Sandra Bullock names the one “stinker” movie she is “embarrassed” by
The remarkable career of Sandra Bullock is defined by several successful years in the limelight. The Academy Award-winning actor has starred in a number of feature films of the highest order, including A Time to Kill, The Blind Side and Gravity, the latter two of which earned the Virginia-born star recognition at the Oscars.
Bullock’s breakthrough arrived in 1994 with the release of the action thriller Speed, directed by Jan de Bont in his feature film directorial debut and also starring the likes of Dennis Hopper, Keanu Reeves and Jeff Daniels. Bullock had already made an impression the year before Speed with Demolition Man, but it was the 1994 effort that marked her serious arrival on the movie scene.
Speed tells of the mission to disable a bomb onboard a moving bus that will arm when it reaches a speed of 50 miles per hour and then detonate when it goes below that same speed. The film garnered two Academy Awards for ‘Best Sound Effects Editing’ and ‘Best Sound’ and saw Reeves establish himself as a viable action hero following on from his previous success in Point Break.
However, like most half-decent action movies, especially the more successful ones, there’s always the temptation to cash in again with a sequel film, and that’s precisely the direction that Speed took with a terrible follow-up called Speed 2: Cruise Control, released in 1997. Reeves had meant to star again but pulled out and was replaced by Jason Patric.
In 2022, TooFab asked Bullock whether there were any projects that she was “embarrassed” by, and she couldn’t help but name Cruise Control as the one movie she wished she had the foresight to turn down. Bullock has only starred in two sequels, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous and Speed 2: Cruise Control, and seeing as both turned out poorly, she has consistently turned them down.
“That’s one I wished I hadn’t done, and no fans came around, that I know of,” Bullock noted of Speed 2, adding of the film’s reception, “Very quiet. Like five people. 12-year-olds who were watching the slow boat going towards the tiny island.” Bullock had been speaking with her The Lost City co-star Daniel Radcliffe, who is, of course, known for starring in a number of successful sequel movies with Harry Potter.
Discussing her sequels in comparison to Radcliffe’s, Bullock said, “Every one of them has been an absolute stinker. You have nothing but success with sequels. One was better than the other. They’re all brilliant; mine are all stinkers.” Thankfully, Bullock learned from her poor-quality sequel movies and has avoided them like the plague ever since.
