| Speed 2: Cruise Control | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jan de Bont |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | Characters created byGraham Yost |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jack N. Green |
| Edited by | Alan Cody |
| Music by | Mark Mancina |
Production company | Blue Tulip Productions[1] |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 126 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $110–160 million[2] |
| Box office | $164.5 million[3] |
Speed 2: Cruise Control is a 1997 Americanaction thriller film produced and directed byJan de Bont from a screenplay by Randall McCormick andJeff Nathanson. It is the sequel toSpeed (1994) and starsSandra Bullock (reprising her role from the original film),Jason Patric andWillem Dafoe. Its plot follows Annie Porter (Bullock) and Alex Shaw (Patric), a couple who go on vacation to theCaribbean aboard a luxurycruise ship, which is hijacked by John Geiger, a terrorist (Dafoe). While trapped aboard the ship, Annie and Alex work with the ship's first officer to try to stop it after they discover it is programmed to crash into anoil tanker.
De Bont had the idea for the film after having a recurring nightmare about a cruise ship crashing into an island.Speed starKeanu Reeves was initially supposed to reprise his role as Jack Traven for the sequel, but decided not to commit and was replaced by Patric before filming. The writers had to rework the script to accommodate the addition of a new character. Production took place aboardSeabourn Legend, the ship on which the film is set. The final scene, in which the ship crashes into the island ofSaint Martin, cost almost a quarter of the budget, and set records as the largest and most expensive stunt ever filmed. Many interior scenes aboard the ship were shot onsoundstages in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The soundtrack featured mostlyreggae music.Mark Mancina returned to compose thefilm score, released as an album 13 years after the film's release.
Released by20th Century Fox on June 13, 1997, the film received largely negative reviews from critics, who criticized the story, characters, absence of Reeves, and its setting on a slow-moving cruise ship. CriticRoger Ebert defended the film, calling it a "truly rousing ocean liner adventure story". The film was also abox-office bomb, earning $164.5 million worldwide against a production budget as high as $160 million. It was nominated for eightGolden Raspberry Awards, winning theWorst Remake or Sequel category.
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) cop Alex Shaw is on a motorcycle chasing a vehicle with stolen goods. After he catches the driver of the vehicle, his girlfriend Annie Porter encounters him during her driving test. She discovers that Alex is on theSWAT team and concludes that he mistakenly told her that he was on beach patrol. As an apology, Alex surprises her with aCaribbean cruise onSeabourn Legend.
Aboard the ship, deranged passenger John Geiger, a former employee of the cruise company,hacks into the ship's computer system, sabotages the communication systems, and kills Captain Pollard. After blowing up two of the ship's engines, Geiger calls thebridge to notify thefirst officer, Juliano, of Pollard's death and order him to evacuate the ship. While passengers evacuate, Drew, a young girl who is deaf, becomes trapped in an elevator, and a group of people also become trapped behind lockedfire doors in a hallway filling with smoke. As Annie and Alex attempt to board the lastlifeboat, Geiger programs the ship to continue sailing. When the winch lowering the lifeboat jams, Alex jumps back onboard to rescue the passengers from falling overboard, while Annie and Juliano utilize the ship's gangplank to get them back on deck.
Realizing that Geiger has hijacked the ship, Alex accompanies Juliano to the cabin, but Geiger remotely detonates explosives inside the room. Annie and Dante, the ship's photographer, notice the people trapped behind the fire doors, utilizing achainsaw to cut the door open and facilitate their escape. Meanwhile, Alex orders thenavigator, Merced, to flood the ship's decks and decelerate it by opening theballast doors. As the ship floods, Alex notices Drew on a monitor after she climbs out of the elevator and enters the ballast room to rescue her. Noticing Geiger fleeing from the vault, Alex ambushes him, but Geiger escapes by shutting the fire door in front of him. Using the ship's intercom, Geiger explains that he designed the ship's autopilot system and is pursuing his revenge plot against the cruise line after being dismissed when he contractedcopper poisoning. He escapes from Alex by attaching a grenade to a door.
