A mad bomber (Dennis Hopper) is out for revenge against rookie cop Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves), who, with the help of his partner on the LAPD Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels), foils the criminals plot to extort money from the city by holding an elevator-full of people hostage. He plants a bomb on a bus which is set to arm itself when the vehicle hits 50 mph, and detonate if it drops below that speed. The hero, with the help of beautiful passenger Annie (Sandra Bullock), must diffuse the explosive device before the bus runs out of gas.
A city is held to ransom by an explosives expert. His latest victims are a group of people on a city bus. Only a LAPD SWAT cop and a female civilian can save the passengers now...