The original launched Keanu Reeves as an action star, but he passed onSpeed 2with good reason. While he had frontedPoint Breaka few years earlier, it wasSpeedthat transformed Reeves into an action lead. The movie’s success led to all theKeanu Reeves action moviesthat followed, but he was wise enough to pass on 1997’sSpeed 2: Cruise Controlwhen it was offered. This saw Sandra Bullock return as Annie, withJason Patric replacing Reeves as new hero Alexas the couple become trapped on a cruise ship seized by a vengeful hacker.
Speed 2was a critical and commercial disaster, and sits at only 4% onRotten Tomatoesand it barely recouped its budget. Bullock has confessed more than once thatCruise Controlwas a huge mistake, while Reeves appeared like a genius for passing on it. That’s not to say his decision didn’t come with consequences; Reeves later admitted toGQhe was effectively blacklisted by Fox for a decade after passing on the sequel.Speed 2would have sucked with or without Reevesregardless, as it was burdened with a fundamentally flawed premise.
The Condition For Speed 3 To Happen Perfectly Explains What Went Wrong With The 1997 Sandra Bullock Sequel
One solid condition For Speed 3 to happen highlights one of the biggest reasons why Speed’s 1997 sequel failed to recreate the original film’s success
Keanu Reeves Was Not Happy With The Script For Speed 2
Even Keanu thought the cruise ship idea was dumb
When Keanu was handed the script forCruise Control,the star immediately pointed out the sequel’s flaw; namely, calling a movieSpeedwhile setting it on a cruise ship, which have max speeds of around 30mph. This is even less than the speed the bus had to maintain in the original, and Reeves recounted onThe Graham Norton Show(viaCNN) his feelings on passing on the sequel.
At the time I didn’t respond to the script. I really wanted to work with Sandra Bullock, I loved playing Jack Traven, and I loved ‘Speed’, but an ocean liner? I had nothing against the artists involved, but at that time I had the feeling it just wasn’t right.
Of course, time proved Reeves right, with the chief complaint of most critics and viewers being the basic premise.Seeing the onscreen reunion between Reeves and Bullock may have eased some of the pain ofSpeed 2- especially considering the complete lack of chemistry between Bullock and Patric. Still, there was little even Bullock and Reeves could have done to overcome a doomed concept.
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock eventually reunited for the 2006 romantic dramaThe Lake House.
Speed 2 Revealed Jack Traven And Annie Porter Broke Up Offscreen
As Bullock’s Annie stated, “Relationships based on intense experiences never work”
One of the greatest tricks thatSpeedpulled was forging a convincing romantic relationship between Jack and Annie over a matter of hours - while they’re both constantly trying to stop the bus exploding. The movie ends with the two kissing after surviving the final attack by Dennis Hooper’s bomber, but by the timeCruise Controlcomes around, Jack and Annie have already broken up.Speed 2doesn’t spend much time explaining why the romance ended, with Annie plainly stating she and Jack broke upand that she’s in a new relationship with Patric’s Alex.
This is seemingly breezed past so audiences don’t spend much time thinking about the sequel’s lack of Keanu. The sequel has an in-built excuse for Jack’s absence though. In the original film, Annie joked that “relationships based on intense experiences never work.” Of course, the events ofSpeedqualify in that regard, somaybe after the intensity of that day wore off, Annie and Jack learned they didn’t have much in commonand decided to end things.
One annoyingly lazy aspect ofSpeed 2is how it essentially just swapped out Jack for Alex, who is another daredevil cop…
One annoyingly lazy aspect ofSpeed 2is how it essentially just swapped out Jack for Alex, who is another daredevil cop with the LAPD. The story also involves Alex working up the nerve to propose to Annie amid the chaos of the ship being taken over, but this would have felt more organic for viewers if Jack was the one doing the proposing.
Speed 3 With Sandra Bullock And Keanu Reeves Could Still Happen
Maybe there’s hope for Speed’s Jack and Annie after all
2024 marked the 30th anniversary ofSpeed, and it feels like love for the movie is stronger than ever. Reeves and Bullock even reunited with director Jan de Bont for an anniversary screening and expressed a tentative interest in a thirdSpeed -if the right concept came together. It seems 20th Century Studios are mullingSpeed 3also, with studio exec Steve Asbell tellingTHRthat:
It is one of those last movies that we haven’t remade. And to really be a reason to come back, it’s got to be a great idea and an idea that excites (Bullock and Keanu Reeves). Because that’d be the reason to see it. It’s obviously a really important title for us, but it’s not something we would handle lightly or just try to press them into service.
While nothing is greenlit,it feels like the possibility of a thirdSpeedfeels closer than it has ever been. That said, Bullock has a well-known aversion to sequels, following her experiences withCruise ControlandMiss Congeniality 2. The actress has expressed a lot of love for the original - which essentially launched her onto the A-list - and has expressed a desire to work with Reeves again. Even so, any screenplay forSpeed 3would presumably need to bereallyimpressive to lure her back.
$30 million
$350 million
95%
$160 million
$164.5 million
4%
Reeves has been more willing to reprise roles in recent years, asBill & Ted Face The MusicandThe Matrix Resurrectionshas shown.The idea of seeing Reeves and Bullock back in action forSpeed 3is intriguing, but what the sequel needs is a killer hookto sell its audiences. The original had one, whileSpeed 2did not. If they can nail the core premise, there’s no reason to think a belated third film couldn’t work.
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Cast
Speed 2: Cruise Control follows a thrilling ordeal aboard a hijacked cruise liner, where vacationing cop Alex Shaw and his partner Annie Porter face a desperate race against time. Lacking communication, they must thwart the plans of a rogue saboteur to save the passengers and prevent an environmental catastrophe.