As the crew notices that Geiger has programmed the ship to crash into anoil tanker off the coast ofSaint Martin, Alex decides to prevent the crash by diving underneath the ship and jamming the propeller with a steel cable. Geiger jams the cable winch while Alex is underwater, causing it to break off the ship and free the cable. He then abducts Annie and absconds with her on a lifeboat.
To avert a collision, Alex and Dante venture into the ship'sbilge pump room and maneuver thebow thrusters, steering it away from the oil tanker. The ship screeches down the side of the tanker and heads into a marina before crashing into a Saint Martin town and grinding to a halt. Alex hijacks a speed boat to pursue Annie, whom Geiger has dragged onto aseaplane; he employs a harpoon gun to tether himself to the plane from the boat and reels himself in through the water. Eventually, he climbs onto the plane and retrieves Annie, and both escape on one of the plane'sfloats, which lands on the ocean surface. Geiger attempts to escape over the oil tanker but loses control of the plane, which becomes impaled on the tanker's foremast; in the ensuing explosion, both vehicles are destroyed and Geiger perishes. The members of the tanker crew, however, launched their lifeboat just prior to the destruction. As the couple return to shore in the speed boat, Alex gives Annie an engagement ring, proposing marriage, and she happily accepts.
Main cast[edit]
Seabourn Legend crew[edit]
| Cruise passengers[edit]
Additional cast[edit]
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Speed was released in June 1994, starringKeanu Reeves andSandra Bullock. The film's plot features the story of a runaway bus armed with a bomb that will explode if its speed drops below 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).[4] It was a critical and commercial success,[5][6] and was the 8th-highest-grossing-film worldwide in 1994.[7]
Due to positiveword of mouth, studio20th Century Fox began discussing plans for aSpeed sequel a month prior to its release,[8] and officially announced a sequel would be produced following the film's box office success after its first week in theaters.[9] Although he felt the film was a "one-time story" with no sequel potential,[10]Speed directorJan de Bont was contractually obligated to direct a sequel,[11] and would be paid a reported $5–6 million salary.[4][5] Reeves and Bullock had no contractual obligation to star in the sequel;[12] however, by late 1994, Fox executiveTom Sherak had begun negotiations with the actors and hoped to produce a follow-up film with their two characters as a married couple.[11]
Hundreds of ideas for a sequel were submitted to De Bont, all of which he turned down in favor of his own idea, based on a recurring nightmare he experienced about a cruise ship crashing into an island.[13][14] Randall McCormick was hired to write the sequel in 1994 and received a story writing credit along with De Bont.[12] Thescreenplay was credited to McCormick andJeff Nathanson, who began writing the film with its ending based on De Bont's nightmare.[15]
DirectorJohn McTiernan of theDie Hard series claimed in 2001 that "the studio used most of the material we'd developed" for a potentialDie Hard sequel and turned it intoSpeed 2, including "the ocean liner going on the beach."[16] The third film in the series,Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), was originally based on aspec script from 1990 titledTroubleshooter, whose premise involved fighting terrorists aboard a cruise ship. This concept for a sequel was later abandoned by the filmmakers due to its similarities to the filmUnder Siege (1992).[17][18]
Speed writerGraham Yost and producerMark Gordon claimed that neither of them were asked to participate in the sequel, although both of their names are listed in the film credits; Yost was given a writing credit for the film's characters and Gordon was credited asexecutive producer.[19] In an interview in 2010, Yost stated he had two ideas for a sequel: aVietnam War-era military ship set to explode if its ammunition comes in contact with water, and an aircraft forced to fly at a low altitude over theAndes Mountains.[20]
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Bullock initially declined to star in the sequel,[21] but later agreed in order to secure financial backing for the drama filmHope Floats (1998); she was paid a reported $11–$13 million to reprise her role as Annie.[22][14] Reeves was offered $12 million to reprise his role as Jack Traven, but turned it down because he did not like the script, was financially secure from the success ofSpeed,[23] and felt he was not "ready to mentally and physically" star in another action film after having completedChain Reaction (1996). He passed onSpeed 2 in order to star in the filmThe Devil's Advocate (1997), which was filmed at the same time, then subsequently toured with his band,Dogstar. Reeves said that Fox was "furious" with his decision and released "propaganda" against him, falsely claiming that he turned down the role to tour with his band.[24] De Bont said that the character in the sequel was not specific to Reeves and could be played by any young actor, as long as he had chemistry with Bullock.[25]
