What's new

Is Keanu Reeves really that bad of an actor? (1 Viewer)

Patrick Sun

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1999
Messages
39,660
It thought Keanu was decent in "The Replacements", but that was more of an ensemble piece. Also "Hardball" was entertaining without a distracting performance by Keanu.
 

Brent Hutto

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 30, 2001
Messages
532


Patrick's statement is a perhaps intentional paraphrase of the great line by Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) in My Favorite Year.

"I am not an Actor, I am a Movie Staah!"

That movie has some great scenery chewing and plenty of other memorable lines, such as "So's this ma'am but every now and then I have to run a little water through it" (that line spoken to the character played by the great Selma Diamond, may she rest in peace). But that's all off topic. Keanu's no Peter O'Toole. Then again, who is?
 

Bob Banka

Grip
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
17
Man...

I'm really stunned!

I come back to this thread after being away a couple of days to see that some folks are actually comparing the work of Keanu (the-totem-pole) Reeves with that of Sean Penn! These names shouldn't appear in the same sentence let alone the same thread.

There is NO comparison to be made here. Penn is an actor, not a "star." Reeves is a "star," not an actor. You are comparing rotten apples with oranges.

BB
 

Eric_E

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 8, 2002
Messages
512
Well, personally, I don't have anything against Keanu. I won't shy away from a film just because he's in it, but I don't think he's a particularly wonderful actor. Still, he's passable enough for me in most roles, with the exception of...
I'm surprised to see praise for his acting in Bram Stoker's Dracula. For me, it was the most painful cinematic experience of that year; shockingly bad acting in every way.
I was waiting for someone to say that. Just listen to Keanu's narration on the train, where he does his Shatner impression: "The ... impression that I got..." Also, check out the scene where he is shaving - "Music?! Those ANIMALS?!" :rolleyes:Watching Gary Oldman opposite Keanu just makes it even more unbearable. Eesh.
 

Simon_Lepine

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 19, 2003
Messages
601
I think Keanu Reeves is a awful actor and an OK action star. Anyone seen his performance in The Watcher ? Probably the most laughable serial killer I have ever seen, one of the worst acting performance I can recall.
I kinda like him in Point Blank and The Matrix though.

Probably because Arnold never really tried to be anything but an action star while Keanu tried some dramatic roles, he doesn't seem as bad as Keanu.
 

Steve_Tk

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2002
Messages
2,833
Anyone see keanu in Sweet November? I caught it on HBO. It's a romantic something (not comedy).
 

Hunter P

Screenwriter
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
1,483
When I read the thread title "Is Keanu Reeves really that bad of an actor?" I thought that it was a loaded question. I assumed that the only reason for this thread was to create a forum to bash a guy whose life we all envy.

Color me surprised to find that many of you actually appreciate his acting talents. Like many, I find his range of emotion extremely limited. He plays the same character in every movie. His voice is always monotone. And his back never seems to bend.

Sure, he can act better than me or J6P but he will never be an actor's actor. Just a movie star.

Like all of you, I was blown away by his Matrix performance. But that was only because Keanu was actually doing passable kung fu. Would we have the same reaction if Jet Li played Neo?

Here we have a guy who runs only slightly less goofy than Steven Segal. Who is about as athletic as Tim Robbins in "Bull Durham." When I heard of him doing kung fu, I expected another Ralph Macchio in the "Karate Kid." Instead he surprised everyone by pulling it off.

Of course, he was still stiff as a board and he will never get a job in HK cinema. But the shock of it still stuns me today. Kinda like the casting of Michael Keaton in Batman. Everyone thought it was a stupid idea before the movie came out. Now, most people agree that he owns the role.

Bottom line, I like his movies but only if I accept him for what he is and don't expect too much from him.
 

Rahul

Auditioning
Joined
Jan 14, 2003
Messages
4
I think like Robert DeNiro, Pacino, Bruce Willis, John Wayne, etc. he only excels in a specific area. Usually when these guys try a different role they try to be over the top to make up for their lack of skill (replacing intense emotional dialogue by shouting the words for example).

The good thing about Reeves is he knows he is limited, unlike many of the others who try to dance around the edges of their skills in an attempt to look diverse.

As a person, he's easily one of the coolest guys in Hollywood, if not the most thoughtful. He gave some of his salary to Pacino in Devil's Advocate so Pacino felt better about the situation, and some of his salary to the the special effects guys in the Matrix b/c he thought they were a big reason the movie was a success.
 

Lou Sytsma

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 1, 1998
Messages
6,103
Real Name
Lou Sytsma
I don't question his value as a human being. This thread is asking about his acting abilities.

He's easily the most replaceable actor in the Matrix series.

As an actor he doesn't have any range. There are many other actors his age who could easily play the part and look as cool as he does in a long coat and sunglasses.

To be far though - the Neo character has been written that way so Reeves doesn't have much acting manuvering room to work with. I believe the W brother's have kept the Neo character pretty cryptic on purpose and knowing Reeves strengths and weaknesses they knew they had a good fit.
 

Steve Christou

Long Member
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2000
Messages
16,333
Location
Manchester, England
Real Name
Steve Christou
He's easily the most replaceable actor in the Matrix series
I don't understand that, are you saying the mega success of The Matrix had very little to do with it's leading man? Would it have been just as successful with Jason Patric or Christian Bale as Neo? I don't think so. I thought Keanu was just right for this film, in fact the whole film was perfectly cast.

