Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Speed 2: Cruise Control Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 25, 2020

Speed was a defining Action picture of the 1990s, a slicker, more kinetic and forward-moving (literally) film compared to its musclebound sheer-force predecessor genre pictures of the 1980s. The film's massive success all but guaranteed a follow-up, but in this case, the same **** doesn't happen to the same guy twice. Speed star Keanu Reeves is conveniently, and mind-numbingly, written out of the sequel, replaced by Jason Patric who delivers a stiff and stilted performance as both action hero and fresh love interest for the returning Sandra Bullock, who is herself easily replaceable and the only real connective tissue after the title card to the original film. Drop Speed from the title and even keep Bullock in the movie with a name change and Cruise Control might have earned better reviews. Slightly better, anyway.

Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock) has moved on from her rather brief love affair with police officer Jack Traven. She's dating another man in blue, SWAT cop Alex Shaw (Jason Patric). Alex books the couple on a Caribbean cruise on board the Seabourn Legend with plans of popping the question. Fellow passenger John Geiger (Willem Dafoe) makes waves with the crew for his demanding and demeaning demeanor. Alex is immediately suspicious of him. Geiger’s a golfer, apparently, but while sitting at a bar he doesn’t once turn to look at a television showing a big tournament. Turns out Alex’s cop hunch is dead-on. Geiger’s golf equipment is actually hiding various explosives and portable computer terminals that will allow him to take command of the ship. Geiger’s plan works to perfection. He murders the captain and his sabotage leaves the ship vulnerable to his scheme. But a small band of vacationers, including Alex and Annie, remain on board, struggling to survive and fighting off a maniacal madman with a cruise liner under his control.

There are many problems with Speed 2, not the least of which is the name. There's a certain expectation for a sequel, particularly to a film as epic as Speed. This film comes nowhere close to approaching its predecessor's excellence, and it doesn't even try. Rather than something with an original thought in its celluloid brain, never mind anything ingenious like the first film, Speed 2 is instead a paint-by-numbers genre picture that might as well have been detached from the original altogether. The name probably ended up hurting the film more than helping it. Audiences rightly expected to find another creative Action endeavor but instead found a lackluster movie populated by painfully uninspired characters, rote action, and production design that refuses take full advantage of the cruise ship setting. There's opportunity aplenty but the filmmakers take the easy way out, assembling a stale and predictable movie that is at its best on the marquee, not on the screen (the title is actually quite clever, hearkening back to automotive lingo while also suggesting Geiger's seizing control of a cruise liner).

What's perhaps worse than the rote, stale action are the rote, stale characters. Never has there been a more generic action hero than Alex Shaw, a man who is little more than a body capable of moving upright and holding a gun at the same time. The character's story lacks depth, Patric lacks charisma (not that the script affords him much of an opportunity to shine), and his relationship with Annie falls entirely flat: partially for the film's insulting dismissal of Jack Traven from Annie's life but mostly because there's zero audience investment in their relationship. The movie's first act builds them on the back on their problems rather than their relational successes. Dafoe is adequate as the villain; the actor clearly phones in the role and why not: Geiger offers him zero challenge and little opportunity to explore the character beyond a crude diabolical persona. But for all the issues the movie works well enough as mindless entertainment. Jan de Bont puts together a visually capable film if nothing else and does his best to open up the relatively cramped cruise ship spaces to adequate effect, but there's never a real sense of place or belonging; the audience always feels as if on the outside looking in.

Speed 2: Cruise Control Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Speed 2: Cruise Control generally looks respectable enough, peaking at "fine" and bottoming out at "OK." The picture is a bit flat on the whole and grain distribution varies form scene to scene, appearing pleasantly natural here and more or less gone there. The picture passes for filmic, generally, and details don't appear to be wiped away; they're simply rather dull. Close-ups do show commendably complex facial features, but there's nothing particularly striking about how the Blu-ray showcases the various corners of the ship, whether resplendent dining rooms, small cabins, the bridge, the engine room, the deck, or cramped corridors. It's a surprisingly bland looking movie on the whole, a shame given the setting and the final act destination. Colors push a little warm, most obvious in flesh tones. But contrast, dialed up slightly, is fine and there's good health and vitality to various tones. Black levels in low light interiors or nighttime exteriors hold up well enough. A few speckles pop up here and there but the picture suffers from no serious encode faults. Verdict: could be a bit better, could be a lot worse.

Speed 2: Cruise Control Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There's no timidity, no hesitation, no reservation when it comes to Speed 2's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. From the opening title card and the motorcycle chase to follow, listeners know they are in for a high octane, adrenaline fueled sonic experience. The track is prodigiously large at reference volume. It's intense and holds detail even in its most insane moments where sound is thrown around in every speaker and the subwoofer accompanies with weighty output. Additional action scenes on the boat deliver, too, including during the takeover where various pops and explosions and chaotic results and responses pull the listener into the panicked din. More generalized action movie fare, such as gunfire and basic crashes and thuds, likewise hold serve and then some. Every speaker is engaged regularly and fully. This is not to say the track is perfect. It emphasizes size over absolute finesse, but it's nearly capable of fully finding that perfect finesse balance between the two. Music soars, too, blasting through the stage with aggressive push through the fronts and delivering healthy surround engagement. Dialogue is generally well prioritized, but there are a few moments -- the initial ship's evacuation in the rain in chapter 13 -- where it tends to compete with, rather than play atop, sound effects and music. This is probably the weakest sonic sequence in the movie; there's too much going on and the track can't quite find balance to any one section. But it's a blip on the radar of an otherwise fun and engaging track.

Speed 2: Cruise Control Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

20th Century Fox's Blu-ray release of Speed 2: Cruise Control includes a making-of and trailers. No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• HBO Special (1080i, 31:06): After a fun open that brings back some cast from the original film on a bus (and who return throughout), this piece offers a comprehensive breakdown of the Speed 2 story, cast and characters, production details, and more.
• Trailers (1080i): Included are Theatrical Trailer A (1:38) and Theatrical Trailer B (2:26).

Speed 2: Cruise Control Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Terms like "worst sequel of all time" have been bandied about in regards to Speed 2: Cruise Control. It's not that bad. It's awful as a sequel to one of the 90's best Action movies, yes, but rebranding and removing it from contention with its superior sibling might have worked in the movie's favor. It's a passable Action film that does come up lacking in everything from energy to narrative creativity, not to mention stale action scenes and flat characters, but there are far worse ways to spend two hours in front of a screen. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray delivers solid enough video and high energy audio. Supplements are limited to a vintage HBO special and a couple of trailers. For the current asking price of around $5, there's no reason not to click and order. Recommended at that price point.