Keanu Reeves’ Top 10 Performances

Keanu Reeves is a great actor. This isn’t a personal opinion, but a fact. One that has given quizzical eyebrow raises to questioning of my credibility, followed by sympathetic nods when I try my best to explain. Granted it doesn’t help when you compare Keanu to some of his more successful contemporaries along with mentions of some his most cringey performances; however, if time (especially time during the COVID-19 pandemic) can teach us anything it’s that a little self-reflection is always for the better. So that’s what I’ve done with my time given unto me by the pandemic, is review my favorite and least favorite Keanu films to better understand what makes this enigma so enthralling to watch and if not that than at least give myself a serotonin boost while trapped in limbo.

10. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

This may not be Keanu’s best performance, but it is his most memorable. After all, it is what launched him into stardom and cemented his place into pop culture, not just because of the jokes and fun storyline, but because it’s so delightful to watch him and Alex Winters act together that you can’t imagine one without the other. While there isn’t any depth to his character, there is a great amount of shared charisma and chemistry with his co-star that pulls the audience into their camaraderie convincing us that he really is this wannabe rock n’ roll stoner. Pay attention to some of his later works, Keanu never eclipses his co-stars, he acts with them.

9. Destination Wedding

Imagine Four Weddings and a Funeral except Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell absolutely hate each other, have the worst personalities, and every time they talked you would hope murder-suicide occurred so the movie would finally end. That’s roughly the plot of Destination Wedding, where two bitter people must endure a wedding together since they can hardly tolerate anyone else. I’m only putting this one on the list, because I believe Keanu is an excellent comedic actor and not just when he’s playing a charming, lovable stoner. Just like with Bill & Ted, he shares his space with his co-star, never outperforming her. While his character is equally irritable as Winona Ryder’s is whiny and preachy, it’s his timing and subtle expressions of annoyance to her neurotic exclamations that make this otherwise drab comedy somewhat bearable to watch.

8. The Neon Demon

Keanu didn’t completely fade away from film once the Matrix trilogy ended. While most action stars try to hold onto relevancy by playing the same one note character until it becomes rote, Reeves chose the character actor route. This might be read as unorthodox given his fame, but it only proves he does have range. It’s a strange delight to watch him play Hank, the sleazy proprietor of the motel Elle Fanning’s Jesse occupies. He easily shifts from a louse to a threat that feels darkly hilarious and suddenly bone-chilling. Reeves is no longer the lovable man or the stoic hero, but the creep who has no moral qualms of taking advantage of others and it’s all the more intriguing knowing he can pull it off .

7. Point Break

Point Break is a classic example of good 90s action flicks, with it’s melodrama and swoon worthy stars. It is the jumping off point of Keanu’s career as an action star (quite literally almost feels like it since he does jump out of a helicopter). Arguably Speed is his first foray into action stardom, but I think Point Break offers something much more unique than the usual blockbuster fanfare. What most actors usually bring to such a role is usually a bit of cockiness paired with machismo (see a lot of action movies from the 80s). This is not the case for Point Break in which we see a dramatic change in a leading action star. Keep in mind this was the 90s, the era of the pretty boy with his floppy hero style haircut and slender build, a hybrid of masculine and feminine aesthetics that became the blueprint for androgyny today. We can point to actors like Leonardo Decaprio or Brad Pitt as classic examples, but what does it mean to embody androgyny? Keanu does this brilliantly with his physicality whether he’s throwing punches or sitting on the hood of his car in deep contemplation before he shoots his gun. His precarious relationship to Patrick Swayze’s zen-like surfer/bank robber also offers a rare form of vulnerability that is almost never shown between men and it only works because Reeves creates chemistry with his co-star. It’s a wonderful blend of a man unafraid of throwing down his defenses paired with a deep need of protectiveness for others.

6. Constantine

Probably the closest we’ll ever get to seeing Keanu in a superhero movie. It’s not the best of it’s genre since it’s bogged down by plot inconsistencies and awkward writing. Nonetheless, it’s still a cult favorite for a reason. Reeve plays the cynical occult detective John Constantine, who exorcises demons in hopes it will save him from eternal damnation. While most would struggle with cringey dialogue, Keanu easily breezes through it with a smirk and a glare. Just like with Point Break, Reeves relies on moderate expressions and movements to articulate a broken man who attempts to redeem himself by helping others. He slinks through dark corridors with a fearlessness and cockiness that does not come from being knowledgeable, but from the futility of knowing time is running out since he has terminal lung cancer. Even smoking a cigarette, alone in his apartment becomes poignantly somber with every exhale he takes.

