2 that described it as the "Worst Sequel of All", mainly due to the film's explanation for the absence of Reeves' character. In addition to being ranked among the worst sequels, Empire ranked the film at number 24 on its list of The 50 Worst Movies Ever. Bullock later regretted starring in the film, and stated that the script was to blame for the film's negative reception. She admitted to having been skeptical about its success during production and "knew it was going to be a big flop" once she saw the final product. Patric also admitted "it wasn't a good movie" and said that its lack of success was due to de Bont's direction, while praising Bullock and the rest of the film's crew. Mark Gordon and Graham Yost stated they felt "bitter and happy" after initially not being asked to be involved in Speed 2, then seeing that the film was unsuccessful. The film did receive some positive feedback. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times and Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune both gave Speed 2 three out of four stars, two of the film's three positive reviews included on Rotten Tomatoes. On their film review TV series Siskel & Ebert, they collectively gave Speed 2 a positive rating of "Two Thumbs Up", calling it a "truly rousing ocean liner adventure story", although Ebert criticized Bullock's more limited role in the sequel while Patric "stole all the action sequences." Since his original review, Ebert claimed that he enjoyed Speed 2 more than Bullock, and wrote an article in 2013 that his favorable review of the film "inspired more disbelief" than any other he had written and was frequently cited as an example of him being a poor film critic. At the Conference on World Affairs in 1999, Ebert spoke about the difficulty of making films such as Speed 2 and defended his review by offering a "Speed 3" contest for anyone to create a five-minute short film that takes place on something that cannot stop moving. Speed 2 was listed on About.com's Top 9 Cruise Ship or Ocean Liner Movies, and said it had "good shots of the ship and a spectacular ending", but also described the plot as "lame." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Los Angeles Daily News, and The Sacramento Bee each gave favorable reviews, while stating that the film was not as good as Speed. Empire