8. Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Speed (1994) is a film that helped define the action genre, being likened to Dirty Harry, Die Hard, and Lethal Weapon as films that made the genre truly exciting. The film starred Keanu Reeves, and Sandra Bullock in a truly tense thrill-ride that a was master class of how to create a compelling, high-concept action scenario, whilst actually making audiences care about the characters. A lot of the inherent tension from Speed comes in the form of its very simple central premise. A bus is rigged with a bomb which will explode if the bus slows to under 50mph, and it's up to Police Officer Jack Traven to save everyone on board. Thus, when it came to the sequel, it would inevitably have audiences expecting two major things to return; the film's heart-pounding premise, and Keanu Reeves. So, Jan De Bont adapted the second plot for Speed 2: Cruise Control from a dream he had, resulting in a luxury cruise boat that was programmed to crash into an oil rig. Who would rise to solve this deadly conundrum? Annie (Bullock) reprises her role from the first film, yet Keanu was replaced by the incredibly amateur Jason Patric as Annie's new boyfriend. This left the film devoid of its primary character as well as any real tension, and Jason Patric's performance was considered almost comical, leaving audiences watching a film that had little to do with its legitimate predecessor.