Many people knew that Keanu Reeves was talented already, but obviously, he’s much smarter than many give him credit for sometimes since he did manage to say no to Speed 2: Cruise Control when it came time to make a decision. What’s amusing about this is that the director had no ideas set aside for a sequel, and it’s pretty easy to see why since the original movie really didn’t need one. But that’s Hollywood for you, if a studio thinks they can make more money by creating a sequel and riding it for as long as they can, they’re going to do that whatever is possible to make it happen. In fact, it took $11 million and a commitment to the movie Hope Floats to get Sandra Bullock to come back, and even she kind of regrets doing the movie, as did Jason Patric and Willem Dafoe, both great actors that had no trouble trashing the movie with every breath after it was all said and done. Keanu simply read the script and decided that he didn’t want to come back, as he was touring with his band, Dogstar, and was more into the chance to play a bit of music than he was to come back for a sequel that just sounded horrible. When a script has no redeeming qualities it’s best to go back to the writer’s room and see what can be done, especially if one can’t get the lead they want to agree to it. Some people might actually take that time to reflect and wonder what else can be done to the script, but not this time.
The general reaction to Speed 2, if memory serves, was a great deal of confusion, especially when it was seen that Keanu wasn’t going to be a part of it. The lack of excitement that went into this movie was a great indicator that it wasn’t going to be given a lot of great reviews, especially since the idea was taken from using a bus to using a cruise ship, which is much, MUCH slower than a bus that has to keep up a certain speed on a busy freeway. On top of that, the bad guy was planning on ramming the cruise ship into an oil tanker, which makes a certain sort of sense in a demented way, but is still kind of a dumb idea because, to be honest, there were so many different ways this story could have gone. Even if the idea of being on a cruise ship was the best option, there were many, MANY ways that this movie could have played out, and the best way was not selected, especially given the cast that was used for the movie.
This kind of proves that those in charge of the movies don’t always know what they’re doing or what can happen when they go to the well a few too many times, since some sequels make sense and can be a big bonus when coming on the heels of a great movie, but others make absolutely no sense at all. The many different factors that go into making a sequel and determining if it’s even a smart idea sometimes don’t pan out since the original movie might have been fine the way it was, or whoever is writing the screenplay simply isn’t taking the time to get the kind of feedback that’s needed to say ‘yes it’s great’ or ‘no, God no, take it back and fix this, and this, and all of this’. Heck, students in screenwriting programs are drilled relentlessly in this kind of manner and are often penalized quite harshly if they don’t take the feedback that the instructor gives with a grain of salt. Why in the world would professional screenwriters be treated any differently? Obviously, the standard for this needs to be re-evaluated every now and then since otherwise we get movies like this and are left wondering just why in the hell such a thing was allowed to be released.
It sounds pretty harsh for a movie that likely had a few decent scenes as some people have been heard to say, but when it comes to making money one would wonder just why the folks in charge wouldn’t be more hands-on with something that’s not guaranteed, meaning just about anything and everything that gets made in Hollywood. Taking more interest in the process doesn’t always mean micro-managing, but it certainly means being aware of how the story is perceived and how it might possibly fail in one way or another. There’s nothing to say that a story is going to fail immediately upon release, but there are times when it would appear that it’s best to really sit back and take a moment to think on whether or not a sequel is really needed.
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