Stars:
Jason Patrick, Sandra bullock, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison, Glenn Plummer,
Joe Morton, and Tim Conway
Writers:
Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson
Based
On Characters Created By: Graham Yost
Director:
Jan De Bont
Feature
length: 125 minutes
Extras:
Featurette and Trailers
Languages:
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound, and English and French Language Dolby Surround 2.0 Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 32
Sound:
DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and
Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1997/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Home
Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Keanu
Reeves did not return for “Speed 2: Cruise Control” so Jason Patrick stepped
in as Sandra Bullock’s new courageous, but reckless cop boyfriend who takes
her on a Caribbean cruise to propose to her only for both of them to become
embroiled in another act of terror as computer expert Willem Dafoe attempts to
hijack the ship and steal the precious jewels aboard because he blames the
company for the copper poisoning he received on the job that has shortened his
life span and his career.
Many
of the stunts that worked well in “Speed” fall flat in “Speed 2: Cruise
Control” mostly because by that time films like “Under Siege” had already
exploited the “Die Hard” on a boat scenario and somehow the same stunts just
do not work as well on a boat as they did on a bus. Supporting cast members like
Joe Morton and Glenn Plummer appear in the film briefly along with a cameo by
Tim Conway and aboard the ship a few of the extras from the elevator sequence in
the original “Speed” can be spotted as well. Some of the effects look too
CGI as well. “Speed 2: Cruise Control” is not the worst action thriller
sequel ever made, but it really is a disappointment especially when compared to
the first film. Ironically having Jason Patrick fill in as the new hero does not
necessarily violate continuity since in “Speed” there is a line where Keanu
tells Sandra something like “Relationships based on catastrophic events rarely
work” and she replies something like “We’ll just base it on sex.” Well I
guess Keanu was right!
Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment’s DVD edition of “Speed 2: Cruise Control”
feature a THX Certified anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) transfer complete with
the THX Optimizer for sound and picture calibration. Ironically I think the
transfer on “Speed: Five Star Collection” looks better than on this sequel,
which has a very fine grainy appearance to it that softens the look of the film
a bit. Both the English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack and the
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack are very well rounded though I
preferred the DTS track because it has a higher fidelity and more aggressive
sound quality to it. English and French Language Dolby Surround Soundtracks
coupled with English Captions and Closed Captions as well as Spanish Language
Subtitles are encoded on to the DVD as options as well.
The
31-minute “HBO Behind-The-Scenes” special with Tim Conway, Glenn Plummer,
and few more cameos by characters aboard the bus from the original “Speed”
is included along with a widescreen (2.35:1) trailer for “Speed” and two
widescreen (2.35:1) trailers for “Speed 2: Cruise Control” and they wrap up
the extra features on this DVD release.
The
interactive menus are well rendered and easy to navigate with animated
transitions. “Speed 2: Cruise Control” is available on DVD-Video now
separately or as a part of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s “Speed
DVD Gift Pack,” which includes “Speed: Five Star Collection.”
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Click Here To Read The DVD Review Of "Speed: Five Star Collection"