this movie tries to present itself as the sequel to jan de bont's debut as a director , 1994 surprise hit speed . but the only thing the two movies have in common is sandra bullock as the female lead . annie ( sandra bullock ) is in the wrong place at the wrong time again . she's going on a cruise with her new boy-friend alex ( jason patric ) , and of course it is her ship that is kidnapped by john geiger ( willem dafoe ) who has a bone to pick with the shipping line . they sacked him after he got sick . now he wants the diamonds stored in the ship's safe for compensation . that actually is the whole storyline . speed 2 could do without dialogues . the movie is all about images and remarkable sound . i don't really know why this is called an action movie . except for a few scenes that are vaguely reminiscent of speed this goes along the lines of the desaster movies of the 70ies . first we are introduced to a number of people who are going to be important later on in the movie . then desaster strikes . sandra bullock was said to have been glad that she could take action this time around . i looked for the " action " but couldn't find it . most of the time she is part of the decoration . the only time she is part of what happens is when she can have a shot at defusing a bomb and freeing some passengers trapped behind a fire door . now we know that she can handle a chain saw . we also know that fire doors on cruise ships can be cut apart in seconds . the bomb defusal of course goes wrong , but only the furniture is damaged , not our heroes who still are needed . jason patric alias alex spends most of his time flirting with annie , helping other passengers and frolicking in the water . his initial sea-sickness is suddenly gone , because there are ship , crew and passengers to be saved from evil geiger . he does a pretty good job but i can't blame keanu reeves for declining this part . then there's willem dafoe , the villain , who desperately tries to look as frightening as frankenstein's monster . he doesn't succeed , though . an untidy appearance isn't enough to convince the viewer of his psychopath potential . before he tries again to make us believe he is a dangerous man he should practise for a while in front of a mirror . i can't really recommend speed 2 . you will probably like the movie if you like funny situations that aren't meant to be funny . especially the showdown , when the ship first runs into an oil tanker and then dissembles a whole village is a treat . there you get to see the most superfluous scene in the movie . in keeping with last year's desaster movie tradition a dog is miraculously saved from certain death . a really funny ( and meant to be funny ) scene takes place on the oil tanker right before the collision . some crew members watch two ships colliding in an old movie . had they looked out the window they wouldn't have missed the huge ship racing toward them . those of you who still want to see the movie should pick a theater with a large screen and a good sound system to enjoy the visual effects and the phantastic surround sound effects . in an adequately equipped theater it's as if the explosion were going off all around you and you can feel the seats vibrate . but the ilm special effects can't save the movie . for all the money they could have done better . 