Many actors were considered to replace Reeves including:Simon Baker,[26]Jon Bon Jovi,[27]Patrick Muldoon,[28]Johnathon Schaech,[29]Christian Slater,[30] andBilly Zane.[29] Bullock initially suggestedMatthew McConaughey,[28] who passed on the role,[31] prompting her to suggest Jason Patric, with whom she had wanted to work since seeing his performance inAfter Dark, My Sweet (1990). De Bont was skeptical of featuring a relatively unknown actor such as Patric, but was reminded by the studio that Bullock and Reeves were also relatively unknown prior toSpeed,[32] and chose Patric based on his role inSleepers (1996).[33] Patric was paid a reported $4.5–$8 million for his role inSpeed 2 and used his salary to finance a 1998 drama,Your Friends & Neighbors.[4][22] After accepting the role, Patric stated that he never sawSpeed or had any intentions of seeing it;[34] Reeves said he was looking forward to seeing Patric star in the sequel.[35] After Reeves declined to appear inSpeed 2, the screenplay was rewritten to remove his character from the story, which De Bont wanted to deal with early in the film.[36] His absence is explained in the first scene, where Annie talks about how her relationship with Jack did not work out, and mentions her current relationship with Alex (Patric), before his character is introduced in the film.[25]
Gary Oldman turned down the role of the villain, Geiger, to star as another villain inAir Force One (1997).[37]Willem Dafoe was cast as Geiger after he wanted to star in a "big movie" and once again play a villain.[38] De Bont cast New Zealand actorTemuera Morrison as Juliano based on his role inOnce Were Warriors (1994).[39] Although he did not like the script,Brian McCardie accepted the role as Merced as his agents assured him it would be good for his career.[40]
Comedian Royale Watkins was hired by De Bont for the part of Dante after discovering Watkins performing at a comedy club.[41]Glenn Plummer was cast as a character named Maurice whose boat is hijacked by Alex, reprising his role fromSpeed as aJaguar owner whose car is hijacked by Jack.[42][43] To addcomic relief, De Bont cast comedianTim Conway as Annie's driving instructor, and hoped it would be acomeback role for him.[44][45] SingerTamia was cast as Sheri, an entertainer on the ship, because De Bont wanted a singer who could also act.[46] She did not plan on doing any film acting that early in her career, as she had yet to release herdebut album, but said the part was "too perfect for [her] to resist."[47]Joe Morton reprised his role fromSpeed as SWAT lieutenant Herb "Mac" McMahon in an uncreditedcameo appearance in the beginning of the film.[42]
Speed 2 was produced by De Bont'sproduction company, Blue Tulip, and was one of the film's three co-producers along with Steve Perry and Michael Peyser.[48] The director began working onpre-production prior to the release of his previous film,Twister (1996).[49] For the cruise ship on which the film would be set, De Bont visited ships from various cruise lines and choseSeabourn Legend for its luxurious amenities and sleek design.[50] WhileSpeed was produced for $30 million,[51] the sequel wasgreen-lit at "just under $100 million" due to the larger production and higher cast salaries.[5] He startedlocation scouting in theCaribbean in May 1996, and choseSaint Martin as the primary filming location because he felt it was least likely to be subjected to a hurricane.[52][34] Prior to production, details about the film were kept secret, and De Bont refused to confirm rumors about the film taking place on a ship,[49] although he did state that the sequel would be "funnier",[53] whileSpeed 2 starJason Patric said the sequel is a "very complex movie" and would have "bigger sequences."[54] It was later reported that the film had gone over-budget and costs had ballooned to as much as $160 million. De Bont acknowledged that they had gone over budget but that the cost would be close to $100 million.[2]
