Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

It's great when you go into a movie with low expectations, and come out pleasantly surprised. Such was the case with Exit Speed.  Based on the description, I was not expecting too much.  But with decent performances, and some interesting characters, I came away quite pleased.

On Christmas Eve, some passengers board a bus in Texas.  Trouble ensues, when a motorcycle gang decides to hassle the bus.  For no reason at all!!  Before we know it, two members of the gang are killed, and now the rest of the gang wants revenge.  They force the bus off the road and a standoff begins.  The bus passengers hole up in an abandoned scrap yard, barricading themselves in.  They work together, and make weapons out of whatever materials they can find.  Meanwhile, the gang has brought reinforcements.

The movie is told completely from the point of view of the passengers.  We come to know some of them: a single mother (Lea Thompson), a man traveling to meet the son he never knew (Desmond Harrington), the archery expert (Julie Mond), the athletic coach (Gregory Ybara), the young lovers (Kelli Dawn Hancock and Nick Sowell), and the old Spanish guy (Everett Sifuentes).

We never learn a thing about the bikers.  In fact we never hear them speak a word.  While some might criticize the movie for this decision, I actually applaud it.  The bikers are pure evil.  We think of them as monsters, with no remorse when we kill one of them.  The movie simply would not have worked otherwise.  If we came to know the bikers, and started to sympathize with them at all, how could we enjoy the manhunt?  But the way it was written, the bikers are evil murderers, and nothing more.  Although, to entertain us, they do perform some amazing tricks - such as riding with no hands, while standing up on their seats. 

There's a subplot involving one of the passengers - a soldier who has deserted her unit.  Fred Ward is a Sergeant, chasing after her.  This subplot was unnecessary, as far as I was concerned.  It added a touching scene at the end, but was largely unneeded.

My favorite character was the single mom, played by Lea Thompson.  She started out timid, but found her strength throughout the course of the film.  I also liked the Spanish guy.  He doesn't speak or understand a word of English, and none of the other passengers can understand a word he says.  So they write him off, assuming he's a crazy old man without a brain in his head.  Turns out, he's not so stupid after all, as they'll come to find out.

My least favorite character was the archery expert.  First of all, it was an annoying bit of coincidence to happen to have an archery expert (with her bow and arrows, of course) on the bus.  I mean, could that have been any more contrived?  But she also was way too goody-goody for my taste.  At first, refusing to use her arrows because - as she puts it - she's a vegan.  She doesn't eat meat, and she certainly doesn't kill people.  But the bikers in this movie were not people - they were murderous evil-doers who were planning to kill every one of the passengers.  At this point, it's for revenge.  But the initial hassling of the bus was for no reason other than sport. I'm sorry, but given that scenario, I think the girl should use her arrows.  If she doesn't want to kill them, fine, at least maim them a bit, and stop their attacks.  I kept yelling "Shoot him in the thigh!!!!". 

This movie is violent.  Many types of weapons are ultimately used against the bikers.  And, of course, the intial attack was completely unprovoked.  This premise will not sit well with everyone. 

Still, in the end, the movie was better than I had anticipated.  The passengers were well-written, and the performances believable.  Worth a viewing.

Recommended: Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age