Sandra Bullock admits she is still embarrassed by Speed 2: Cruise Control and admits the action sequel makes "no sense" compared to the original. The 1997 follow-up picks up sometime after the events of the first Speed movie as Bullock's Annie is no longer dating Keanu Reeves' Jack Traven and dating another SWAT officer, Jason Patric's Alex Shaw. As the couple decide to take a vacation aboard a luxury cruise ship, they find their relaxation upended when deranged former cruise company employee John Geiger hijacks the ship with the intentions of crashing it into an oil tanker.
Alongside Bullock and Patric, the cast for Speed 2: Cruise Control included Willem Dafoe as the villainous Geiger, Temuera Morrison, Brian McCardie, Jeremy Hotz, Bo Svenson, Christine Firkins, Lois Chiles and Michael G. Hagerty. With Jan de Bont back at the helm with a script from Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson on a story concept from de Bont and McCormick, the sequel hit theaters in Summer 1997 to a large critical panning, with criticism aimed at the acting, story, characters and cruise ship setting. Speed 2: Cruise Control also ended up being a box office bomb, grossing only $164 million against its $160 million production budget and going down as one of the worst films in history, including in the eyes of some of its stars.
While speaking with TooFab for her upcoming adventure rom-com The Lost City, Sandra Bullock got candid about her time with Speed 2: Cruise Control. The star admitted she is still embarrassed by the action sequel, feeling it made "no sense" in its setting when compared to the first film and recalling no fans have come around to the film. See what Bullock shared below:
"I have one no one came around to and I'm still embarrassed I was in. It's called Speed 2. I've been very vocal about it. Makes no sense. Slow boat. Slowly going towards an island. That's one I wished I hadn't done and no fans came around, that I know of."
This isn't the first time Bullock has admitted to regretting having starred in Speed 2: Cruise Control, having previously lambasted the script as the main reason the film flopped. She's also discussed in the past her concerns during production of the sequel and being ready for its failure upon seeing a final cut of the movie ahead of its release. Bullock's note that the shift to a "slow boat" in comparison to the speeding bus of the first Speed is also in line with much of the criticism directed towards the film over the years, with many feeling it took away the level of tension felt throughout its predecessor's runtime.
Interestingly, Bullock almost didn't star in Speed 2: Cruise Control, having turned down the role before changing her mind in exchange for getting funding for the 1998 romantic drama Hope Floats, which ultimately received negative reviews but was a box office success. Reeves infamously turned down the opportunity to return for the action sequel due to disliking its script and focusing on other, less physical projects, though has recently joked he could be interested in coming back for the long-discussed Speed 3. For those with a morbid curiosity to see the shipwreck that is Speed 2: Cruise Control, the action sequel is available to stream on HBO Max now.
Source: TooFab