Principal photography took place from September 23, 1996, to late February 1997.[55] Film crews moved to West Palm Beach and Miami, Florida in July 1996 anticipating shooting in each location for several weeks later that year.[56][57] However, due to scheduling issues with Patric, production did not take place in West Palm Beach and there were "just a few days" filming in Miami.[58][59] The Miami production took place in a gymnasium and boat hangar at theDinner Key marina complex, rented by Fox. After spending over $55,000 on repairs to the facilities, Fox refused to pay the $35,000 in rental fees to the City of Miami.[60] The city sued for the rent since Fox did not seek approval for the repairs, and a compromise was reached when the city credited some repair costs, resulting in Fox paying around $26,000 rent.[61]
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Seabourn Legend was rented for six weeks at a reported cost of $38,000 per day;[14] the ship served as the film's primary setting and provided accommodation for the cast and crew.[62][46] The evacuation sequence was among the first scenes filmed on the ship, and was shot in Key West, Florida over a two-week period. Approximately 30 hoses and the ship'sfire sprinkler system were used to simulate heavy rainfall in the scene.[63] Severe weather conditions fromHurricane Lili delayed production activity on the ship for several days, and causedseasickness among the cast and crew for the remainder of the production at sea.[63] To make the ship appear faster, all exterior shots were filmed from a moving vehicle.[64] Scenes on the bridge were filmed in amockup dubbed the "bridge ship", a large-scale reconstruction of thebow and bridge built atop thehull of acargo ship.[65] Additional ship interiors were filmed atSony Pictures Studios and Warren Entertainment in Los Angeles County, California. Full-scale replicas of the ship's atrium, cabins, and engine rooms were constructed onsound stages where production took place for over a month. The scene where Alex rescues Drew while the ship is being flooded was filmed bycamera operators wearingwet suits inside a sound stage tank, which was constructed with plywood and a hydraulic lift to give the effect that the water level was rising.[66]
For the climactic scene when the ship crashes into an island, De Bont wanted to create and destroy an actual town. He opted against miniaturescale models orcomputer-generated imagery (CGI) to provide a sense of realism for the actors and the audience. A $5 million, 35-building set was constructed inMarigot, Saint Martin based on the town's local architecture, which temporarily housed production offices.[15][46][67] Despite De Bont's reason for choosing Saint Martin for filming, a hurricane struck the town and destroyed the set during construction. It had to be rebuilt withhurricane-proof buildings.[68] Exteriors of the bow mockup on the bridge ship were used in the first part of the scene when theSeabourn Legend is crashing into sailboats in the harbor; the bridge ship was used in place of the actualSeabourn Legend, as the latter could not navigate the harbor's shallow waters.[63] The captain of the bridge ship had great difficulty hitting the sailboats during filming, despite cameras placed on the boats for the captain to view.[13] A second mockup was constructed for the latter part of the scene, which featured a 150-foot (46 m) long replica of theSeabourn Legend's bow. This mockup, referred to as the "rail ship",[46] weighed 300 short tons (270 t), and sat atop a set of wheels along a 1,000-foot long (300 m) track built 60 feet (18 m) underwater.[15]
Filming the final scene with the rail ship was initially delayed because it could not be hoisted onto the track because of large waves caused by the hurricane.[34] The scene was filmed using 14 cameras,[68] with the rail ship traveling 50 feet (15 m) at a time into the set, with debris from the destruction cleared between eachtake.[69] The mockup was powered by fourdiesel engines and pulled by a large chain at a speed of 18 miles per hour (29 km/h).[67] The scene's three planned collisions were aided byexplosives andhydraulics to ensure the set's structures collapsed precisely. Concrete was also removed from the buildings and replaced with sand-coatedbalsa wood so the buildings would "crumble" more effectively after being hit by the rail ship.[67] In the scene's final shot, it had to stop successfully within a 6-inch (15 cm) area on the first take.[67] The five-minute scene cost $25 million to produce, roughly one quarter of the film's entire budget,[15] and set records as both the largest and the most expensive stunt ever filmed.[46][66]
The underwater scene where Alex swims underneath the ship was filmed in theTongue of the Ocean off the coast ofNew Providence inthe Bahamas. The location was chosen due to its water clarity, however, after viewing dailies of the scene, De Bont felt the water was too clear, so it was reshot with divers above the camera dusting the area in front of the lens with sediment to alter the clarity of the footage.[70] The scene was filmed underneath a propeller-lessbarge that was designed to resemble theSeabourn Legend. To provide a sense of velocity in the scene, the barge was towed bytugboats at one and a halfknots. The production crew did not have a winch system available for the underwater shoot as depicted in the scene, so a pulley system was created by feeding Patric a rope that was attached to theaxle of a car that drove along the barge.[71]
