Every now and then an action movie comes along that changes the genre. Think Aliens, think Die Hard, think The Matrix. All are movies that shaped future directors' visions, ushered in new trends, dated past glories.

Speed is just such a movie. First off, it took the '80s phenomenon of the High Concept to its limit. Got your postage stamp ready? Then write this on the back of it: There's a bomb on a bus. If the bus drops below 50mph it'll blow up.

Then it gave us pretty boy Keanu Reeves as our hero, a SWAT team whiz kid who pits his wits against Dennis Hopper's crazed bomber. The missing link between the bulging biceps, grimy vests and sub-machine guns of Arnie and Sly and the slim, good-looking guys who use brain more than brawn in today's movies, Keanu was the first step on the road to a new breed of action hero. Likewise, Sandra Bullock's passenger-turned-bus-driver Annie is a resourceful, plucky heroine, a girl-next-door saviour who doesn't have to take on traditional male traits to win the day.

And finally, Speed did away with the belief that action movies should revolve around three or four money shots. Here, the whole movie is stunt after stunt, action sequence after action sequence, cliffhanger after cliffhanger, as cinematographer-turned-director Jan De Bont brutally ups the ante and hurls his camera about in a fit of controlled chaos.

Now if only they'd done away with that woefully superfluous final act...

DVD Extras:

Director's commentary, commentary by writer Graham Yost and producer Mark Gordon, Making Of documentary, interviews with stars and director, five extended scenes, five featurettes, multi-angle stunt sequences, multi-stream storyboards, Billy Idol music video, production notes, stills gallery, 11 TV spots, trailer.Great disc this, the only downside being that there's so much material it tends to overlap. Made in 1994, the 25-minute Making Of features loads of on-set material and is hosted by a mischievous Dennis Hopper (staying in `mad bomber' character, he even ends the documentary by blowing up the Hollywood sign). The five featurettes zoom in on different aspects of the shoot (stunts, visual effects etc) but retread much of the same territory, and the interviews - with Reeves, Bullock, Hopper, Jeff Daniels and De Bont - again drag up many of the same anecdotes and background info. As do the two commentaries, though De Bont delivers his with so much infectious enthusiasm it really doesn't matter.Of the other stuff, the extended scenes are all pretty gripping and the storyboards fascinating, especially the sequence that the studio wouldn't let De Bont film, involving cops abseiling from helicopters onto the bus roof. But, for pure enjoyment value, it's hard to beat Billy Idol's music video. Just check out the chorus: ""Speed, give me what I need... Oh, wheels on wheels... Speed, let it bleed...""