Speed from 1994 is by no means a perfect movie. There are some moments that are ridiculous and some of the situations and dialogue makes you cringe and roll your eyes.
Yet for some moments of stupidity and ridiculousness, it also had some very clever writing to it allowing the hero (Keanu Reeves) to be a step ahead of the bad guy (Dennis Hopper) at times, the cinematography is some of the most beautiful camera shots I have ever seen on film, and though character development was minimal you still cared about the characters and they all had believable chemistry.
Despite its flaws Speed was a movie that stayed busy for two whole hours to deliver its audience pure entertainment and that's what it gave us with some clever writing, great stunts and great attention to detail.
Naturally it was a huge hit with critics and audiences alike and solidified Reeves action movie career as well as that of the then unknown Sandra Bullock who became a household name following it's success.
Naturally a sequel could be made well if enough attention to detail was given as it was in part 1.
Well director Jan De Bont who directed the original Speed and Twister literally compromised the entire premise of the Speed franchise by having the setting be a slow moving cruise ship.
In the first Speed it was very cleverly set up to have the first action sequence be on an elevator, the second on the speeding bus and the final act on a subway train. All things that could have their speed go out of control as the title suggested.
A slow moving cruise ship as the setting for Speed 2?... Hmm... Not quite as Speedy.
Of course Keanu Reeves while he has been ridiculed over the years actually grew the brain Dennis Hopper's character told him not to grow in the first Speed movie and said he wouldn't return as Jack Traven from the first film because he disliked the script.
Boy was he smart right off the bat. Bullock also initially said no to returning as Annie but agreed eventually because 20th Century Fox agreed to finance her dream movie Hope Floats if she came back.
Keanu was replaced by Jason Patric whose notable credits prior were The Lost Boys and Sleepers.
And off we go on a cruise. As you would predict from a slow moving setting the main problem is this movie is very boring.
It's almost all just a slow sailing ship of characters we couldn't care less about except the villain played by Willem Dafoe and Bullock and Patric have zero chemistry whereas her and Reeves felt like a natural couple in part 1.
Reeves is definitely a wooden actor but in part 1 he still made you care about his character because he genuinely wanted to keep hostages alive and everyone safe. He also put down his tough guy cop image at times and wasn't afraid to show genuine human emotion.
Here Patric is an aloof drip whose character is a complete bore and has nothing interesting about him at all.
Bullock who was not only likable in part 1 but also responded like a pro in trying to prevent the bomb from blowing up the bus, is annoying and whiny here.
In part 1 she only occasionally got whiny or freaked out but only in situations where you would expect her to do so.
She was also smart and quick to do what was asked of her in the situation. Here she is a lot dumber and way too whiny to the point it's hard to watch. Is this the Annie we liked so much in Speed 1?
Willem Dafoe brings some of the goods as the bad guy but he certainly is no match for Dennis Hopper.
In the first movie Hopper was a credible villain whose motives made sense. He wanted money and used his expertise of explosives from his days as a bomb squad cop to get the police to give him his requested ransom.
Simple motive, easy tip understand.
Here Dafoe's motive doesn't make much sense and while he is clearly the best part of this otherwise mess of a movie, he isn't a credible villain because he is still pretty low key in comparison to Hopper and you just want to know the whole time what he is doing. In Speed 1 that was all laid out and answered for the audience.
While the speeding bus was able to do some crazy stunts effectively, the cruise ship only has one towards the very end and by that time it's been so lagging you don't even care.
Also as aforementioned Speed had some cheesy dialogue, some of which was funny and some just stupid.
But any of the original's stupid dialogue is like the works of Shakespeare compared to the stupidity of the dialogue here.
While some of part 1's dialogue just made my eyes roll, in this it's so bad I legitimately cringed.
I don't feel the movie is the massive bomb it's made out to be but I still don't recommend it.
The first movie just career about entertaining it's audience and had enough material to do it.
This is set on a slow ship where nothing interesting really happens.
The characters are either unnecessary or just bad. Even Dafoe's few fresh moments he brings as the villain are not enough to make up for other character shortcomings.
Sandra Bullock has said she regrets this movie and Keanu is nowhere to be found. I think that should tell you everything.
I won't put it in my top ten worst movies list but it's a forgettable movie that should be forgotten.
Speed 1 is a movie I can watch over and again and always be entertained. Aside from a little bit of Dafoe's act there is no other entertainment to be found here.
Stick with the original. It's imperfect but you will never be bored.
This will have you constantly looking at your watch to see when it ends.
