March 24th, fans of the “John Wick” movie series will be treated to the fourth installment of the titular character’s journey to escape his roots as a covert assassin. After the events of “Chapter 3,” Wick finds himself again under fire from a global group of killers. Reeves is an actor who is no stranger to action cinema, and along his very seasoned career spanning the 80’s and in to the aughts, he’s accumulated an impressive filmography. Among them: action films. These are five of what I consider to be his best action films, to date.
Do you have a favorite Keanu Reeves film?
Constantine (2005)
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max
Though not entirely faithful to the original Alan Moore and Garth Ennis comic book series, Keanu Reeves’ supernatural action adaptation is one of the better genre films released in 2005. Opening with a banger of a prologue involving an exorcism, a demon, and a mirror, “Constantine” is a film packed with humor, grim visuals, vicious violence, and a stacked cast like Peter Stormare, Tilda Swinton, and Rachel Weisz. There’s talk of a sequel/soft reboot coming soon with Reeves in the lead.
John Wick (2014)
Streaming on Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu
While the sequels have held up their end as wonderful follow ups, you can’t ignore the roots of the assassin laden martial arts series. “John Wick” begins his journey in to darkness on a campaign of revenge, as he’s a retired hitman mourning the loss of his only love. Leaving behind a dog for him to bond with, the dog is viciously murdered by intruders. This sparks John to re-emerge and lay waste to the criminal underworld. Packed with ace direction, a sharp cast and an intense turn by Reeves, this is A+ action cinema.
The Matrix (1999)
Streaming On HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
The sci-fi film that defined a generation heading in to the millennium, “The Matrix” is quintessential science fiction. Engineered by the Wachowski sisters, “The Matrix” is a masterpiece packed with martial arts, massive shoot outs, espionage, and cerebral themes about reality, and the concept of existence as a whole. The film is also a veiled metaphor for transgenderism, which makes it immensely ahead of its time. It’s a nigh universally acclaimed gem that continued to speak volumes to movie fans.
Point Break (1991)
Streaming on Redbox, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 surfer laden crime thriller is still considered one of the standards of Keanu Reeve’s career. It’s also considered one of the standards of classic action cinema, to this day. Reeves grabs excellent chemistry with folks like Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty, and Gary Busey (respectively), in a very engaging crime thriller about an agent who gets in way too deep with a group of bank robbers. It’s a must watch. Avoid the painfully boring 2015 remake at all costs.
Speed (1994)
Streaming on Peacock, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
While I’ve never been a huge fan, there’s no denying “Speed” is one of the biggest action films of the 1990’s. It was a blockbuster that turned Sandra Bullock in to a megastar overnight, and garners almost universal acclaim. “Speed” is a pretty innovative thriller set around an officer named Jack who hijacks a public bus and has to keep it driving at a certain speed, lest it explodes killing everyone on it. “Speed” doesn’t really seem like it can make much from this hook, but Jan De Bont pulls it off–even if it does kind of fall apart in the climax. You can skip the highly derided sequel.