The world goes round. Hollywood stars who were sensations are ostracized and vice versa. Today, more than ever, with the exposure of their personal lives through social networks, actors can fall into the public’s favor or be rejected. This is the case with the veteran Keanu Reevesa 58-year-old actor, with a 38-year career (longer than many of his recent worshipers have lived) and 99 acting credits, between films, series, shorts and TV movies.

Keanu Reeves became a star in the 1990s, thanks to super productions like Maximum speed (1994) and especially Matrix (1999). Like all the others, his career saw ups and downs, but what no one could have predicted was a turnaround that would turn him into the new crush-muse-baby of the moment. And the coolest: for the current generation (teens and the public in their twenties). And there are two reasons for that. The first is the success achieved in this new phase of his career, with the highly praised action films of John Wick. The second is his almost sanctified personal life, altruistic, selfless and simple, in the style of people like us.

The search for idols who come down from the pedestal, give up their astronomical salary, suffer from the loss of friends and companions (in addition to riding the subway and eating alone on the park bench), made the public choose Reeves like the “Jesus Christ” of Hollywood. Even his bearded, long-haired figure seems to work better for fans – who tend to like this actor’s style more than his clean look.

With that in mind, the CinePOP decided to take some of the darkest productions of crush’s career out of the shadows Keanu Reeves, whether they are good or not, so that current fans know a little more about the actor’s filmography that they consider pacas. Come meet and don’t forget to comment.

Johnny Mnemonic: The Cyborg of the Future (1995)

Before living Neo and walking in the field of virtual reality in Matrix, Keanu Reeves had already explored the topic in the unsuccessful Johnny Mnemonic. Based on the tale of William Gibson, the feature brings the actor in the skin of the title character, a guy who “traffs” information through uploads in his brain. Hot on his heels are the Yakuza, and a dangerous assassin known as “the preacher”, played by Dolph Lundgren. The film became a cult guilty pleasure.

Chain Reaction (1996)

Everything seemed to be in place for guaranteed success. Keanu Reeves just got off blockbuster Maximum speed (1994) and the director Andrew Davis had scored a great goal with his previous work, The Fugitive (1993). Add the most talented veteran to the mix Morgan Freeman and the promising newbie Rachel Weisz for a successful recipe. Or almost. Despite the names and talents involved, the story about scientists discovering a revolutionary formula, being accused of a crime and having to flee to prove their innocence is boringly told and the action just doesn’t excite.

The Watcher (2000)

Keanu Reeves has always been known as the good guy in his movies. But in the year 2000, he was willing to change this image. Starting with The Watchera film at least problematic for the actor. Reeves apparently had his signature forged on a contract by his agent, after only giving verbal confirmation that he would make the film. So, thank you for not getting sued, he played a psychopath who stalks Marisa Tomei and is hunted by James Spader. The actor did not like the film at all and refused to promote it.

The Gift of Premonition (2000)

First truly good movie on the list, albeit underrated and little known. Directed by none other than Sam Raimithe feature features a strong cast headed by Cate Blanchett as a fortune teller from a small town in the south of the USA, who ends up predicting a terrible crime. Reeves lives another villain in his career here, in a small part in the role of the redneck and abusive husband of Hilary Swank.

The Double Man (2006)

Another of the good and underappreciated films of Keanu Reeves. Born to be cult, the feature is directed by the prestigious Richard Linklater (trilogy of Before and boyhood), who had already played with the technique that mixes animation and real actors in Waking Life (2001). A Scanner Darkly, in the original, is based on a tale by the king of science fiction. Philip K. Dickauthor of Blade Runnerand narrates the trajectory of an undercover police officer (Reeves), investigating a dangerous new drug in the future. In the process, he risks losing his true identity. A real little hidden gem.

The Street Kings (2008)

Another underrated feature, the film brings Reeves as a tough cop involved with the criminal underworld, trying to clear his name. The interesting thing about this production is the way in which the character of Reeves is portrayed, in a more realistic and unprecedented way in the actor’s career. Not surprisingly, the film is directed by David Ayerknown for intense police works such as Training Day and Marked to die. Here, Reeves works with another current darling of young people, Chris “Captain America” Evans.

The Tai Chi Man (2013)

Keanu Reeves needed to learn martial arts to Matrix and fell in love with them and their philosophy, never abandoning them. So much so that to this day he uses them in films such as John Wick. And the passion was such that he decided to make his directorial debut (in his only film in office so far) in a feature film dedicated to martial arts. The Tai Chi Man is a tribute to the fighters, and the director Reeves choose the stunt double Tiger Hu Chen to be its protagonist, a fighter forced to participate in an illegal tournament. The film is practically a modernized version of The big white dragon (1988), and brings Reeves in front of the screens too, acting as the “villain” behind it all and the “stage boss”.

47 Ronin (2013)

In the same year, the star would continue in his saga through the martial Asian culture. This one on a much larger scale. The Tai Chi Man It was a small production, which did not reach expectations. But greater pain was felt by Universal, which saw its 47 Ronin die on the beach. The film went through reshoots and the bad language was even rewritten, changing its plot completely – which made the millionaire budget of US$175 million. Initially an epic action drama, in the The Tiger and the Dragon, the film changed and included supernatural elements such as magic, witches and dragons, to attract the attention of young audiences with its video game style. The result was a schizophrenic overproduction.

Knock Before You Enter (2015)

Run by the butcher Eli Roth (the hostel, 2005), the premise here is very good. And curiously, it makes use of the crush status of Keanu Reeves. In the plot, Reeves is the dream husband and caring father. When his wife and daughter travel, he stays home to finish some work. That’s when two beautiful, lost young women knock on his door, asking for shelter and a call. They seduce the subject, who falls into temptation. So, they decide to start a real deadly game with him. Insanity is what defines this film. remake of death game (1977) – which featured Sondra Locke (ex-wife of Clint Eastwood) and Colleen Camp like the original psychotic seducers, both produced the new version. The remake features the Chilean Lorenza Izzo (director’s wife Roth) and the Cuban Ana de Armas like the dangerous beauties.

Daughter of God (2016)

This crime film brings together Keanu Reeves and her co-star in Knock Before Entering, Ana de Armas. Interestingly, Reeves’ participation would be very small, as a supporting player in the skin of a police officer investigating the death of his partner. The real plot is carried out by the Cuban actress, a young woman having strange supernatural visions of angels and premonitions. Seeing the star’s popularity come back in full force after the success of John Wickthe producers decided to remake the film, adding much more screen time. Reeves on screen, and crediting him as the true protagonist. The result: two films for the price of one, conflicting and never coexisting.