10 Insane Changes Movie Sequels Made

Speed is one of the greatest action films of the '90s - a thrilling, white-knuckle spectacle in which LAPD bomb disposal officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) attempts to stop a commuter bus from dropping below 50mph and triggering a bomb planted by a terrorist (Dennis Hopper).

Speed's phenomenal box office success ensured a sequel was fast-tracked into production, and just three years later, Speed 2: Cruise Control was released.

Though it was unfortunate that Keanu Reeves opted not to return - being switched out for Jason Patric as a new character - what truly killed the sequel was the absolutely deranged decision to slow things way, way down.

Rather than simply repeat the bomb-on-bus scenario again, perhaps with multiple buses this time, the screenwriters opted to shift the action to a cruise ship.

And while a runaway cruise liner is no laughing matter, it nevertheless lacks the frantic urgency of a bus rigged to blow, further unaided by the sequel's unintentionally comical, low energy sub-title, "Cruise Control."

Just rehashing the original concept again would've surely turned out much better than this, and at least not cost Fox an eye-watering $160 million to produce.