Keanu Reeves has been entertaining film fans for over five decades.
From comedy to action, and of course sci-fi, the 59-year-old actor is a proven box office commodity.
But just what are his most famous movies?
‘He’s beginning to believe…’
“People keep asking if I’m back, and I haven’t really had an answer. But now, yeah, I’m thinking I’m back!” Keanu Reeves has been entertaining film fans for over five decades. From comedy to action, and of course sci-fi, the 59-year-old actor is a proven box office commodity. But just what are his most famous movies?
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The 1992 story stars Gary Oldman as the dreaded titular vampire, whilst Keanu’s Johnathan Harker and Winona Ryder’s Mina Harker attempt to escape Dracula. However, it wasn’t all perfect, as the actor’s English accent was not particularly convincing. Director Francis Ford Coppola defended Keanu, and emphasised he was still as “prince” in his eyes.
He said: “We knew that it was tough for him to affect an English accent. “He tried so hard. That was the problem, actually – he wanted to do it perfectly, and in trying to do it perfectly, it came off as stilted. I tried to get him to just relax with it and not do it so fastidiously. “So maybe I wasn’t as critical of him, but that’s because I like him personally so much. To this day, he’s a prince in my eyes.”
The Matrix Reloaded
Whilst it’s certainly not as good as the first film, ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ is still a good movie in its own right. Keanu’s Neo returns alongside Trinity (Carrie Anne-Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) as the team continues to fight for humanity’s freedom. Although the plot is somewhat contrived, the film still remains as engaging as the first, with plenty of much-needed worldbuilding and phenomenal action scenes, with Keanu, of course, being the stand-out highlight.
The Lake House
Having starred in ‘Speed’ together, Keanu and Sandra Bullock reunited for ‘The Lake House’. In the 2006 movie, the actors, who also appeared alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Christopher Plummer, play lovers who are finally brought together by fate.
Even though the pair weren’t ever an item, Sandra admitted her feelings for her co-star, which first developed during the making of ‘Speed’, never left, and even suggested that they only accepted to make the movie once learning the other was involved. She recalled: “Well, what I just discovered in the other room, I think that Keanu just wants to make out with me. It’s been too long for him I think. He needs it. He needs me.”
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ is yet another exciting into the assassin’s saga, that proved Keanu Reeves in still one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The 2019 flick, in which the actor stars alongside Halle Berry, Ian McShane and Mark Dacascos, is filled to the brim with memorable scenes with jaw-dropping choreography, and ends with a brilliant cliffhanger.
Still, it turns out that Keanu wasn’t that big a fan of the finished product, and felt like he disappointed audiences. Director Chad Stahelski said: “We did the third movie and then we were really done. We’re like, ‘We’re done.’ And then again, it was a year later, Keanu and I both felt like we kind of let everybody down with the ending of number three.”
The Matrix Revolutions
‘The Matrix: Revolutions’ did a fairly good job at wrapping the trilogy up in a satisfying and epic way, and Keanu’s Neo is of course a huge factor in that. In the movie, the hero has to content with the dreaded Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) one last time before bargaining with the AI that is holding humanity hostage.
Keanu himself has insisted that the movie did a great job in capping off the franchise, before the fourth instalment, ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ was even floated as a possibility. Reflecting on the picture, the actor said: I really enjoyed it when I saw it. “I thought the performances and how it came together and the action and the cinema of it was pretty extraordinary.”
Speed
Starring alongside Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels and Dennis Hopper, ’Speed’ is delightfully-thrilling movie. The 1994 picture follows a Los Angeles Police Officer who is forced to keep a bus moving at above 50 miles an hour, otherwise an embittered bomb squad member threatens to blow the vehicle up.
Hilariously, both Sandra and Keanu had a crush on one another whilst making the film, but kept their feelings to themselves – which probably explains why their chemistry is electric!
Constantine
As his only superhero movie, ‘Constantine’ also happens to be one of Keanu’s best. The actors stars as the titular anti-hero in the 2005 film, where he attempts to escape from his hellish fate by earning enough goodwill to ascend to heaven upon his end. Fans adored the picture, and Keanu Reeves admitted he has been begging Warner Bros. to make a sequel.
He said: “I don’t know if it was unfinished business but it was definitely a role that I loved. And I thought that Francis Lawrence, the director, did such amazing work. I loved playing that character, and I really enjoyed the film. I was like, [with Oliver Twist voice] ‘Can I please have some more?’” Luckily, ‘Constatine 2’ has been confirmed to be in the works!
John Wick
When trailers released back in 2014, many wrote ‘John Wick’ off as a silly B-movie with little to offer, how wrong they were! The film stars Keanu Reeves as the titular character – a retired hitman who is brought back into the dark underworld of assassins once a special gift from his dead wife is brutally stripped from him.
Even though the premise was rather simple, audiences were very impressed with John Wick, and Keanu’s enthusiasm for the franchise certainly oozed into his performance.
John Wick: Chapter 4
The first isn’t always the best! Even though it’s the fourth instalment in the franchise, ‘John Wick 4’ is easily the best film this hit assassin has to offer, and with its awe-inspiring action, jaw-dropping cinematography and genuinely emotional story, it’s not hard to see why.
Starring alongside Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Donnie Yen and Bill Skarsgard, the flick follows John as he attempts to overturn the High Table and escape his life as a hitman. The movie will likely be remembered as the one where John bites the bullet, and finally lets the character be put to rest. Reflecting in the part, Keanu said being John Wick was “really epic”, and that he “loved” the character.
The Matrix
What more needs to be said about this instant classic? After ‘The Matrix’ released in 1999, the movie pathed the way for innovative new technologies that the industry has continued to use to this day, as well as pioneering stunt scenes that have become a staple in Hollywood.
The film also put Keanu Reeves on the map as one of the best action actors of all time, which he continued to prove time and time again.