There are many who think that Keanu Reeves is the worst actor of all-time - wooden, unemotional, cold, offering up the same performance in each and every one of his motion picture ventures. It's understandable that people think that, of course, because Keanu has played a lot of forgettable, oddly accented characters. And yet... the man is still around. So there is a sense that Keanu Reeves somehow got a "lucky break." He is often thought to be unworthy of his career; folk cite him as a bad actor whenever they need one to use for an example. But there are many who appreciate Reeves as a sensitive and sincere performer whose calm, mediative and quiet mannerisms are often mistaken for indifference. He was right for The Matrix, of course - Neo needed to be passive, cold, subdued - natural emotions for Reeves. He also showcased mean comic chops in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and was somebody to root for in the recent action flick John Wick. But there are many misfires in and amongst those films that work, all of which render Reeves as something of a mystery: so can he act or can't he? Point Break and Dracula would argue that he cannot.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
