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Speed 2: Cruise Control
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What
on earth has happened to cinematographer-turned-director Jan De Bont? Since his
stirring debut with Speed (1994) – one of the finest and most exciting action movies of its decade – he has
sharply fallen to the depths of Twister (1996) and now the lame sequel Speed 2. Keanu Reeves is not around for
the return ride – this time by cruiser rather than bus – but perhaps the more
damaging absence is that of the original writer, Graham Yost.
In
place of Keanu we have the bland Jason Patric as Alex, the new love interest of
Annie (Sandra Bullock). She believes she has found a nice, stable guy ready to
commit to a relationship, not some thrill-seeking, impulsive maniac. Alas,
once aboard an ocean liner which has been rigged and sabotaged every which way
from Wednesday by the villainous Geiger (Willem Dafoe), Annie will find out
just what crazy stuff her guy is made of.
I
have grown to hate those Hollywood actors and filmmakers who firmly claim that
every ersatz, formulaic movie they make is in fact a character-piece full of
noble lessons about learning, moral responsibility and personal growth. There
are ham-fisted jabs in that direction in Speed
2, but they add nothing more to the film than any of the strained one-liner
jokes or the fleeting grabs of pop music jammed into the noisy soundtrack.
The
only small residue of fun in Speed 2 comes from the rich absurdity of Dafoe's role – does every evil psycho in
movies these days also have to be a technological wizard? – and the spectacle of mass carnage in the final reel, as the ship sails straight
into a
De
Bont again uses the Twister formula:
maximum destruction of property, compensated for by minimum blood, gore or
death. This approach may well gladden the hearts of censors and ratings
advisors around the world, but it makes for pretty poor action-drama.
MORE De Bont: The Haunting © Adrian Martin September 1997 |