Instead of usingstunt doubles, De Bont persuaded Bullock, Patric, and Dafoe to perform their own stunts, so the scenes would appear more realistic; the lead actors were required to engage inphysical exercise sessions before and during filming.[72] Stunt coordinator Dick Ziker was very impressed with Patric's stuntwork, and said that he "is so physical he probably could be one of the top stunt men in the world."[63] His stunts included being dragged by a seaplane through the water, jumping onto collapsing buildings, and scuba diving while pulled by a moving ship. He was also required totread water for multiple hours at a time.[13] During a motorcycle stunt on aDucati 916 on the second day of filming, Patric flew off the bike 30 feet (9 m) into the air and landed on a small bush; Bullock said the incident was so serious that Patric "should be dead."[73][62] After surviving a traumatic surfing incident as a teenager, Bullock had to overcome herfear of water to perform necessary stuntwork in the film.[34] During production at sea, Bullock was smacked into the ship on multiple occasions, and was saved by Patric from dangerous situation by the ship'srudder in one scene.[62] Bullock and Patric also had a scene filmed in an underwater tank where they had to kiss underwater with Bullock's hands tied together.Navy SEALs withscuba gear were present inside the tank during shooting, as the actors had to hold their breath during the scene.[46] According to Bullock, she performed all of her own stuntwork "except for a quarter of one stunt";[74] her stunt double worked for only three days during production.[63] Of all the stunt-related incidents during production, De Bont said the most frightening was when a stunt woman was hit in the face by a boat cable and required reconstructive surgery.[68] Following the production at sea, De Bont said that filming on water "was 100 percent more difficult than [he] imagined."[72]
ComposerMark Mancina wrote the film score forSpeed 2 having previously composed the scores forSpeed andTwister. He started composing the music in March 1997 and it was recorded at the end of April. He began by creating themes and melodies, then worked them into the film where he felt they would fit.[75] The score includes a reworking of the20th Century Fox fanfare, in which the finalchord issustained and "slithers down" into the opening theme, while the studio logo fades into a traveling shot of the ocean on screen. Fox was initially hesitant to feature an altered version of their fanfare, but allowed the alteration after being convinced by De Bont and hearing it performed by an orchestra.[76]
Specific action cues were scored on the piano down to each second of film. Noting how the film was set in the Caribbean and had a different, slower pace thanSpeed, Mancina gave the score a "Jamaican/Latin feel" by incorporating reggae music between action sequences.[77][75] The reggae music was written to give the feel of being on vacation and serve as a love theme for the characters.[76] Some themes fromSpeed were included in the score between sections of the newly written material. He wrote new themes for Annie and Alex because he felt the original themes written for Reeves' character would not work well with Patric. After viewing the scene where Geiger attachesleeches to his body tocleanse his blood, Mancina felt the scene was "so gross" that he wrote a "slimy theme" for the character, which is distinctively different from the rest of the music.[75] He mixed the score at the same time the film was being edited,[77] which meant the music had to be constantly re-edited into the film. During the scoring ofSpeed 2, Mancina said in an interview that keeping up with the editing of the film was the "hardest thing [he had] ever done."[75]
Over 100 minutes of score are present inSpeed 2, more than Mancina wrote forSpeed andTwister combined.[75] After the score was written, he created ademo of the entire score on asynthesizer to play for De Bont. While the score forSpeed only usedstrings,French horns, andpercussion,Speed 2 used a wider variety of instruments includingtrombones, largewoodwinds,bass clarinets, andcontrabassoons. The score was recorded by a 96-person orchestra, including Mancina, who performed on aclassical guitar on several cues. The reggae music featured a band withsteel drums, in addition to Cuban drums andLatin percussion. De Bont wanted 16 steel drum players, but due to a lack of available players, Mancina used eight drums which weredouble-tracked.[76]