It's a good thing Sandra Bullock's career survived from this because Patric and De Bonts didn't.
Yet for some moments of stupidity and ridiculousness, it also had some very clever writing to it allowing the hero (Keanu Reeves) to be a step ahead of the bad guy (Dennis Hopper) at times, the cinematography is some of the most beautiful camera shots I have ever seen on film, and though character development was minimal you still cared about the characters and they all had believable chemistry.
Despite its flaws Speed was a movie that stayed busy for two whole hours to deliver its audience pure entertainment and that's what it gave us with some clever writing, great stunts and great attention to detail.
Naturally it was a huge hit with critics and audiences alike and solidified Reeves action movie career as well as that of the then unknown Sandra Bullock who became a household name following it's success.
Naturally a sequel could be made well if enough attention to detail was given as it was in part 1.
Well director Jan De Bont who directed the original Speed and Twister literally compromised the entire premise of the Speed franchise by having the setting be a slow moving cruise ship.
In the first Speed it was very cleverly set up to have the first action sequence be on an elevator, the second on the speeding bus and the final act on a subway train. All things that could have their speed go out of control as the title suggested.
A slow moving cruise ship as the setting for Speed 2?... Hmm... Not quite as Speedy.
Of course Keanu Reeves while he has been ridiculed over the years actually grew the brain Dennis Hopper's character told him not to grow in the first Speed movie and said he wouldn't return as Jack Traven from the first film because he disliked the script.
Boy was he smart right off the bat. Bullock also initially said no to returning as Annie but agreed eventually because 20th Century Fox agreed to finance her dream movie Hope Floats if she came back.
Keanu was replaced by Jason Patric whose notable credits prior were The Lost Boys and Sleepers.
And off we go on a cruise. As you would predict from a slow moving setting the main problem is this movie is very boring.
It's almost all just a slow sailing ship of characters we couldn't care less about except the villain played by Willem Dafoe and Bullock and Patric have zero chemistry whereas her and Reeves felt like a natural couple in part 1.
Reeves is definitely a wooden actor but in part 1 he still made you care about his character because he genuinely wanted to keep hostages alive and everyone safe. He also put down his tough guy cop image at times and wasn't afraid to show genuine human emotion.
Here Patric is an aloof drip whose character is a complete bore and has nothing interesting about him at all.
Bullock who was not only likable in part 1 but also responded like a pro in trying to prevent the bomb from blowing up the bus, is annoying and whiny here.
In part 1 she only occasionally got whiny or freaked out but only in situations where you would expect her to do so.
She was also smart and quick to do what was asked of her in the situation. Here she is a lot dumber and way too whiny to the point it's hard to watch. Is this the Annie we liked so much in Speed 1?
Willem Dafoe brings some of the goods as the bad guy but he certainly is no match for Dennis Hopper.
In the first movie Hopper was a credible villain whose motives made sense. He wanted money and used his expertise of explosives from his days as a bomb squad cop to get the police to give him his requested ransom.
Simple motive, easy tip understand.
Here Dafoe's motive doesn't make much sense and while he is clearly the best part of this otherwise mess of a movie, he isn't a credible villain because he is still pretty low key in comparison to Hopper and you just want to know the whole time what he is doing. In Speed 1 that was all laid out and answered for the audience.
While the speeding bus was able to do some crazy stunts effectively, the cruise ship only has one towards the very end and by that time it's been so lagging you don't even care.
Also as aforementioned Speed had some cheesy dialogue, some of which was funny and some just stupid.
But any of the original's stupid dialogue is like the works of Shakespeare compared to the stupidity of the dialogue here.
While some of part 1's dialogue just made my eyes roll, in this it's so bad I legitimately cringed.
I don't feel the movie is the massive bomb it's made out to be but I still don't recommend it.
The first movie just career about entertaining it's audience and had enough material to do it.
This is set on a slow ship where nothing interesting really happens.
The characters are either unnecessary or just bad. Even Dafoe's few fresh moments he brings as the villain are not enough to make up for other character shortcomings.
Sandra Bullock has said she regrets this movie and Keanu is nowhere to be found. I think that should tell you everything.
I won't put it in my top ten worst movies list but it's a forgettable movie that should be forgotten.
Speed 1 is a movie I can watch over and again and always be entertained. Aside from a little bit of Dafoe's act there is no other entertainment to be found here.
Stick with the original. It's imperfect but you will never be bored.
This will have you constantly looking at your watch to see when it ends.
It's a good thing Sandra Bullock's career survived from this because Patric and De Bonts didn't.