Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
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A luxury cruise ship is hijacked by a terrorist who programs it to crash into an oil tanker.
The story
LAPD cop Alex Shaw surprises his girlfriend Annie Porter with a Caribbean cruise on the Seabourn Legend. While aboard the ship, a deranged former employee named John Geiger hijacks the vessel's computer system, sabotages communications, and kills the captain. As the ship continues to sail under Geiger's control, Annie and Alex must work with the ship's first officer to prevent a catastrophe. They soon discover that the hijacked ship has been programmed to crash into an oil tanker, forcing them into a desperate struggle to save the passengers and crew.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
LAPD cop Alex Shaw surprises his girlfriend Annie Porter with a Caribbean cruise on the Seabourn Legend. Aboard the ship, a deranged former employee named John Geiger hijacks the vessel's computer system, sabotages communications, and kills Captain Pollard. Geiger orders the crew to evacuate while he programs the ship to continue sailing. During the chaos, a young girl named Drew becomes trapped in an elevator, and others are trapped behind fire doors. Annie rescues the trapped group using a chainsaw. Alex attempts to decelerate the ship by flooding the decks, but Geiger escapes by attaching a grenade to a door. As the ship heads toward an oil tanker off Saint Martin, Alex dives underwater to jam the propeller with a steel cable, but Geiger abducts Annie on a lifeboat. Alex and the ship's photographer, Dante, maneuver the bow thrusters to steer the ship away from the tanker. The ship crashes into a Saint Martin town. Alex hijacks a speedboat to pursue Annie, who is on a seaplane; he uses a harpoon gun to tether himself to the plane and retrieves her. Geiger loses control of the plane, which becomes impaled on the tanker, destroying both vehicles and killing him. Alex and Annie return to shore, where Alex proposes marriage.
- First release year
- 1997
- Runtime (minutes)
- 125
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jan de Bont
- Writers
- Randall McCormick · screenplay; Jeff Nathanson · screenplay; Jan de Bont · story; Randall McCormick · story
- Cast and characters
- Sandra Bullock · Annie Porter; Jason Patric · Alex Shaw; Willem Dafoe · John Geiger; Temuera Morrison · Juliano; Glenn Plummer · Maurice; Roy Watkins · Dante; Tim Conway · Annie's driving instructor; Tamia · Sheri
- Genres
- action; thriller; disaster
- Themes
- terrorism; survival; revenge
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- sequel; disaster; hijacking
- Franchise connections
- Speed
- Reception
- The film was largely panned by critics for its dialogue, characters, and setting, and it was a box-office bomb. However, it received some positive reviews from critics like Roger Ebert.
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Remake or Sequel · Win; Stinkers Bad Movie Awards · Worst Sequel · Win
- Production trivia
- Speed star Keanu Reeves was initially supposed to reprise his role but decided not to commit.; Production took place aboard the Seabourn Legend.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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