speed is beowulf

Speed is Beowulf. 

I've never seen this mentioned anywhere, and searches (which I do roughly once a decade) come up completely flat. But, once you notice it, it is absolutely undeniable.

The mead hall (bus) is under threat by a misshapen bad guy (Dennis Hopper). From his lair he plans and attacks. A talented outsider whose bravery and ingenuity are summarized in the opening moments (Keanu; hostage situation) comes to the rescue. THEN, in an often-overlooked 2nd part, the hero confronts a dragon (Dennis again), who is guarding a hoard in an underground cave (subway), and demanding treasure (bag of money). The hero confronts and defeats the dragon. 

Here's where it diverges, because Beowulf dies, but Keanu is more of a Siegfried — defeating the dragon and winning the fair maiden Brünnhilde (Sandra Bullock), whose body is encircled with fire (explosives). Her rescue is concomitant with the uniting of hero and damsel in love. 

Whether the writers knew this and were attempting something on the lines of what "Clueless" did with Emma, or "10 Things I Hate About You" did with Taming of the Shrew, is an open guess. They needn't have set out to do this: it obeys the shape of so much Northern storytelling that it's in our bones. 

However, the writers were Graham Yost and Joss Whedon, so make your own guesses. I'd say they were, at the very least, aware.

Interesting, no?