Matt Reeves is getting praised to no end at the minute for co-writing and directing The Batman, the first-ever movie that truly depicts that character as "the world's greatest detective." Not only that, but he has built a world that fans are dying to see explored further. But this isn't the first time that Reeves has breathed fresh life into a major movie franchise, and he has lowkey become an in-demand director for studios who want a unique approach to a stale IP.
Between directing one of the most influential monster movies of all time and turning The Planet of the Apes into a rich and lore-filled world, Reeves has made a ton of great, if a little underappreciated, movies in the 21st century. Though, with his name attached to a badly received romcom and a B-rate sequel, it took him a while to find his voice in the industry.
The Pallbearer (1996) - 5.2
Multiplexes were flooded with romcoms in the late 1990s, especially ones starring cast members of Friends. The Pallbearer, which was Reeves' directorial debut, stars Gwyneth Paltrow and David Schwimmer, and it follows a man who is a pallbearer at a friend's funeral where he reunites with an old flame.
The movie didn't exactly establish the visionary director's suspenseful style, and though it seems like The Pallbearer was very much a director-for-hire job for Reeves, the auteur actually wrote the movie on spec. That means that he wrote the movie without being paid by the studio and with the intention of selling it upon completion. The movie must have read well because, according to Go Into The Story, the script was sold for $400,000. Unfortunately, whatever it was on the page that made Miramax spend so much money, it didn't translate onto the screen.
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) - 5.5
There are tons of bad action movie sequels, and surprisingly Reeves actually wrote one of them. Though he didn't direct the movie, it was the first major writing credit he had, and based on the final result, he was obviously new to the game at the time. Reeves took the Speed approach to writing an action sequel that's based on a mode of transportation, as he completely changed the setting.
Where the original Under Siege was set on a cruise ship, the follow-up is set on a train, and the subtitle is a reference to a part of a railroad with no train signals. And for an action movie, the sequel was painfully dull. A reboot of the movie is currently in development, and as Reeves has clearly learned a lot in the 27 years since originally writing it, he'd ironically be the perfect writer/director to steer the ship for the reimagined version.
The Yards (2000) - 6.4
The Yards is another movie that wasn't directed by Reeves, but the screenplay was written by the Batman director. The movie is more along the lines of what cinephiles have come to expect from the filmmaker, and though it isn't part of an established universe, it was the first hint that audiences got of Reeves' obsession with crime.
The Mark Wahlberg-starring movie is about a family business that's a front for major criminal activity, and it could easily be seen as the blueprint for the organized crime found in The Batman. Based on the corporate crime and political corruption found in The Yards, it was clear what attracted him to the world of Gotham.
Cloverfield (2008) - 7.0
Cloverfield is a monster movie unlike any other, and it was the movie that established Reeves as a major director and proved that he had the potential to change the landscape of cinema. In fact, that's exactly what he did, as, though Reeves didn't invent the found footage film technique, he did a great deal to popularize it. Cloverfield is the primary reason why hundreds of movies copied the style, whether it was gritty cop dramas like End of Watch or superhero movies like Chronicle.
Interestingly, the movie hasn't had a proper sequel, but there have since been mysterious movies that are a part of the same universe, such as 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox. And while the former is a fantastic thriller movie, fans are still waiting for a real Cloverfield sequel. It'd be great to see Reeves return to the series too, but he seems like he's fully invested in the Batman universe.
Let Me In (2010) - 7.1
Let Me In is an American remake of one of the best Swedish movies ever made, Let The Right One In, a horror masterpiece about a young vampire. And though Hollywood remakes of foreign movies tend to have a reputation of being inferior compared to the originals, Let Me In does a great job of adapting the material for English-speaking audiences. The movie maintains the icy tone of the original, and it's just as compelling.
The remake was also one of two 2010 movies that made Chloe Grace Moretz one of the most talked-about newcomers of that year, as she also starred in Kick-Ass, giving stand-out performances in both films.
War For The Planet Of The Apes (2017) - 7.4
War for the Planet of the Apes does what so few movie trilogies achieve, which is being such a satisfying end to a series that's full of pay-offs. Not many third films in a series can claim to be as good as their predecessors, but War manages to be funny, heartwarming, emotional, and epic all at once. However, while a 7.4 is a perfectly fine average score, it's surprisingly low for the 2017 movie.
The film's relatively low score may have something to do with the fact that even the title misleads audiences. For a film called War for the Planet of the Apes, there's a significant lack of war. In fact, the previous movie in the series featured more of a war between apes and humans. However, it is still such a satisfying end to the new trilogy, and despite the unfairly low 7.4, it's at least the highest-scoring Apes movie according to Metacritic.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014) - 7.6
After Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was directed by Rupert Wyatt, Reeves took over directing duties for the two following films, and it's the best possible decision the studio could have made. While the first movie in the series was a surprisingly great origin movie and added a sense of realism to the franchise, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was on another level entirely.
Though Dawn has one of the worst movie titles, few other films achieve such spectacular action sequences. The movie is worth watching for the shot of an ape taking control of a tank alone. One of Reeves' trademark techniques is attaching the camera to the side of a vehicle in an action sequence (which is used extensively in The Batman,) and that's exactly what the filmmaker does with the tank scene.
The Batman (2022) - 8.6
The Batman has been overwhelmingly praised to no end, and rightly so. While many of the previous Batman movies are great, Reeves delivered an iteration of the world that so many fans of the hero have been wanting for decades.
Where The Dark Knight sees a very Chicago-like Gotham, The Batman features a gruelingly dark and rainy Gotham. Where 1989's Batman saw Batman wear a utility belt with clearly empty compartments, Robert Pattinson's Batman wears a suit that's got all kinds of gadgets in every nook and cranny. The Batman is the ultimate caped crusader movie in so many ways, and if it wasn't for Reeves, audiences would have gotten a mediocre Batman movie that was part of the DC Extended Universe.