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Parents' Guide to

Speed 2: Cruise Control

By Stefan Pape, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Action-packed sequel has lots of non-graphic violence.

Movie PG-13 1997 121 minutes
Speed 2: Cruise Control movie poster

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This Keanu Reeves-less sequel is masked by its commitment to non-stop action and entertainment, that you're almost distracted from its shortcomings, of which there are many. Always in the shadow of its predecessor, Speed 2: Cruise Control faced an unenviable task of matching the white-knuckle ride of the 1994 hit. Unfortunately with its contrived attempt to mirror the same concept -- simply changing the means of travel -- it doesn't have that sharp sense of originality about it. Yet it is a movie that is easy enough to sit back and enjoy. Dafoe is a brilliantly unhinged villain, and that always helps matters tremendously when dealing with a film of this nature.

However the absence of Reeves is felt, and while Patric -- who plays Annie's boyfriend -- is an accomplished performer, he doesn't quite have that same charisma and star quality of his counterpart. Met at the time with quite disastrous reviews -- including a Razzie award -- Speed 2: Cruise Control is perhaps now benefiting from the passing of time and Hollywood nostalgia. It feels like a bit of an old popcorn movie, of which few are made today. That said, it's perfectly easy to understand why, at the time, people weren't quite so forgiving.

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