SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL

US, 1997, 123 minutes, Colour.
Sandra Bullock, Jason Patric, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison, Lois Chiles.
Directed by Jan de Bont.

Speed was a top actioner of 1994. The sequel tries to emulate it - and there are some tense moments as a cruiser speeds towards a fuel ship and a holiday resort - but the plot is too far-fetched, the dialogue weak and the characters merely conventional. Sandra Bullock is made to look stupid with jokes about her driving abilities; Jason Patric is a sensitive, strong-jawed athlete; Willem Dafoe has a crazy look anyway. Jan de Bont showed what he could do with action shows in Speed and Twister. This is a major letdown.

1. Audience expectations from the original film? The talents of the director - as director of photography, organising stunts, Speed and Twister? His skills with disaster movies? The film as part of the disaster trend and popularity of the mid-'90s?

2. The Los Angeles settings, the Caribbean? The luxury liner? St Martin and the waterfront? The credibility of the locations and the boat?

3. The special effects, the chases, the computers, explosions? The speed and the crashes? The musical score?

4. Audience expectations of Sandra Bullock as Annie? Her role in the original? The corniness of the driver's test and her being accident-prone and failing? The nervy official? Her discussion about Alex, not wanting to have a relationship with a daredevil? The introduction to Alex, the chase in the Los Angeles hills? The motorbike, the truck? The irony of their meeting and her crashing the roadblock? Her disillusionment with Alex? Her strong character, her being prepared to take risks? Alex proposing that they go on the boat cruise?

5. Arriving at the boat, the passengers for the cruise? The music and songs and dances? Geiger and the inquiry about the golf clubs - but not looking at the match on television? The steward and his taking them to the cabin? Dante and his role for guiding people?

6. The atmosphere of the ship? The program for running the ship? The computer, the captain and his control? Juliano and Merced (an international group of officers)? The style of the ship, the images of paradise on the water? Geiger and the confrontation with the captain and killing him? The officers and their power, loss of control, becoming power-less? Having to use ingenuity and strength? The build-up for action confrontation?

7. Geiger and his story, his being contaminated by the computer, his cancer? His being sacked? His illness, the leeches? His angers, becoming consumed by evil and revenge? The plan to steal the jewels? Pretending to be drunk and planting the controls in the cabin? The killing of the captain? Computer control, visual and television control? Threats, creating false fires? The robbery?

8. Annie and Alex, the reconciliation, dancing? Friendship with Drew - and the sign language? Alex and his being seasick, the clay-shooting? Annie and her reaction, the clashes, dressing up, the dance? The dangers - and their being in evening dress for resolving all the problems of the ship?

9. Drew and her parents, their criticisms, her age, experience, the dress? The sign language? Her being lost in the elevator? Alex and his rescue of her as the ship was being flooded? The other passengers, the discussions about fat people and diets? The singers? Dante and his role with the passengers?

10. The routine of evacuation? The search for Drew? Alex and the boat being stuck? The rescue? Alex going into action, his training, skills? The confrontations with Geiger - in person or via the television screen? The control of the doors? The interactions with Juliano and his resistance? The flooding of the boat? Geiger and his correcting this by computer? The dangers of the boat sinking?

11. The people and the evacuation, being caught in the lifeboat, back on the boat, caught in the corridors? Trying to prevent the gases and the water coming through?

12. Geiger and his threats, Alex and his using his wits against Geiger? Alex and Juliano and the dive, the rope, the anchor? Geiger outwitting them? The injuries and the rescue? The steering of the ship, the turning of the wheel? Confronting the oil tanker?

13. Annie taken as hostage, on the boat with Geiger, her using the flares, the chase, the take-off in the plane - and Geiger's crashing onto the tanker, destroyed in the explosion?

14. The boat racing towards the tanker, the split-second timing, finally avoiding the tanker but scraping it? The cruiser going towards the town, the sketching of people in their ordinary activities in the town, the boat barging through and its destruction?

15. The build-up to the finale, the explosion of the tanker and the coming to a standstill of the boat?

16. The strength of the action sequences? The flimsiness of the story, the quality of the dialogue, characters and caricatures? Popularity of disaster films? Lavish matinee material?