Speed 2: Cruise Control is a 1997 American action thriller film produced and directed by Jan de Bont from a screenplay by Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson.

Its plot follows Annie Porter (Bullock) and Alex Shaw (Patric), a couple who go on vacation to the Caribbean aboard a luxury cruise ship, which is hijacked by John Geiger, a terrorist (Dafoe).

Speed star Keanu Reeves was initially supposed to reprise his role as Jack Traven for the sequel, but decided not to commit and was replaced by Patric before filming.

The final scene, in which the ship crashes into the island of Saint Martin, cost almost a quarter of the budget, and set records as the largest and most expensive stunt ever filmed.

[4][5] Reeves and Bullock had no contractual obligation to star in the sequel;[12] however, by late 1994, Fox executive Tom Sherak had begun negotiations with the actors and hoped to produce a follow-up film with their two characters as a married couple.

"[16] The third film in the series, Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), was originally based on a spec script from 1990 titled Troubleshooter, whose premise involved fighting terrorists aboard a cruise ship.

[19] In an interview in 2010, Yost stated he had two ideas for a sequel: a Vietnam War-era military ship set to explode if its ammunition comes in contact with water, and an aircraft forced to fly at a low altitude over the Andes Mountains.

[20] Bullock initially declined to star in the sequel,[21] but later agreed in order to secure financial backing for the drama film Hope Floats (1998); she was paid a reported $11–$13 million to reprise her role as Annie.

[22][14] Reeves was offered $12 million to reprise his role as Jack Traven, but turned it down because he did not like the script, was financially secure from the success of Speed,[23] and felt he was not "ready to mentally and physically" star in another action film after having completed Chain Reaction (1996).

[25] Many actors were considered to replace Reeves including: Simon Baker,[26] Jon Bon Jovi,[27] Patrick Muldoon,[28] Johnathon Schaech,[29] Christian Slater,[30] and Billy Zane.

[35] After Reeves declined to appear in Speed 2, the screenplay was rewritten to remove his character from the story, which De Bont wanted to deal with early in the film.

[42][43] To add comic relief, De Bont cast comedian Tim Conway as Annie's driving instructor, and hoped it would be a comeback role for him.

"[47] Joe Morton reprised his role from Speed as SWAT lieutenant Herb "Mac" McMahon in an uncredited cameo appearance in the beginning of the film.

[61] Seabourn Legend was rented for six weeks at a reported cost of $38,000 per day;[14] the ship served as the film's primary setting and provided accommodation for the cast and crew.

The scene where Alex rescues Drew while the ship is being flooded was filmed by camera operators wearing wet suits inside a sound stage tank, which was constructed with plywood and a hydraulic lift to give the effect that the water level was rising.

This mockup, referred to as the "rail ship",[46] weighed 300 short tons (270 t), and sat atop a set of wheels along a 1,000-foot long (300 m) track built 60 feet (18 m) underwater.

[63] Of all the stunt-related incidents during production, De Bont said the most frightening was when a stunt woman was hit in the face by a boat cable and required reconstructive surgery.

[75] The score includes a reworking of the 20th Century Fox fanfare, in which the final chord is sustained and "slithers down" into the opening theme, while the studio logo fades into a traveling shot of the ocean on screen.

Noting how the film was set in the Caribbean and had a different, slower pace than Speed, Mancina gave the score a "Jamaican/Latin feel" by incorporating reggae music between action sequences.

[76] Daniel Schweiger of Film Music Magazine said that Mancina's score was "arguably a better one than Speed", praising the album's "thrilling themes", "epic orchestrations", and "Jamaican-style grooves.

"[46] Tamia worked with De Bont and producer Quincy Jones to choose a song for her character to perform in the film, and selected "Make Tonight Beautiful",[46] which was written by Diane Warren.

[83] In addition to UB40 and Brown, the soundtrack features reggae music from: Jimmy Cliff, Common Sense, Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Rayvon, and Betty Wright.

The website's consensus reads: "Speed 2 falls far short of its predecessor, thanks to laughable dialogue, thin characterization, unsurprisingly familiar plot devices, and action sequences that fail to generate any excitement.

[100] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B−" on scale of A to F.[101] Time magazine stated that Patric's character was "fundamentally uninteresting", but blamed De Bont and the screenwriters for "not providing their actors with stuff to act.

"[103] According to the Los Angeles Times, even children who saw the film felt it was strange that it took place on a ship "not capable of going more than a few knots per hour [sic]", and claimed that Speed was "much more logical.

[108] Patric also admitted "it wasn't a good movie" and said that its lack of success was due to de Bont's direction, while praising Bullock and the rest of the film's crew.

"[117] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,[118] Los Angeles Daily News,[119] and The Sacramento Bee[120] each gave favorable reviews, while stating that the film was not as good as Speed.

Empire's Andrew Collins gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, while commenting "...top-billed Sandra Bullock, formerly an accidental heroine, is insultingly sidelined here to boyfriend's little helper and hostage-in-waiting.

[126][127] Box office sales for Speed 2 dropped 54% the following weekend, grossing only $7.8 million and ranking at number five behind Batman & Robin, My Best Friend's Wedding, Con Air and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

"[140] The Family Guy episode "Blind Ambition" (2005) includes a parody of the film's finale where a cruise ship crashes into a pier and through a city before stopping in the middle of an airport.