- Director: Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister, The Haunting)
- Writers: Randall McCormick (Titan A.E.), Jan de Bont
- Runtime: 121 minutes
- Release Year: 1997
- Genre: Action / Thriller
- Age Rating: PG-13
- Currently Streaming On: Disney+
- IMDb rating: 4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 4%
- WYALAN Rating: 4/5
Cast
- Sandra Bullock as Annie Porter – (Speed, Miss Congeniality, The Blind Side, Gravity)
- Jason Patric as Alex Shaw – (The Lost Boys, Sleepers, Narc)
- Willem Dafoe as John Geiger – (Spider-Man, Platoon, The Lighthouse)
- Temuera Morrison as Juliano – (Once Were Warriors, Star Wars (as Jango Fett and clones), The Mandalorian)
Non Spoiler Synopsis
A young couple attempts to enjoy a relaxing Caribbean cruise, but a passenger has different plans
Speed 2: Cruise Control Trailer
Why You Should Watch
- If you like over the top 90’s action thrillers
- It set records as both the largest and the most expensive stunt ever filmed (you’ll know which one when you watch)
- Wilem Dafoe plays a camp, deranged baddie. He just has the perfect face for a baddie (this was before his part as Green Goblin in Spiderman)
- It contains several intense ‘nearly’ moments and stunts that I don’t think the critics gave enough credit
- Despite being nominated for Worst Screen Couple at the Razzie’s, I think the love story is believable and adds jeopardy to the plot
Tim’s Take
All this time I have avoided watching Speed 2: Cruise Control, due to it having a bad reputation (it has a 4% score on Rotten Tomatoes, ouch). But I’ve been watching more ‘bad films’ recently like The Beekeeper and The Meg 1 and 2 (I don’t mean to pick on Jason Statham, but these came immediately to mind) and enjoyed them for what they are – unrealistic but impressive fight scenes and snarky one-liners. Sure, these types of films won’t win Oscar nominations any time soon. But sometimes you just need a movie that’s easy to watch (I’m looking at you, Samurai Cop).
Of course, it’s not anywhere near as ‘good’ as Speed 1, but if you change your expectations Speed 2 is worth 121 minutes of your time and is actually worth watching in 2025. I’m going as far to say that I enjoyed it and would watch again at some point.
WYALAN Rating: 4/5 stars
For Fans Of:
- Fast & Furious
- Any film where Jason Statham playing the lead
My Favourite Facts About Speed 2: Cruise Control
- Although he felt the film was a “one-time story” with no sequel potential, Speed director Jan de Bont was contractually obligated to direct a sequel
- 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.
- Bullock initially declined to star in the sequel, but later agreed in order to secure financial backing for the drama film Hope Floats (1998)
- 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 of Speed, and felt he was not “ready to mentally and physically” star in another action film after having completed Chain Reaction (1996)
- Many actors were considered to replace Reeves including: Simon Baker, Jon Bon Jovi, Patrick Muldoon, Johnathon Schaech, Christian Slater, and Billy Zane. Bullock initially suggested Matthew McConaughey, who passed on the role
- Gary Oldman turned down the role of the villain, Geiger, to star as another villain in Air Force One (1997)
- For the climactic scene when the ship crashes into an island, De Bont wanted to create and destroy an actual town. He opted against miniature scale models or computer-generated imagery (CGI) to provide a sense of realism for the actors and the audience. A $5 million, 35-building set was constructed in Marigot, Saint Martin. A hurricane struck the town and destroyed the set during construction. It had to be rebuilt with hurricane-proof buildings.
- The five-minute end scene cost $25 million to produce, roughly one quarter of the film’s entire budget, and set records as both the largest and the most expensive stunt ever filmed.
- Instead of using stunt doubles, De Bont persuaded Bullock, Patric, and Dafoe to perform their own stunts, so the scenes would appear more realistic. 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.” During a motorcycle stunt on a Ducati 916 on the second day of filming, Patric flew off the bike 30 feet (9m) into the air and landed on a small bush; Bullock said the incident was so serious that Patric “should be dead.” After surviving a traumatic surfing incident as a teenager, Bullock had to overcome her fear of water to perform necessary stuntwork in the film. During production at sea, Bullock was smacked into the ship on multiple occasions, and was saved by Patric from dangerous situation by the ship’s rudder in one scene. Following the production at sea, De Bont said that filming on water “was 100 percent more difficult than [he] imagined.”
- It tops many publications’ list for worst film sequels of all time.
- The film received eight Razzie Award nominations out of 12 possible categories at the 18th Golden Raspberry Awards. Still, this was the second-highest number of nominations that year which went to Batman & Robin (1997) – 11 nominations.
- Worst Remake or Sequel – Speed 2: Cruise Control – Won
- 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 Director – Jan de Bont – Nominated
- Worst Screenplay – Randall McCormick, Jeff Nathanson, Jan de Bont – Nominated
- Worst Song – “My Dream” (written by Orville Burrell, Robert Livingston, Dennis Haliburton) – Nominated
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