Keanu Reeves has become one of the most beloved actors around. The fact that Reeves seems to be a genuinely nice and caring person helps to make him popular, but he's also starred in a number of recent films that have earned him some high praise. However, it's easy to forget that Reeves has been making great movies for decades now.
Some people might try to fit Reeves into a certain category, but the truth is that he's had a career filled with interesting choices. Some of those choices didn't work out, but some have led to cinematic classics and highly entertaining films. If you're looking to revisit some of Reeves' best work, check out his top-rated movies, according to IMDB.
Point Break
Point Break can sometimes be dismissed as a silly and cheesy surfer-action movie, but it's so much more than that. The plot --concerning an FBI agent who infiltrates a gang of surfer bank robbers-- is admittedly ludicrous, but it sets the stage for an inventive and high-octane action-adventure.
Kathryn Bigelow showed her great directorial talents with the pulse-pounding action sequences. Patrick Swayze was charming and dangerous as the almost mystical surfer leader and Reeves was the ideal action hero. This is the role that led to some of his most popular action film roles.
Much Ado About Nothing
Before Kenneth Branagh was directing big-budget adventure films, his career was filled with lavish and acclaimed adaptions of some of Shakespeare's most famous plays. Along with the more serious projects like Hamlet and Henry V, he made this light-hearted comedy with a star-studded cast.
Reeves might not be the first actor you'd think of for a Shakespearean adaptation, and the language does sound a little strange coming from his mouth, but he is entertaining as the villainous Don John. Along with great performances by Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington, it's a fun romp.
John Wick
Reeves has had several iconic roles throughout his career, but John Wick may be the one that he is remembered best for. This first film introduced the world to the unstoppable assassin. After his car is stolen and his dog is killed by some goons, John Wick goes on an epic killing spree to punish those who are responsible.
This is the role Reeves was born to play. John is a man of few words, but his intensity and deadly glare says a lot. Reeves handles himself incredibly well in the fight sequences, which are some of the most entertaining fights ever put on screen. The film recharged Reeves career and started a new, exciting franchise.
The Devil's Advocate
The Devil's Advocate is a legal thriller with a dark twist. Reeves plays a young hotshot lawyer who, after winning a high profile case, is recruited by a big city firm. However, as he gets used to a life of wealth and success, he begins to suspect that his employer might be more than he seems.
The real star of this movie is Al Pacino as the Devil himself. His sinister charisma is the highlight of every scene he's in and Pacino seems to be having a ball with the over-the-top role. Reeves handles himself against the legend as the conflicted young man who finds temptation around every turn.
Bram Stoker's Dracula
There have been many vampire movies over the years, but when Francis Ford Coppola took his stab at the genre, he went back to the original source material. Bram Stoker's Dracula is, obviously, an adaptation of the classic horror novel which introduced the most iconic vampire of all time.
Reeves plays young Jonathan Harker who first encounters the ancient vampire which leads to Dracula falling in love with Harker's fiance. To be honest, this isn't one of Reeves' better performances, as he seems out of place. But the film itself is a beautiful, haunting and really weird bit of horror fun.
John Wick: Chapter 2
After John Wick became a surprise hit, a sequel was quickly pushed forward. Many feared that the film-makers were pushing their luck by revisiting a movie with one of the simplest premises ever. However, John Wick: Chapter 2 wisely chose to dive deeper into the mythology of this world in John's latest quest for vengeance.
The sequel took everything that made the original film so much fun and took it to another level. The action sequences are wilder, the world-building is greater and the film brings in some fun new characters.
Dangerous Liaisons
Reeves seems to have a love of costume dramas, as this is yet another period piece he was a part of. Based on the French play, the film is set in the pre-Revolution era Paris and focuses on the intrigue and seduction between two scheming nobles.
Reeves plays a commoner who is unwittingly brought into the world of lies and deceit orchestrated by Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil (Glenn Close) and Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich). The film is a sexy, thrilling romantic drama, with some terrific performances by an amazing cast.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Unlike almost every other franchise in Hollywood, the John Wick films seem to only be improving over time. This third chapter in the series was only released this year and is already one of Reeves' highest-rated films of all time. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum finds John on the run with a massive price on his head.
The third film dives even deeper into the strange and fascinating world of these movies. The movie is a globe-trotting adventure filled with amazing sequences, including one fantastic set-piece involving Reeves, Halle Berry and a couple of very well-trained dogs.
Toy Story 4
Like John Wick: Chapter 3, Toy Story 4 is a 2019 release that is already considered one of Reeves' best. And just like that franchise, Toy Story films just keep getting better. After the third films seemed to bring the series to a satisfying end, the fourth film proved there was one more story to tell to really bring this amazing franchise to a close.
Toy Story 4 finds Woody helping a new toy discover his identity, which leads him to reunite with a long-lost friend. While it's great seeing the old toy return, Reeves steals the show as a new one: Duke Caboom, a defective Canadian stuntman action figure.
The Matrix
It has been 20 years since The Matrix hit theaters and it remains one of the most ground-breaking and influential action films of all time. Made by the visionary Wachowskis, The Matrix was a science-fiction epic that followed Reeves' mild-mannered office worker, Neo, and his discovery that the world he was living in was a simulation.
The action set-pieces are still mind-blowing and incredibly fun. Reeves once again proves his status as the greatest action hero of the 90s is untouched. The sequels might not have lived up to the original, but The Matrix remains a movie unlike any you've ever seen.