Mancina's score was not initially released on CD to avoid competition with sales of the soundtrack album. De Bont made a deal with Virgin Records that it could not be released until at least six months after the release of the soundtrack.[75] The score was not officially released until June 2010, when it was sold by La-La Land Records as a 3000-unit limited edition album.[78] The album features 70 minutes of music across 14 tracks and, according to La-La Land, it also features a "notable amount of music" that was not used in the film, due to the constant re-edits prior to its release date.[76] Daniel Schweiger ofFilm Music Magazine said that Mancina's score was "arguably a better one thanSpeed", praising the album's "thrilling themes", "epic orchestrations", and "Jamaican-style grooves."[79]Filmtracks.com gave the release four out of five stars, saying the album was "perhaps [La-La Land's] finest offering of a previously unreleased score", although it also stated that "some of the action and suspense material in the latter half of the score becomes a bit generic."[80]
To complement the film's Caribbean setting, thesoundtrack consists of mostlyreggae music.[81] De Bont wanted musicians to appear in the film as entertainers on the cruise ship. A cameo appearance for reggae bandUB40 was written into the script after the filmmakers heard ademo of their song "Tell Me Is It True", and wanted them to perform it in the film.[82] Brazilian reggae musicianCarlinhos Brown was also chosen to be featured as a performer on the ship because De Bont wanted music that was "lively" and felt that Brown's music was "full of energy."[46] Tamia worked with De Bont and producerQuincy Jones to choose a song for her character to perform in the film, and selected "Make Tonight Beautiful",[46] which was written byDiane Warren.[83]
In addition to UB40 and Brown, the soundtrack features reggae music from:Jimmy Cliff,Common Sense,Maxi Priest,Shaggy,Rayvon, andBetty Wright. Mark Mancina wrote atechno track for the soundtrack based on his film score,[75] titled "Speed TK Re-mix", performed by Japanese musicianTetsuya "TK" Komuro.[84] Other songs recorded specifically for the soundtrack include Priest's cover of "The Tide Is High" and Cliff's re-recording of his 1972 song "You Can Get It If You Really Want".[85][86] TheSpeed 2: Cruise Controlsoundtrack album was released byVirgin Records on May 20, 1997, about one month before the film's release. The album features 12 songs, all of which are featured in the film; five of them were released assingles.[77]
| List | Rank |
|---|---|
| Complex | 1st[87] |
| Far Out | 2nd[88] |
| Total Film | 5th[89] |
| Entertainment Weekly | 9th[90] |
| Moviefone | 9th[91] |
| The Independent | Top 10[92] |
| MSN | Top 10[93] |
| Salon | Top 10[94] |
| Virgin Media | Top 10[95] |
| Toronto Sun | Top 25[96] |
| Comcast | 42nd[97] |
Speed 2: Cruise Control did not receive the same positive feedback as its predecessor, and was widely lambasted by critics.[98] OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 4% based on reviews from 76 critics, with an average rating of 3.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Speed 2 falls far short of its predecessor, thanks to laughable dialogue, thin characterization, unsurprisingly familiar plot devices, and action sequences that fail to generate any excitement."[99] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 24 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[100] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a grade "B−" on scale of A to F.[101]
Time magazine stated that Patric's character was "fundamentally uninteresting", but blamed De Bont and the screenwriters for "not providing their actors with stuff to act."[102] Many critics stated that a major issue with the film was the lack of thrills due to the setting on the slow-moving ship.Entertainment Weekly heavily criticized the lack of story and said the film is "as slow-moving as agarbage scow."[103] According to theLos Angeles Times, even children who saw the film felt it was strange that it took place on a ship "not capable of going more than a few knots per hour [sic]", and claimed thatSpeed was "much more logical."[104]Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times stated, "Even the film's big-ticket closing stunts are more impressive for their size than for any excitement they generate."[105]
