Overall Grade: (F)
Almost twenty-years since its release this is still one of the worst sequels to a blockbuster film and probably a project Bullock would love to go back in time and pass on.
Synopsis
A dejected computer programmer hacks into a cruise liner loaded with passengers and sets it on a collision course with a gigantic oil tanker and will destroy both ships if his demands are not met.
My Thoughts
A classic example of ‘what were they thinking?’ Despite the same writers and director as the first massively successful film, this sequel was horrible in many factors.
The premise could work, it could have set up to be an adrenaline filled “Die Hard” style story on a cruise ship yet despite all the tons of action, this film is still to this day tough to sit through. There was no doubt a lot was riding on this project, it is the only thing I can think of to account for the many extremely forced aspects of this film.
Everything about this action film reeked of ‘tried too hard’ from the character of Jason Patric being just like Keanu Reeves’ character in the first one. Sandra Bullock’s character going from that of clumsy but resourceful to bumbling for the sake of cheap laughs.
The usually excellent Willem Dafoe incredibly overacting in the role of the villain. Not to mention the excessively absurd action that tried so hard to outdo itself it bordered on a spoof, like an action movie crossover of the “Scary Movie” franchise. Until you realize they weren’t trying to do such.
The story-line was slapped in with little to no creativity and the characters were thin and for the most part pawns in a script that was loaded with one cliche moment after another. The climax was laughable and when a films ending should have you on the edge of your seat, the prolonged and extremely over edited sequence comes across as laughable as the two cameos by Glenn Plummer and Joe Morton did to remind you this was still a “Speed” film, like a reminder that, “we did really good in part one, don’t forget.”
