Keanu Reeves is an actor with a very diverse and long career, including comic book adaptations, established franchises and feature films from the most different genres.
In addition, especially after being established as the protagonist Neo of the Matrix franchise, he was also a poster boy for technology-related brands and even ended up in games, lending voice and appearance to a character named Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077, from CD Project RED.
If you’ve just met the actor recently or want movie suggestions, we’ve listed the best-rated productions with the actor below. For the list, we use the ratings in the Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb critics aggregator only for productions that feature Reeves in a main cast role, meaning that it varies according to the viewer’s taste.
6. Program Boys
In Boys of the Age (My Own Private Idaho, 1991), a still young and almost unknown Keanu Reeves stars with another young star of the time: River Phoenix, a great friend who would die tragically two years later.
In the independent film, which proves the star’s talent for drama, he and River play two friends who go on a journey of self-discovery. Directed by Gus Van Sant, who would later command hits such as Indomable Genius (1997), Elefante (2003) and Milk (2008).
5. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Bram Stoker’s (1992) daring adaptation of Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is critically acclaimed for its visuals and script. Here, the actor plays Jonathan Harker, a realtor who goes to the mysterious aristocrat’s castle to negotiate a takeover — and ends up becoming a victim of the creature.
Harker ends up in the hands of Dracula’s brides as he goes after young Mina, who in appearance reminds him of his beloved from centuries earlier.
The performances of Gary Oldman as Count Dracula and Winona Ryder as Mina Harker are praised, while Reeves has received criticism for his character’s lack of expressiveness. Still, he is an essential element of the story.
4. Devil’s Advocate
In The Devil’s Advocate, 1997, Reeves plays the young Kevin Lomax, who is offered a job he can’t refuse to work for a mysterious figure played by Al Pacino.
The thriller was especially praised for Pacino’s performance, the script laden with religious references and disturbing scenes.
3. Matrix
The first film in the Matrix franchise was released in 1999 and revolutionized science fiction cinema with a successful mix: the script tells about a resistance group that discovers that humanity lives in a simulation controlled by machines, including philosophical questions and many scenes of action with slow motion.
Reeves is hacker Thomas Anderson, better known as Neo, who appears to be the Chosen One to lead the rebels. New films in the franchise are currently being developed by the Wachowski sisters, the same creators of the original material, with the return of part of the cast.
2. John Wick: A New Day to Kill
In John Wick: A New Day to Kill (John Wick: Chapter 2, 2017), Reeves returns to play the assassin that gives the title its name.
After the events of the first film, which lead him to resume his career as a professional killer, Wick now needs to flee from other bounty hunters who are after a high amount paid by those who eliminate him. The sequel was praised as much as the previous feature, especially for expanding the mythology and daring even more in the action scenes.
1. Maximum Speed
In Top Speed (Speed, 1994), Reeves was put at risk. He’s Jack Traven, a Los Angeles policeman who, in search of a terrorist, ends up trapped in a bus that can’t stay at speeds below 80 km/h — if that happens, a bomb installed in the vehicle explodes, killing everyone. passengers.
The cast also features Dennis Hopper and Sandra Bullock — who is the protagonist of the sequel, rejected by Reeves because of creative differences. This is considered the first big box office success of his career as a protagonist, even consolidating his name as an action hero.