It is also considered to be one of the worst film sequels of all time, and many publications have placedSpeed 2 on their lists of the worst film sequels.Complex ranked the film first on a list of The 50 Worst Sequels of All Time, calling it "one of the worst 'event' movies ever conceived", while praising Reeves' choice not to return for the sequel, and referring to Patric as "wooden and woefully miscast."[87] In 2010,New York film criticDavid Edelstein featured an article onSpeed 2 that described it as the "Worst Sequel of All", mainly due to the film's explanation for the absence of Reeves' character.[98] In addition to being ranked among the worst sequels,Empire ranked the film at number 24 on its list of The 50 Worst Movies Ever.[106]
Bullock later regretted starring in the film, and stated that the script was to blame for the film's negative reception.[107] She admitted to having been skeptical about its success during production and "knew it was going to be a big flop" once she saw the final product.[108] Patric also admitted "it wasn't a good movie" and said that its lack of success was due to de Bont's direction, while praising Bullock and the rest of the film's crew.[109] Mark Gordon and Graham Yost stated they felt "bitter and happy" after initially not being asked to be involved inSpeed 2, then seeing that the film was unsuccessful.[19]
The film did receive some positive feedback.Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun Times andGene Siskel of theChicago Tribune both gaveSpeed 2 three out of four stars,[110][111] two of the film's three positive reviews included on Rotten Tomatoes.[99] On their film review TV seriesSiskel & Ebert, they collectively gaveSpeed 2 a positive rating of "Two Thumbs Up", calling it a "truly rousing ocean liner adventure story", although Ebert criticized Bullock's more limited role in the sequel while Patric "stole all the action sequences."[112] Since his original review, Ebert claimed that he enjoyedSpeed 2 more than Bullock,[113][114][115] and wrote an article in 2013 that his favorable review of the film "inspired more disbelief" than any other he had written and was frequently cited as an example of him being a poor film critic.[116] At theConference on World Affairs in 1999, Ebert spoke about the difficulty of making films such asSpeed 2 and defended his review by offering a "Speed 3" contest for anyone to create a five-minuteshort film that takes place on something that cannot stop moving.[116]
Speed 2 was listed onAbout.com's Top 9 Cruise Ship or Ocean Liner Movies, and said it had "good shots of the ship and a spectacular ending", but also described the plot as "lame."[117]The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,[118]Los Angeles Daily News,[119] andThe Sacramento Bee[120] each gave favorable reviews, while stating that the film was not as good asSpeed.Empire's Andrew Collins gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, while commenting "...top-billed Sandra Bullock, formerly an accidental heroine, is insultingly sidelined here to boyfriend's little helper and hostage-in-waiting. Patric is the film's actual seaborne legend, and a watchable one, but the pair's gooey relationship sorely lacksSpeed's thrown-together dynamic."[121]
Speed 2: Cruise Control premiered at theCineplex Odeon in Century City, Los Angeles on June 9, 1997, and was released into theaters on June 13.[122] The release date was rescheduled twice—originally set for July 2 and pushed up to June 6 to avoid competition withMen in Black andTitanic (which was then scheduled for July), then moved back one week to avoid competition withCon Air.[123][124]
During its opening weekend,Speed 2 was shown on 2,615 screens and grossed $16.2 million.[125] It ranked at number one in the box office, grossing just $500,000 more thanCon Air in second place.[126][127] Box office sales forSpeed 2 dropped 54% the following weekend, grossing only $7.8 million and ranking at number five behindBatman & Robin,My Best Friend's Wedding,Con Air andThe Lost World: Jurassic Park.[128][129]
The film grossed $48 million in the United States, and had a total gross of $164.5 million worldwide.[3]Moviefone andTime have both ranked the film among the biggestbox office bombs of all time, with estimated losses for the studio ranging from $40–70 million.[130][131]
The film received eightRazzie Award nominations out of 12 possible categories at the18th Golden Raspberry Awards, and had the second-highest number that year followingBatman & Robin (1997), which had 11 nominations.[132]Speed 2 won the award for "Worst Remake or Sequel",[133] but lost the award for "Worst Picture" toThe Postman (1997).[134] At theStinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film was nominated for three awards. It won Worst Sequel but lost both Worst Director and Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing Over $100M toBatman & Robin.[135]
| Ceremony | Award | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Razzies | Worst Picture | Jan de Bont, Steve Perry, Michael Peyser | Nominated |
| Worst Actress | Sandra Bullock | Nominated | |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Willem Dafoe | Nominated | |
