Producing a hit sequel is never easy. Not only do fans and studio bosses expect a great success, everything should also be bigger, more gripping and more explosive. The catastrophic consequences can be seen on TV today: To the action masterpiece Speed with Keanu Reeves follows the critically panned flop Speed 2: Cruise Control, whose idea sounds bizarre on paper alone.
On TV: After Action Masterpiece, Keanu Reeves didn’t get the idea for Part 2
The concept of Speed is as simple as it is ingenious. A maniac assassin places a bomb on a bus that explodes as soon as the vehicle’s speed falls below 80 km/h. Elite cop Jack Traven (Reeves) works under high pressure to disarm the explosive device while passenger Annie (Sandra Bullock) navigates the grueling LA traffic.
Speed was a huge success. It was so successful that a sequel was almost imperative for the studio bosses. Producers eventually approached Keanu Reeves with an idea that the star didn’t get from the start: Speed 2 takes place on a luxury liner? But where is the speed then? As he explains on The Graham Norton Show, the idea didn’t feel right to him.
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After Reeves’ cancellation, the makers replaced him with Jason Patric, who now had to save a cruise ship from a fatal collision with an oil tanker alongside Bullock. The result was a financial and critical flop (via The Numbers). On Rotten Tomatoes, the film gets a hair-raising 4%, many critics criticize the dialogues, the flat characters and the boring action. The budding franchise had died with it.
When will Speed and Speed 2 be on TV?
Speed 2 is running today, Friday, July 7, 2023, at 8:15 p.m. on RTL 2. The sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control follows at 10:35 p.m. If you don’t have time, you can catch up on the films at 1:00 a.m. and 3:10 a.m.
The 10 biggest streaming films of 2023 on Netflix, Amazon & Co.
In this installment of our Moviepilot podcast, Stream Browsing, we take a look at the big movies coming exclusively to Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ this year. The result is a list of ten special recommendations.
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From the sci-fi epic to the potential Oscar nominee, everything is included. The talents gathered are particularly impressive. In 2023 we can expect new movies from Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Zack Snyder in the streaming space, while Gal Gadot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth will be in front of the camera.
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