This sci-fi thriller is a remake of the 1951 classic, immortalised in the song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Michael Rennie was ill/The day the earth stood still...) ((ndash)) I'm sure everyone will remember the film about an alien and his giant robot counterpart, Gort, who visit earth ((ndash)) even those who haven't seen the original cult movie.

The original was set in the time of the cold war, and the film reflected the paranoia of the time (Reds under the bed) and the subliminal wish humans had for someone better and stronger to come and prevent us earthlings from destroying ourselves and disrupting the peace of the neighbourhood (i.e. our bit of the Galaxy).

Viewers may be interested to see how the remake links in to the paranoias and problems of our own time and the solutions we hope to find. Although ours is not a future threatened by nuclear war, it is one threatened by global warming and financial recession. How does the film relate to this? You'll just have to watch it to find out.

By the way, for those who are partial to a bit of eye candy, in this remake the alien Klaatu is played by Keanu Reeves. The irrepressible John Cleese plays Professor Barnhardt.

Pop quiz, hotshot ((ndash)) there's a movie about public transport, a bomb and Keanu Reeves. What do you do? What do you do?

Come and see it at Film Group, of course!!!

The premise of Speed is simple ((ndash)) an unknown crazy bomber has put a bomb somewhere on a public bus. Once the bus reaches 50 miles per hour, the bomb is armed and will then detonate as soon as the speed dips below 50. Reeves is an LAPD swat officer who is trying to ensure that the bus keeps going at its breakneck speed through the streets of L.A. while the other cops hunt down the bomber (Hopper) so that they can somehow disarm the bomb. Bullock is a passenger on the bus who has to take on an important role.

Speed is a fast-paced (duh!!) action flick at the top of the genre. This film has it all ((ndash)) speed, fast ..er..buses, romance (yes ((ndash)) never let a bomb get in the way of a good love story), nail-biting tension, stunts, a sardonic villain, a hunky hero, a cute heroine, a race against time and not a drop of CGI in sight!!! Aaah the good old days... They just don't seem to make big budget action thrillers like they used to.

I'm so excited to be able to see this on the big screen again!!! So buckle up and take a ride down memory lane AT 50 MILES PER HOUR!!! I feel the need for Speed!!!