| Worst Screen Couple | Sandra Bullock,Jason Patric | Nominated | |
| Worst Remake or Sequel | Speed 2: Cruise Control | Won | |
| Worst Director | Jan de Bont | Nominated | |
| Worst Screenplay | Randall McCormick,Jeff Nathanson, Jan de Bont | Nominated | |
| Worst Song | "My Dream" (written byOrville Burrell, Robert Livingston, Dennis Haliburton) | Nominated | |
| Stinkers | Worst Director | Jan de Bont | Nominated |
| Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing Over $100M Worldwide Using Hollywood Math | 20th Century Fox | Nominated | |
| Worst Sequel | Won |
Speed 2: Cruise Control was released onVHS andLaserDisc on December 2, 1997.[136] The film would be released for the first time onDVD on November 3, 1998. It was once again released on DVD on July 30, 2002, along with its predecessor.[137] ThisTHX certified DVD release features animated menus that resemble Geiger's computer. Bonus features include a half-hourHBO special called "The Making of Speed 2: Cruise Control" and three trailers. These are a single trailer forSpeed and two others for its sequel. There is also aDTS 5.1 audio track on this release.[138] On May 6, 2014,Speed 2: Cruise Control was released onBlu-ray as part of theSpeed Collector Pack.[139]
A video game was being developed as an original IP titledMuzzle Velocity by developerBits Studios featuring a story in which player character Jack, a member of the LAPD SWAT team during a mission in Los Angeles, is battling crime wave gone out of control out of control that the LAPD cannot stop it on its own. After the studio partnered withFox Interactive, development of the game shifted to an alternate IP under theSpeed series titled after and based on the film itselfSpeed 2: Cruise Control. The game would have been primarily set on a boat, though a bus level was also conceived as a nod to theoriginal film. This game was then planned to release in January 1999 forNintendo 64 andPC. However, the movie was both a critical and commercial failure after its release and both companies decided to switch the project once more to theDie Hard franchise thus becomingDie Hard 64. After work for the previous title could not be finished sometime in 2000, it was moved to theGameCube and would later becomeDie Hard: Vendetta.[140]
Speed 2: Cruise Control has been referenced and parodied in pop culture. A 1998 episode of the IrishsitcomFather Ted titled "Speed 3" involves a bomb planted on amilk float that will explode if the float travels under 4 mph (6.4 km/h). While the plot is a parody ofSpeed, writersGraham Linehan andArthur Mathews got the idea for the episode after asking themselves if it was possible to come up with a "worse idea for a sequel thanSpeed 2."[141] TheSimpsons episode "Bye Bye Nerdie" (2001) features a scene on a racing school bus where characterMilhouse Van Houten says "It's likeSpeed 2, only witha bus instead of a boat!"[142] TheFamily Guy episode "Blind Ambition" (2005) includes a parody of the film's finale where a cruise ship crashes into a pier and through a city before stopping in the middle of an airport.[143]
In September 2013, Keanu Reeves stated that he believed that an opportunity for his return in a sequel had passed.[144] By September of the following year however, the actor stated that he would be open to reprising his lead role in a sequel.[145][146] In May 2019, Reeves once again expressed his interest in a potential third movie.[147] By November 2020, Jan de Bont stated that a third film may be developed, while acknowledging that he would want the original cast to return.[148] In December 2021, Reeves expressed his desire to work again with Bullock in the future, and said "never say never" while acknowledging that the realization of a third installment may become a reality.[149] By March 2022, Bullock expressed interest in reprising her role while joking about how much older they both are at this point in time.[150] Later that month she stated that though she was taking a hiatus from acting, she would like to make a thirdSpeed film alongside Reeves. During the interview, she andDaniel Radcliffe brainstormed comedic ideas for the potential project.[151]
In March 2023, Reeves stated that he would reprise his role under the condition that the story justifies the movie with a great script.[152] By April,Graham Yost expressed interest in returning to serve as screenwriter.[153]
De Bont acknowledges that the movie came in over budget but shoots down reports that the original $100 million has soared into the $135-million to $160-million range. The movie is on schedule, he says. It's not out of control. When the movie wraps at the end of this month, it should come in "close to $110 million"--providing nothing untoward erupts.
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