1997 - SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL, another disappointing sequel

The critics and public killed this sequel to Speed when it was released.  In reality it's just another action film done in by a very poor script.

Keenau Reeves one of the stars of the original film passed after reading the screenplay. Sandra Bullock signed up again to repeat her character of Annie Porter.  Never let it be said that losing a star from the first film every stopped anyone.  The actor Jason Patric played her new love interest but he's basically playing the Keenau Reeves part again.  

This film was set on a cruise ship which was criticized as being to slow moving, unlike the out of control bus from the first film.  However it seems to me it doesn't hurt to mix it up a bit with a different idea or two.  What the filmmakers should have thought about was a better villain.  It's just the same old brilliant psycho running around causing trouble.

The film does have a very spectacular action stunt piece where they rammed a cruise ship into a mock up of a Caribbean village.  The reported cost of this crazy stunt was $5 million dollars.  Speed 2:  Cruise Control is at best an OK time killer.  It's not really the complete disaster the critics said it was.

The screenplay was by Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson.  Running time 126 minutes.

2003 - LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE, another sequel

It's all about the franchise in the movie business.  Paramount was hoping to get a female Indiana Jones type of series going with the Lara Croft character so they tried again after Lara Croft Tomb Raider.

What they got was essentially the same film as the first one with Angelina Jolie again playing Lara Croft.  Jolie is supposed to be tough and sexy but still comes off as more scary than sexy.  This time they gave her a boyfriend who's a real hard ass.  When we are introduced to him, he's doing push ups upside down on the ceiling of his prison cell.

Instead of chasing after some silly time control gadget in the first film.  Lara Croft is now after Pandora's Box.  Yet another blatant steal from the Indiana Jones films.  Along with cribbing from Spielberg films, the film was edited by Spielberg's long time editor Michael Kahn but he can't spin much gold out of this mess of a movie.

At almost two hours long this film was even a chore to get through on the treadmill since it took a week to watch.

117 minutes, written by Dean Georgaris.