Howard Payne



Pop quiz, hotshot! Former police officer Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) dedicated years to the force's bomb squad and lost a thumb in the process, and all the thanks he got was a crappy pension and a cheap gold watch. Now he wants revenge for this blatant disrespect and rigs a high-rise elevator's brakes with explosives. He demands millions of dollars of the people inside die. What do you do?

If you're LA cop Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves), you do everything you can to get those poor citizens out of the situation alive. Jack and his mentor Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels) manage to out-think the bomber but Payne gets away. Soon after, a passenger bus blows up and Jack answers the call again. Payne scowls at Jack over the phone, letting him know he still wants his money, and he better get it or an entire busload of people will die. The bomb on the bus will arm if it goes over 50 mph, and then if it drops below 50, the bomb will detonate. Payne gives Jack rules for controlling the situation so things don't get completely out of control, and so Payne can get his money. Payne also convinces (and proves) that he can see everything that's going on on the bus, and that any deviation from his plans will result in a big boom. Jack bends the rules, however, and gets onto the bus himself. As crazy as Payne is, he actually enjoys watching Jack take these amazing risks; he's intrigued by Jack and the unexpected things he does.

To be sure, Payne cares nothing for the innocent lives on the bus. This whole situation was caused, in his eyes, by the selfish people he served and protected for many years. He gave the best years of his life to the cause without any repayment, so now he will take away the lives of many unless he gets what he wants. What Payne didn't anticipate was encountering individuals just as passionate and clever. After some research, Harry and a SWAT team are soon knocking on Payne's front door. As soon as Harry figures out Payne isn't there, however, a hidden bomb detonates, destroying the home and killing Harry and some of his men.

This news almost drives Jack over the edge, but one of the hostages, Annie (Sandra Bullock), convinces him they need him now more than ever. Jack and the LAPD figure out an ingenius way to sneak the passengers off the bus without Payne knowing and prepare to take him down. Payne realizes he's been duped though and grabs Annie, pulling her onto a subway train. Jack is unrelenting in his pursuit and finds himself on top of the train with Payne's hands wrapped around his neck. It looks bleak for Jack until he sees the light at the end of the tunnel - a red signal light, that is. Jack pushes Payne's head into the light speeding toward them and with a quick snap, Payne's days of terrorizing anyone are over.