Similar to the sentiment shared by many, the actress Sandra Bullock also harbors no affection for Speed 2: Cruise Control, not even a single speck. She’s still kicking herself for not bailing out of that cinematic shipwreck as swiftly as Keanu Reeves did. While its predecessor was a runaway hit, its sequel derailed so spectacularly that it’s now considered one of the all-time blunders in the history of sequels.

Aside from the absence of The Matrix star, Keanu Reeves, the movie suffered a massive loss in interest when it failed to live up to its title. The much-anticipated high-speed scenes were notoriously absent from the script, and the lackluster storyline only added to the problem. With its questionable plot, dialogues, and action sequences, the film ground to a halt, unfortunately bearing no resemblance to the title it carried and the bar it had set previously.

Speed 2: Cruise Control

Sandra Bullock Is Still Embarrassed by This Movie

During her promotion for the 2022 film The Lost City, actress Sandra Bullock found herself grappling with a question that brought back one of her most significant career regrets. When asked about past choices or decisions that still made her cringe, Bullock wasted no time in mentioning the 1997 movie. It’s clear that the actress has yet to shake off the colossal disaster that was Speed 2: Cruise Control. The film not only bombed at the box office but also faced intense criticism from both critics and fans. Only if she had followed the path of her co-star and long-time crush, Keanu Reeves, she might have spared herself of all the embarrassment.

Sandra Bullock in Speed 2 (1997)
In response to TooFab’s question, the Oscar-winning actress replied,

“You stumped me with the fans coming around later on (part of the question),–I have one no one came around to and I’m still embarrassed I was in. It’s called ‘Speed 2.’ (I’ve) been very vocal about it. Makes no sense. Slow boat. Slowly going towards an island.”

The movie faced such fierce online backlash that, at one point, it seemed like there were more people actively despising it than the actual number of individuals who had witnessed its on-screen disaster. This digital tidal wave of negativity further became a prominent factor in the film’s disastrous legacy.

Why Keanu Reeves Rejected Speed 2?

While Sandra Bullock bravely ventured into the impending disaster without a clear view of what lay ahead, Keanu Reeves, in stark contrast, made a savvy career move that shielded his reputation from getting tainted. Bullock took a leap of faith, diving headfirst into the ill-fated sequel, while Reeves, her co-star, wisely steered clear of the sinking ship.

As stated by People magazine, Reeves explained to Jimmy Kimmel what exactly stopped him from doing the movie in a 2015 chat. He said,
“I didn’t get to be in that. Well, I decided not to be in that,—I loved working with [director] Jan de Bont and Sandra, of course. It was just a situation in life where I got the script and I read the script and I was like, ‘Ugh.’ It was about a cruise ship and I was thinking, ‘A bus, a cruise ship… Speed, bus, but then a cruise ship is even slower than a bus and I was like, ‘I love you guys, but I just can’t do it.’ “
Keanu Reeves in Speed
While the star thoroughly enjoyed filming the first installment of the movie, the second one failed to ignite any excitement in him. As a result, he made the conscious choice to distance himself from the project, effectively sparing himself from what could have been a lifetime of embarrassment.

Speed 2: Cruise Control is available for rent on Apple TV.