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Post by pupdurcs on Nov 26, 2020 22:39:29 GMT
Last year I wrote a profile for Keanu Reeves on the Actors And Their Impact On Genre Megathread. It was mostly me coming to the conclusion that an actor I had no particular regard for a good portion of his career, had morphed into a fine actor, and one of our greatest and most iconic movie stars. Here is that profile:
Jul 29, 2019 22:32:16 GMTpupdurcs said:
Keanu Reeves
Genre: Action
We are living in the middle of a Keanu Reeves moment. A Keanussiance if you will. Big projects left and right, his John Wick franchise really breaking out in a big way.
How did the most disrespected actor of his generation end up building such a comprehensive and iconic body of work and roles? He's Ted "Theodore" Logan. He is Neo. He is John Wick.
For a man often dismissed as being lacking in talent, there must be an element of satisfaction to how his career panned out. His signature look of befuddlement has been key to the success of some of the greatest action films of the last 25 years. From Speed to The Matrix (and it's less good sequels) to Point Break to the John Wick films, Keanu is without question one of our greatest action stars. He might not be blessed with the natural acting talent of some of his contemporaries like River Phoenix, but he's improved a tremendous amount, and has become solid actor who knows how to work with his strengths and doesn't often get tripped up by his weaknessas anymore. And frankly, he's just so damn likeable. A clip of John Wick avenging his dog:
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The man for me is a straight up solid actor. He may be the most controversial selection in the just released New York Times 25 Greatest Actors Of The 21st Century So Far, but,but, but.....I feel he is at the point in his career where if you pair him with a strong dramatic auteur willing to push him in new directions...a Paul Thomas Anderson or the Safidie Brothers, he can very possibly come up with the kind of dramatic performance that contends for awards and maybe blows away anyone doubting him as an actor. He's one of the greatest action stars alive, and definitely has nothing to prove in that arena anymore. Matrix 4 won't change anyone's perception of him. But his potential is untapped outside that sphere. I 'd really like to see him hook up with some of those dramatic auteurs who really specialise in getting unexpected performances from actors.
Perhaps Reeves placement on that list will be the spark that encourages some of these auteurs to try and work with him. I'd really like to see Reeves in something like the Adam Sandler role in Uncut Gems.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Nov 26, 2020 23:04:23 GMT
It's an interesting question. It feels like his career has building to being starring in some crazy crime flick directed by a filmmaker or filmmakers known for their insanity which plays to his strengths and limitations as a performer. I'm actually shocked by the lack of great or well-regarded cultie directors when I look over his filmography, I guess the stigma of him being bad actor followed him throughout his career. There's Van Sant (X2), Coppola, and Dracula is considered one of Keanu's low-point as an actor, Bertolucci in a completely weirdly casted role, Raimi, one of Keanu's most underrated performances as an abusive monster of a husband in The Gift, and Linklater. One of the bunch only Linklater feels like he was intentionally playing on "Keanu" the person, by casting him as a druggie in A Scanner Darkly to actual great effect.
As crazy as this might sound, I could totally see him playing a John Wick silent type, but like in a PTA movie in the vein of Phantom Thread or something.
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Post by pacinoyes on Nov 26, 2020 23:08:44 GMT
* The problem with being 4th on that (absurd) list is rather this: It's who is missing and how jarring it is to see his name in that context - DiCap, Bridges, Hanks, Streep, Blanchett, Williams, Gosling - to name just a few are oddly missing - so the list is neither fish nor foul..........it is not a "best"........it's a "greatest"........which is fine but the list includes too many "best" types around him - actually BEHIND him Servillo, Dafoe, Phoenix etc. - it's incongruous. It's an awful list .... * Now.........I think he's fine just as he is......his problem is he can't project enough differentiation in his own personality/relative to role......the problem is not Bram Stoker's Dracula as much as it is him trying to play an f'n doctor in Something's Gotta Give and sometimes an auteur is going to want you to stretch. Stay just as you are Keanu ......stay away from auteurs and stupid lists.
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Savager
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Post by Savager on Nov 26, 2020 23:12:35 GMT
For supporting roles? Sure.
I'd rather see actually talented dramatic actors like Fiennes or Schreiber get those lead roles in those projects.
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Post by pupdurcs on Nov 26, 2020 23:14:02 GMT
I could totally see him playing a John Wick silent type, but like in a PTA movie in the vein of Phantom Thread or something. This actually sounds like an incredible idea I'd look forward to this more than I woukd to that High School thing he is doing with Bradley Cooper.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Nov 26, 2020 23:20:24 GMT
I could totally see him playing a John Wick silent type, but like in a PTA movie in the vein of Phantom Thread or something. This actually sounds like an incredible idea I'd look forward to this more than I woukd to that High School thing he is doing with Bradley Cooper.Thanks, I'll admit I made it up on the fly, though. I actually think he'd be good at playing a baker or some other random job person who has just faced a terrible tragedy, and thus has been drained all of his regular emotions until he rediscovers love, and then the joy of life. It'd be the perfect Keanu role.
