The original launched Keanu Reeves as an action star, but he passed away Speed 2 with good reason. While he had led Breaking point a few years earlier, it was Speed which turned Reeves into an action leader. The film's success led to all of Keanu Reeves' action films that followed, but he was wise enough to pass up the 1997 one. Speed 2: Cruise Control when it was offered. This saw Sandra Bullock return as Annie, with Jason Patric replacing Reeves as new hero Alex as the couple became trapped on a cruise ship seized by a vengeful hacker.
Speed 2 was a critical and commercial disaster, and represents only 4% in Rotten tomatoes and barely recouped its budget. Bullock has confessed more than once that cruise control it was a huge mistake, while Reeves looked like a genius for passing it off. This is not to say that his decision had no consequences; Reeves later admitted HQ he was effectively blacklisted at Fox for a decade after abandoning the sequel. Speed 2 It would have been terrible with or without Reeves anyway, as it was saddled with a fundamentally flawed premise.
Keanu Reeves didn't like the script for Speed 2
Even Keanu thought the cruise ship idea was stupid
When Keanu received the script for cruise control, the star immediately pointed out the sequel's flaw; i.e. call a movie Speed when putting you on a cruise shipwhich have top speeds of around 30 mph. This is even lower than the speed the bus had to maintain in the original, and Reeves told The Graham Norton Show (through CNN) your feelings when transmitting the sequence.
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 a feeling that it wasn't right.
Of course, time has proven Reeves right, with most critics and viewers' main complaint being the basic premise. Seeing the on-screen reunion between Reeves and Bullock may have eased some of the pain of Speed 2 – especially considering the complete lack of chemistry between Bullock and Patric. Still, there was little Bullock and Reeves could have done to overcome a doomed concept.
Speed 2 Revealed Jack Traven and Annie Porter Split Off-Screen
As Bullock's Annie stated: “Relationships based on intense experiences never work.”
One of the biggest tricks Speed pulled was forging a convincing romantic relationship between Jack and Annie in a matter of hours – all while the two are constantly trying to stop the bus from exploding. The film ends with the two kissing after surviving Dennis Hooper's final suicide bomber attack, but at the moment cruise control enough, Jack and Annie are done. Speed 2 doesn't spend much time explaining why the romance ended, with Annie clearly stating that she and Jack are done and that she is in a new relationship with Alex de Patric.
Apparently, this went unnoticed, so audiences don't spend too much time thinking about Keanu's lack in the sequel. The sequence has a built-in excuse for Jack's absence. In the original film, Annie joked that “relationships based on intense experiences never work.” Of course, the events of Speed qualify in this regard, then Maybe after the intensity of that day wore off, Annie and Jack discovered they didn't have much in common and decided to end things.
An annoyingly lazy look Speed 2 That's how he basically replaced Jack with Alex, who is another daredevil cop…
An annoyingly lazy look Speed 2 that's how he basically swapped Jack for Alex, who is another daredevil cop in the LAPD. The story also involves Alex working up the courage to propose to Annie amid the chaos of the ship being taken over, but this would have felt more organic to viewers if it had been Jack who made the proposal.
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 of Speedand it looks like the love for the film is stronger than ever. Reeves and Bullock even met with director Jan de Bont for an anniversary screening and expressed tentative interest in a third Speed - if the right concept came along. It looks like 20th century studios are thinking Speed 3 as well, with studio executive Steve Asbell counting THR what:
It's one of those last films we didn't remake. And to really be a reason to come back, it has to be a great idea and an idea that excites (Bullock and Keanu Reeves). Because that would be the reason to see it. Obviously it's a very important title to us, but it's not something we would take lightly or just try to pressure them into serving.
Although nothing is greenlit, It seems like the possibility of a third Speed seems closer than ever. That said, Bullock has a well-known aversion to sequels, following his experiences with cruise control and Miss Congeniality 2. The actress expressed a lot of love for the original — which essentially launched her into the A-list — and expressed a desire to work with Reeves again. Even so, any script Speed 3 would probably need to be really impressive to attract her back.
|
THE Speed Franchise |
Budget |
Box office |
Rotten Tomatoes rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Speed (1994) |
US$30 million |
US$350 million |
95% |
|
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) |
US$160 million |
US$164.5 million |
4% |
Reeves has been more willing to reprise roles in recent years, as Bill and Ted face the music and The Matrix Resurrections showed. The idea of seeing Reeves and Bullock back in action for Speed 3 It's intriguing, but what the sequel needs is a killer cliffhanger to sell your audience. The original had one, while Speed 2 no. If they can get the central premise right, there's no reason to think a belated third film wouldn't work.
Source: Rotten tomatoes, HQ, CNN, THR, Mojo Box Office