I do agree that Keanu was hopelessly miscast in Dracula though, I'm almost certain he said "whoa!" when those vampire babes appeared... mmmmm vampire babes...:D
 

John Doran

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 24, 2002
Messages
1,330
He's easily the most replaceable actor in the Matrix series.
i disagree.

but whatever. these threads remind me of little kids:

A: yes he is
B: no he's not
A: yes he is
B: no he's not
A: yes he is
B: no he's not
A: yes he is
B: no he's not
A: yes he is
B: no he's not
....:rolleyes
 

Dennis Pagoulatos

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 3, 1999
Messages
868
Location
CA
Real Name
Dennis
I think anyone would have said "WHOA" when the vampire babes appeared...especially when one of them is Monica Belucci! Damn, I need to go re-watch that scene! :D

Keanu is very limited actor, but he has a very distinct personality and charisma that rubs some people the wrong way, and a lot of other people obviously love. That's called a "Movie star" in the classic sense, not always the best actors (usually the opposite!), but will ALWAYS be popular. Other people in the same category?

Tom Cruise

and even Harrison Ford to some extent (though he has slightly more range, charisma and charm have always been his strong points). Charm goes a LOONNG way.

-Dennis
 

Quentin

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2002
Messages
2,670
Location
Los Angeles
Real Name
Quentin H
I also disagree that he is replaceable in "The Matrix", and I'll give reasons...

1) He's very physically gifted. He does a lot of his own stunts, and does the wire-work and kung fu well. Physicality IS an aspect of acting - particularly in action films. Keanu does it well.

2) The "whoa" factor. Keanu does something few can do: he plays vacuous AND charismatic all at once. This is very important for a character like Neo who is very much in over his head. It's why audiences connect with Keanu in the right films...they are also very much in the dark, and they enjoy the journey of discovery along with Keanu - a "regular" dude. I think (other than accents and lack of acting ability) this is also why Keanu is bad in period films. Most characters there should be smart and carry themselves in a certain way...not Keanu.

3) He looks cool in the duds.

Keanu is great at certain things - Ted, Neo, Speed, Point Break. He stinks at others - Dracula, Dangerous Liasons, that Alfonso Cuaron film.
 

John Doran

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 24, 2002
Messages
1,330
At least we are giving reasons why.
sure. ok, let me revise the way these threads go:

A: yes he is, because X.
B: no he's not, because Y.
A: yes he is, because X.
B: no he's not, because Y.
A: yes he is, because X.
B: no he's not, because Y.
A: yes he is, because X.
B: no he's not, because Y.
A: yes he is, because X.
B: no he's not, because Y.
.....

as far as i can tell, all of these topics come down to personal preference, which has got absolutely nothing to do with reason(s). which is why no-one is actually convinced to abandon their position except about once every 4 billion posts.

for instance, i don't think an actor's range or ability or whatever necessarily has anything to do with their "replaceability" in that role; what matters is how easily it is to imagine someone else playing that part.

but that's subjective - for me, i simply can't imagine anyone else being neo. no one. an this in spite of the fact that i'll be the first to agree with you that reeves is not a very good actor.

for you, however, there are any number of good-looking, skillful actors in hollywood you can imagine playing the role of neo as well, if not better, than keanu.

which is cool - vive la difference. but neither of us is wrong. and if not, then going back and forth with "reasons" is fundamentally useless. two people might as well argue about the taste of peanut butter.

on the other hand, if you want to insist on some sort of objective test for the interchangeability of actors and roles, one that is furthermore based on the skill of the actor, then the implication would be that any actor can play a role just as well as any other actor of at least comparable acting ability.

but even if that were true, what difference would it make to my opinion about keanu reeves and neo?

i mean, if someone came up with an objective test for the repulsiveness of beer or ice cream or hamburgers or whatever, would that make you like the taste of them any less?

in other words, people care about movies and actors and what-have-you because they like them, and all the "standards" in the world aren't going to change that.

unless, of course, what you like is standards....
 

Jason Seaver

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
9,303
I don't understand that, are you saying the mega success of The Matrix had very little to do with it's leading man? Would it have been just as successful with Jason Patric or Christian Bale as Neo? I don't think so.
Artistically or financially? :)

Maybe Keanu being a name got some people in the door; certainly, The Matrix did better at the box office than Dark City, despite certain similarities of story and character. How much of that can we attribute to Keanue Reeves having more name recognition than Rufus Sewell? Hard to say.

But, could someone else have played the role better? Absolutely. Stick Luke Wilson, Jude Law, or Alessandro Nivola (to give three examples off the top of my head) in there, and they could probably do everything that Reeves can do and display something resembling chemistry with their leading lady (which, admittedly, was more of a problem in the sequel than the first).
 

Jason Seaver

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
9,303
No way. Keanu Reeves IS Neo. His whole career was leading up to these movies.
Would it have still been leading up to these movies if the Wachowskis had cast someone else? :)

Indeed, wasn't Keanu originally sort of imposed on them? I seem to recall reading about Warner being concerned that The Matrix was a very expensive R-rated movie without much name recognition.
 

Magnus T

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 26, 2003
Messages
683
That can be said on a lot of movies. Many actor's ARE imposed on certain director's to make money. The difference is what the actor's bring to the table. And Keanu stopped at nothing to give his absolute best. It has also something to the with the relationships. It's quite obvious that the Wachowski's and Keanu Reeves has a GREAT relationship with mutual respect for each other. Keanu has from day 1 believed in the director's vision and done everything he had to do to fulfill that vision.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,818
Messages
5,123,881
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top