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thomasjerome
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Post by thomasjerome on Nov 26, 2020 23:36:36 GMT
I have to admit I was surprised by his performance once in Sam Raimi's "The Gift" (2000) but even in that movie, he was not the MVP or something. He's got certain charisma and charm that worked with some of his action film roles. He's likable for sure but I can't see any improvement in his acting skills. He was emberrassing to watch in "Knock Knock", awkward in the last Bill and Ted movie, and just boring or dull in things like "Replicas' and "The Whole Truth".
He's a star, visible enough and since he took roles in independent films, like that forgettable supporting turn in "To the Bone", I believe he's chasing such roles but it seems to me that auteurs are just not that interested in him, outside of some random supporting roles. Which is understandable cause the man just can't act.
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Post by stephen on Nov 26, 2020 23:37:49 GMT
I really liked how scuzzy he was in The Neon Demon and I'd like to see him work with Refn again.
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Post by pupdurcs on Nov 26, 2020 23:58:04 GMT
I really liked how scuzzy he was in The Neon Demon and I'd like to see him work with Refn again. Work with me buddy. I'm trying to help silence Keanu doubters here. He won't do that in some esoteric mood piece from Refn that is 90% soundtrack Refn could have been to be one of the premiere and most sought after auteurs in the world, and he blew it. Drive was lightning in a bottle. After Only God Forgives, Gosling is never going to work with Refn again, I'm fairly certain. Refn had the opportunity to direct Denzel in The Equalizer, which would been huge for his career if he could make it work, but the producers had to let him go when he became too insistant on the character being an emotionless automaton. You may have enjoyed The Neon Demon, but reviews were poor, as they were for Only God Forgives. Now Refn is making TV limited series starring Miles Teller and Jenna Malone that no one is particularly interested in. Guy had the world in his hands, and kind of blew it. He's going to be living off Drive for a long time, imho.
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Post by pacinoyes on Nov 27, 2020 0:19:45 GMT
I'm trying to help silence Keanu doubters here.
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Post by pupdurcs on Nov 27, 2020 0:24:32 GMT
I'm trying to help silence Keanu doubters here. You're acting like a loser, dude. Relax, have a beer and chill out. Everyone here knows you've been crying your eyes out over this "awful" list that Denzel topped, but I almost expected you to play it cool. Never let them see you hurting! Silly me
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Post by JangoB on Nov 27, 2020 0:56:23 GMT
I've had a soft spot for Keanu since childhood because "Speed" used to be one of my Bible-like movies back then, but as glad as I am for him getting so much love these days, I can't help but feel he's just enormously limited as an actor and if he were to make some auteur stuff, it'd have to be specifically catered to his limitations. I like the Sandman comparison though - dude clearly won't be doing "Lincoln" or "Fences" any of these days but PTA and the Safdies were clever enough to tap into his more attainable character traits and managed to create unique roles that the Sandman fit like a glove and utterly excelled at. If the same is done for Keanu, I'll be there for sure.
Although this whole auteur talk makes me think that I'd love to see him in a Coen brothers movie. Reeves is tremendous at playing doofuses (not a dig, mind you) and Coens create the best doofuses out there.
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Post by stephen on Nov 27, 2020 1:03:55 GMT
Although this whole auteur talk makes me think that I'd love to see him in a Coen brothers movie. Reeves is tremendous at playing doofuses (not a dig, mind you) and Coens create the best doofuses out there. Keanu for Fargo: Season 5!
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sirchuck23
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Post by sirchuck23 on Nov 27, 2020 1:49:34 GMT
PTA was my choice as well seeing what he was able to with Adam Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love.
Another auteur I could see doing something interesting with Keanu is Wes Anderson. For some reason Reeves legendary bemusement facial reactions/tics could work in Anderson’s whimsy movie world where several of his characters have bemused reactions and get in ridiculous situations.
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Post by futuretrunks on Nov 27, 2020 2:07:13 GMT
I think the issue is...what's the point? Keanu is certainly a very capable action movie star, capable of impressive stunts and commanding the screen, but that only makes him slightly fungible with Tom Cruise or Will Smith in action mode or something like that. He's had ample opportunity to demonstrate some versatility, and he just doesn't appear to have it. Effing Josh Hartnett has shown more flair for dramatic acting than Keanu (see "O" and "August"), and Hartnett is stuck doing garbage.
