In a sentenceA cruise ship in peril should not leave this much time to admire the ship
Annie (Sandra Bullock) is caught in a crisis aboard a cruise ship, with Alex (Jason Patric) facing the danger alongside her. Geiger (Willem Dafoe) is the villain threatening them, while Juliano (Temuera Morrison), Merced (Brian McCardie) and Captain Pollard (Bo Svenson) are also drawn into events. Annie and Alex need to keep themselves and others safe as the trouble develops at sea. The vessel is central to their predicament: its size and slow movement shape the dangers facing the people aboard.
Jan de Bont’s cruise-ship sequel has some well-organised action, but little urgency and too little for Sandra Bullock to do. Jason Patric supplies some assurance; the screenplay supplies a long wait.
Jan de Bont’s Speed 2: Cruise Control is a poor sequel with some capable action and a central problem it never solves. A cruise ship provides plenty of space for things to go wrong, but its slow movement makes it difficult to feel that disaster is seconds away. An action thriller can survive a silly premise if the people and the timing are persuasive. Too much of these 125 minutes passes without either doing enough to keep us interested.
The screenplay, by Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson, relies on familiar danger without finding much that feels particular to these people. Annie, played by Sandra Bullock, ought to give the film someone worth following through all this trouble. Instead, she is pushed aside too often, leaving the action without the performer most likely to make its absurdity enjoyable. The writing also takes too long to establish any momentum, so the anticipation wears off before the better sequences arrive.
Jason Patric brings a useful assurance to Alex, suggesting someone who might be capable of handling an emergency. He is not the problem, though his scenes with Sandra Bullock produce little warmth or friction. Willem Dafoe has less to work with as Geiger, a villain whose thin characterisation makes menace feel like a job requirement. Neither performance can give the screenplay the relationships it has neglected to develop.
Jack N. Green’s cinematography and the production design by Bill Kenney and Joseph C. Nemec III give the ship enough physical presence to make the large-scale action worth looking at. We can appreciate the space and the effort involved in putting it to use. The better action is competently arranged, and there is some pleasure in watching the film handle a cumbersome setting. But we spend too much time registering the size of the vessel without worrying about anyone aboard it.
Alan Cody’s editing cannot find a sustained pace in material that has already taken too long to get moving. Mark Mancina’s score cannot supply the urgency missing from the action, however much the film needs it to. We were bored by the ship’s slow progress because the characters gave us so little else to care about. Between the action sequences, there is far too much time to notice how familiar the jeopardy has become.
Compared with the original, this is an action film that takes too long to make anything feel pressing. Slow movement need not defeat a thriller, but it requires close attention to what is at stake and who is at risk. Most critics found the result disappointing, and we agree, despite the improvement when the film finally settles into delivering its action. Those passages may satisfy anyone chiefly interested in the mechanics of a large vessel in trouble. For suspense, choose something else.
Most critics find Speed 2: Cruise Control a sluggish sequel that fails to recover the original’s excitement. The main complaints concern a derivative screenplay, familiar jeopardy and a cruise ship setting that gives the action too little urgency. Praise is limited, but several reviews acknowledge the engineering of the action sequences and the special effects, particularly towards the end. The Los Angeles Times also singles out Jason Patric’s charisma as a welcome asset.
The spread is wide, ranging from enjoyment of the spectacle to rejection of almost everything on offer. RogerEbert.com provides the clearest dissent, finding the film entertaining despite its silly premise and stunts. Other reviews find competent staging insufficient compensation for the slow pace, while reservations about the cast concern Sandra Bullock being sidelined and the leads lacking chemistry. The harshest responses see mundane action and an aimless plot where the more sympathetic reviews find serviceable thrills.
The critic finds the film fun as a summer popcorn movie despite its silly premise and stunts. He singles out the impressive special effects sequences, especially the ship crashing into shore, for praise.
Read the full review →The review calls the film a serviceable summer action-thriller hampered by a derivative, cliche-ridden screenplay that takes too long to deliver its goods. It praises the well-engineered action sequences in the final act but notes the leads lack chemistry.
Read the full review →The critic finds the film a pedestrian thriller that fails to recapture the excitement of the original and sidelines Sandra Bullock. Action sequences are competently staged but lack urgency due to the slow-moving cruise ship setting.
Read the full review →The critic finds the sequel derivative and slapdash compared to the original, with overly familiar jeopardy situations and a makeshift quality. He singles out Jason Patric’s charismatic performance as the film’s best element.
Read the full review →The film fails in every way as a sequel, with a feeble and aimless plot that cannot match the original. The critic singles out the villain's one-dimensional portrayal and the mundane action sequences for particular complaint.
Read the full review →The critic ranks it last in the franchise and declares it the weakest of the Speed movies, concluding that it makes the fatal mistake of being absolutely shit. It is slow where the original was fast, with the subtitle Cruise Control accurately signaling the lack of pace.
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The Poseidon Adventure · not reviewed yetAnother passenger list in danger, with considerably more reason to worry.
Runaway Train · not reviewed yetFor those who prefer their runaway vehicles to generate some actual dread.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three · not reviewed yetTense negotiations and dry humour keep a transport crisis moving.
The Wages of FearA lesson in how slow movement can be almost unbearably tense.
Unstoppable · not reviewed yetA railway emergency handled with the urgency this cruise keeps missing.
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