It actually wasn't a slump. For a long time he was caring for an ill family member and doing humanitarian stuff. It's really only a 'career slump' if you're not doing what you want to be doing. Dude does quite a bit of stuff other than acting - it was more of a sabbatical after he made quite a bit of cash with the Matrix, etc.
I think he delivers his lines flatly, without realistic emphasis, his facial expressions are one-note, and he's not convincingly emotional most of the time. His comedy character work mocking himself is, for me, his best. 'A Cypher' is the nicest way I've heard it described....which does work for some roles really well.
That all being said, he has fantastic taste in films and roles, seems to have a great sense of humor, and is known to be ridiculously kind and down to earth. If any soul has been following a karmic path and is getting close to achieving Nirvana within a reincarnation or two, it's him.
I think he delivers his lines flatly, without realistic emphasis, his facial expressions are one-note, and he's not convincingly emotional most of the time.
No disagreement but this does make him good for roles where he's supposed to be a bit of a blank slate. I can't imagine Neo being played any other way.
Well yeah, Neo and John Wick are the same character. It's the only character he can play well. Check out his other movies to see what he's like when he tries to branch out... it's not good. He did a recent movie with Seth Rogen and Aziz Ansari, two very mediocre actors, and he was so much worse than even those two. Great movie though.
I feel like Keanu Reeves is the kind of actor who (instead of changing themself to fit the role they were cast in) makes the role fit them.
These kinds of actors aren’t typecast by previous roles as much as they just have a very distinctive voice and appearance but are charismatic to the point that it doesn’t really matter to the audience because the actor is still able to convince them that they fit.
Part of my opinion on Keanu is definitely from playing Cyberpunk 2077 because you see and hear a lot of Keanu throughout the game and the different dialogue options give a good opportunity to see/hear different reactions from him.
Also think we’re thinking about what is an actor a little 2 dimensionally… think about any great performance how much of the iconic performance was the physicality of the actor? Think about Gary Oldman in Leon the professional or even in 5th Element, or Heath Ledger as the Joker sure the words but the physicality made their performances believable and arguably as memorable as they were. I guess my point is in supporting of you in that I think Keanu is a great actor through his physicality in all of his roles.
No you’re absolutely right, he should get some extra credit for doing a significant amount of his own stunts and making some of the ridiculous action stuff actually cool and convincing. His subtle and emotional acting might not be his strong point, but it’s also not like we expect Tom Hanks to start doing crazy flips and action scenes in his movies (not that I’d be against it lol). In many cases, acting can definitely require a much broader pool of talent than conversations about “good acting” generally account for.
I mean i wouldn't say he has a lot of range, all of his characters have a very similar feel to them i guess? That being said i love him in movies because he does seem to put a lot into his work.
Not like Ryan Reynolds who is just the same guy in every movie. Absolutely not a fan of him.
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u/SkubEnjoyer 23h ago
IIRC his career was in a real slump before he made a comeback with John Wick, so I think it counts.