As for the Sandler comparisons, I think it's a bit off. Sandler is/was known for doing lots of lowbrow comedy, but his characters required quite a bit of basic chops. Sandler had to scream, cry, get enraged, etc. convincingly, and did so. That's what he's modulating in stuff like PDL or The Meyerowitz Stories. I don't know if Keanu has those gears in him.
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Post by mattfincher on Nov 27, 2020 4:18:11 GMT
Well, when he tried prestige films earlier in his career, it generally didn't go well and occasionally was an unmitigated disaster. He's certainly improved as an actor since then, so it's possible the result would be different. But as others have said, he's found his comfort zone, so why alter course? And say what you want about Sandler, but he's actually proven successful basically every time he's taken on a dramatic/prestige role. I think Reeves current high standing has to do with his affability and astuteness in maximizing the breadth of his limited abilities. He's also starred in at least a half dozen films which, if not all necessarily "classics", are certainly films heavily rewatched and that have had a shelf life.
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Post by TerryMontana on Nov 27, 2020 6:27:27 GMT
Let him just stick to things he's good at, like the John Wick films.
He doesn't need to try something different.
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Post by pupdurcs on Nov 27, 2020 6:45:01 GMT
Well, when he tried prestige films earlier in his career, it generally didn't go well and occasionally was an unmitigated disaster. He's certainly improved as an actor since then, so it's possible the result would be different. But as others have said, he's found his comfort zone, so why alter course? And say what you want about Sandler, but he's actually proven successful basically every time he's taken on a dramatic/prestige role. I think Reeves current high standing has to do with his affability and astuteness in maximizing the breadth of his limited abilities. He's also starred in at least a half dozen films which, if not all necessarily "classics", are certainly films heavily rewatched and that have had a shelf life. I thought Reeves was actually pretty good in My Own Private Idaho, which was an early auteur film by Gus Van Sant. He held his own against River Phoenix, who at the time was touted as maybe the best actor of his generation. Crucially, it was a contemporary film that didn't force him to stray too far away from himself. It's when he tried to do historical things that he became a complete anachronism that stood out like a sore thumb ( Bram Stoker's Dracula, Much Ado About Nothing). Even early on, it was clear that he could work just fine in some "prestige/auteur" contexts, and could be disastrous in others. He just needed to be cast carefully (even greats like Paul Newman realised this. Once he did a historical toga film in The Silver Chalice, and aware of how terrible he was in that film, made sure to never do those types of roles or movies again. His career and reputation could have turned out a whole different way if he kept trying to stretch himself too far like that). Someone like Van Sant recognised how to use him correctly, but others did not. And he is far better an actor now than when he worked with Van Sant.
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Post by TylerDeneuve on Mar 15, 2024 23:39:39 GMT
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Post by quetee on Mar 16, 2024 17:38:27 GMT
Everyone still loves Keanu.
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 16, 2024 17:51:10 GMT
Didn't understand this thread when it was made....don't understand it now....don't think everybody loves him........everybody kind of tolerates him and accepts his many limitations........and sort of loves John Wick He's about to turn 60 ffs .........
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Post by pupdurcs on Mar 16, 2024 18:39:39 GMT
Everyone still loves Keanu. Yep! Greatest Action Star in the world. He's nominated for a Critics Choice Award for John Wick 4 for Best Actor In An Action Movie. He's up against Denzel Washington in Equalizer 3 and Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning. Normally, I'd be rooting for D, but hope Keanu wins this. He deserves it.
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Post by quetee on Mar 16, 2024 18:42:19 GMT
Didn't understand this thread when it was made....don't understand it now....don't think everybody loves him........everybody kind of tolerates him and accepts his many limitations........and sort of loves John Wick He's about to turn 60 ffs ......... Keanu is still hot at 60. The majority would love to look like that at that age.
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Post by stephen on Mar 16, 2024 18:42:19 GMT
Everyone still loves Keanu. Yep! Greatest Action Star in the world. He's nominated for a Critics Choice Award for John Wick 4 for Best Actor In An Action Movie. He's up against Denzel Washington in Equalizer 3 and Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning. Normally, I'd be rooting for D, but hope Keanu wins this. He deserves it. I love the way that John Wick 4 ended, but if it turns out that the fifth film is John Wick fighting his way through Hell to get his wife's soul back , then I will be campaigning for that movie harder than Jamie Lee Curtis did for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
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Post by TylerDeneuve on Mar 16, 2024 18:52:23 GMT
Didn't understand this thread when it was made....don't understand it now....don't think everybody loves him........everybody kind of tolerates him and accepts his many limitations........and sort of loves John Wick He's about to turn 60 ffs ......... No one thinks he's the greatest actor on earth - you saw Christopher Hampton thought Frears had lost his mind when he hired him - but he is a beautiful man and, by all accounts, is genuinely sweet. You know girls would fall for him really easily.
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