5. My Own Private Idaho

Surprisingly Keanu Reeves loves Shakespeare and period dramas (evidently he gave a stellar performance as Hamlet in a 1995 onstage performance at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg). This may not be believable since his worst films to date are Dracula and Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (his performances are so notoriously bad in these films that they are constantly propped up as examples as to why Keanu can’t act). Part of the problem lies in miscasting him, the other half is understanding theatricality does not always make for good dramatic acting. Keanu’s Scott Favor is a rebellious rich boy with a fatalistic attitude and a soft spot for River Phoenix’s Mike Waters. It’s a heartbreaking duality that longs to fight against it’s fate, but knows it’s futile so it rides out the journey to the inevitable conclusion. He could have played it over the top, but instead opts for subtly, never pushing the envelope. A gentle glance at Phoenix while he professes his love or a withdrawn back to his dying mentor tells more about who his character really is than any monologue given. Gus Van Saint’s cult hit doesn’t fall into the category of period drama (although it is heavily inspired by Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Henry V) it is one of Keanu’s well-known dramatic roles and for a good reason since it proves he really can act when used right.

4. The Matrix

What’s there to say about the Matrix? A lot since it was groundbreaking for its time and is still influential. It’s the landmark of Keanu’s career and there couldn’t have been a more fitting actor for the role since it checks all the boxes: subtle transformative physicality (check), effortless charisma (check), and fearless vulnerability (triple check!). While Reeves understands the need for dramatics in such a role, he never completely plays into it nor does he let it go over the top since it would destroy the clever worldbuilding the Wachowski sisters have crafted. Through him we map the heroes’ journey as an everyman to revolutionary leader. It’s a culmination of his previous characters building upon one another to form the One. Unlike with Point Break, there’s no hesitation of jumping from great heights, he can only rise to the occasion.

3. John Wick

On paper John Wick sounds like a basic action flick that could have easily been lost in a market that is oversaturated with bland blockbusters. Thankfully and joyously this was not another bad movie, but a comeback that barreled in with a crash and kept pushing forward. Much of an actor’s life plays into how their on screen performance is interpreted, especially in the case of Keanu Reeves. Here is a great man who relatively disappeared from the public eye only to suddenly return, older, still just as strong, but something has changed. The fearlessness is still very present, but the naivete is gone and replaced with self-awareness of his public persona and the characters he’s played throughout his career. It helps knowing that most of his filmography consists mostly of playing loner characters. Men burdened with great power or a difficult past that isolates them from society. He carries all these perceptions of himself with a certain weight nonetheless he carries them no matter how heavy. This is so wonderfully demonstrated in his many fight scenes. The knowledge of fighting and defending is still there, but there’s a struggle after many years of being out of action.

2. Always Be My Maybe

2019 was an explosive year for Keanu. While still riding the high of completing John Wick 3, he still had the time to sneak in a brief performance for Ali Wong’s Always Be My Maybe. Quite a few movies will utilize well established actors for cameos only for the pay off to be an utter disappointment. For the collective twenty minutes of his appearance, not a second is wasted poking fun at his ethereal persona. He wears fake glasses to get into character for a movie role, he offers pseudo-aspirational advice of following one’s dreams; his slowed down intro to AWOLNATION’s Sail is ridiculous, but not too ridiculous because after all this is a man who has played the cool, slick hero so he plays it just right. Just like with John Wick, Reeves is very aware of how he’s perceived; however, instead of shying away he laughs with us (he knows he’s an internet meme and a man of intrigue). His performance is humbling, but not too degrading that it can be read as cheesy; it’s the highlight of what is just simply a pleasant rom-com.

1. John Wick 3

If his performance in Always Be My Maybe is a playful jab at Reeves as a celebrity, then John Wick 3 is the burden of persona. At this point in the story, it is known John Wick is back with a massive bounty on his head. He’s considered the best of his profession and everyone around him rises to the challenge to beat the unbeatable. Throughout the movie he struggles to return back to normalcy, but can he given his reputation? He has to now juggle two separate identities: the grieving widower and the merciless hitman. We the audience via Mark Dacascos’ Zero want the joys of watching him struggle and succeeding since it confirms how much of the myth is actually true. If the final fight scene is any indication, then the answer is no. Once you have reached such great heights you can only fight to keep your place or fall hard to the bottom and Keanu has earned his right to stay.