Keanu Charles Reeves born on 2nd September 1964 at Beirut, Lebanon was dyslexic right from childhood which hindered his performance in academics. Born to a family of a mother who was a costume designer and father who was a performer, Reeves had a troubled childhood. His father was imprisoned for selling heroin at an airport and last met Reeves when he was 13 years old. Reeves father left him and his mom and walked away. Since then, Reeves mother Patricia married four times shifting locations from Lebanon to Sydney to New York City and finally Ontario. Reeves started working at Aaron’s films as a production assistant since he was 15 and dropped out of four high schools and was also expelled from one because of his misconduct. He was working as an actor and obtaining his education from Avondale Secondary Alternative School from which he dropped out before completing his diploma.
He is a critically acclaimed actor and garnered several awards. Some critics; however, feel that he is type casted as a hero and had done recurring characters. Other than acting, he has produced a documentary; a martial arts film and is also a famous bass guitarist player and a musician.
Some of the finest Keanu Reeves Movies are discussed below:
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8. The Matrix (1999 & 2003)
This is a franchise of three films developed by The Wachowskis which highlighted Keanu Reeves as the lead protagonist in the all the 3 films. The plot of the three movies dealt with heroes who fought a dangerous war against the machine overlords for freeing humanity from the enslavement of the overlords through virtual reality system. The first movie won 4 Academy Awards at it released in 1999 and the 2nd and 3rd installment released in 2004. The first installment ‘The Matrix’ is preserved in the National Film Registry and is one of the most successful R-rated Keanu reeves movies. It is one of the highest grossing franchise in the world with a revenue of $3 Billion.
IMDb 8.7 / Release Date: 2007
Trailer / Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
7. The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
The central plot of the movie deals with an exceptionally famous lawyer from Florida who was offered a job to work in a high-end law firm in New York City with a high-end boss (known as the ‘devil’) which was the biggest opportunity of his career till date. Directed by Taylor Hackford; starring Keanu reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron, this supernatural horror from all the Keanu Reeves movies won the Saturn Award for ‘Best Horror Film’. The movie received mixed reviews where critics mostly appreciated the performance of Al Pacino and found the movie thoroughly entertaining. It made a profit of almost $100 million but suffered a copyright lawsuit with Hart v. Warner Bros., Inc. for copying its visual arts.
IMDb 7.5 / Release Date: 1997
Trailer / Director: Taylor Hackford
6. Speed (1994)
One of the highest critically and commercially successful KeanuReeves movies, Speed revolves around the story of a LAPD cop who tried to save civilians from a bus that was rigged with a programmed bomb which will explode if the bus slowed down below 50mph. Starring Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Dennis Hooper, Jeff Daniels and Alan Ruck, this movie was made on a budget of $30.4 million but it earned $350.4 million at the box office. It also won for ‘Best Sound Editing’ and ‘Best Sound Mixing’ at the Academy Awards.
IMDb 7.2 / Release Date: 1994
Trailer / Director: Jan de Bont
5. Little Buddha (1993)
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, this is an Italian-French-British drama which showed the journey of Siddhartha who attained salvation and later was known as Buddha. This movie gave us a glimpse of Buddha’s spiritual journey from ignorance to ultimate salvation. The film was the 19th highest grosser of the year in France and received mostly positive reviews from the critics.
IMDb 6.1 / Release Date: 1993
Trailer / Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
4. Point Break (1991)
Of the action crime thriller amongKeanu Reeves movies, this film gained a cult status and was remade in 2015. Directed by Bigelow, this film was a huge box-office success. It represented the life of a rookie FBI agent who had been working undercover with the surfing community to infiltrate them and figure out if they were involved in a series of bank robbery. The film received positive reviews from the critics and was nominated for 1992 MTV Movie awards in three categories.
IMDb 7.2 / Release Date: 1991
Trailer / Director: Kathryn Bigelow
3. My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Premiered at the 48th Venice International Film Festival, this is one of the cult classics of Keanu Reeves movies. Based on an independent filmmaking on queers, this film was bold enough to take up a subject matter that was considered as a taboo. The movie reflected the journey of two best friends who used to live on the streets of Portland and hustled everyday to meet the requirements of their lives. As they started to sail through a journey of self-discovery, they came across hurdles and stumbles which not only affected their lives but also their friendship. The film received huge amount of positive reviews from the critics and enjoyed a moderate financial success at the box office.
IMDb 7.1 / Release Date: 1991
Trailer / Director: Gus Van Sant
2. Bill & Ted (1989)
Starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, the Bill & Ted is a series of two comedy films from the list of Keanu Reeves movies. The first installment (Bill & ted’s Excellent Adventure) was directed by Stephen Herek and the second one (Bill & ted’s Bogus Journey) was directed by Peter Hewitt. The first featured film dealt with rewriting historical characters by meeting them and figuring out the key historical events. The second one dealt with coming back to earth from the afterlife after being killed by robots through a series of games. The movie earned $48.5 million profit combining two films and a serial and musical was based on these films. A comic book was also released during the release of the second installment of the franchise.
IMDb 6.9 / Release Date: 1989
Trailer / Director: Stephen Herek
1. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Keanu Reeves starred in this movie as a supporting actor which was a theatrical adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ French novel of the 18th Century, named Les Liaisons dangereuses. Directed by Stephen Frears, this historical drama exhibited the life of a scheming widow who made a bet with her manipulative ex-lover regarding the corruption of a newly married woman. It established the role of Keanu Reeves in the movies as this film won 7 nominations at the Academy Awards, and won three of them for Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay. The movie received positive reviews and earned a profit of $20 million worldwide.
IMDb 7.6 / Release Date: 1988
Trailer / Director: Stephen Frears
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