconic scenes from Speed. He critiques the film’s bomb-defusal techniques and points out unrealistic approaches taken by Reeves’ character, Jack Traven. Ly stated:
“He is talking on a radio and/or phone right next to this thing. It’s electronically initiated, they don’t know if that energy will cause that device to fire or not. So that whole thing is not realistic whatsoever. Jack, I believe he is a bomb disposal officer with the LAPD. He should know these component-recognition things and be able to identify how this device works, or at least have a good idea of it. This definitely gets a zero, because he knows better, and he should have taken action.”
Here Ly criticizes a scene where Jack, talks on a radio next to an electronically initiated bomb. The expert deems it unrealistic. He stated that Jack, as an LAPD bomb disposal officer, should take appropriate action. It shows Jack’s failure to act according to his expertise.
Why Didn’t Keanu Reeves Feature in Speed 2?
Despite criticism, 1994’s Speed established Keanu Reeves as an action star. The interesting thing is he wasn’t the first choice or the role. It was Johnny Depp who was first considered, but the role was destined for Reeves. Besides all the success, Reeves gained from Speed, he didn’t go for the second installment.
The Hollywood star was offered $12 million to reprise his role as Jack Traven, still he turned it down. Why? Because he didn’t like the script. Despite the success of the first film, the John Wick star wasn’t “ready to mentally and physically” get featured in its sequel.
Though he took right decision because the action flick was a total train wreck as it failed to generate any excitement due to several factors. His co-star Sandra Bullock took another chance to star in Speed 2 — the decision she regretted later.
