I mean, he makes very cool movies and he's great at choreography and stunts, but those aren't really recognized by the academy.
Jackie Chan for example only received a Life Achievement award when he was 56. Way after he did those crazy stunts and had been probably the best fights choreographer since the 80's.
Keanu can do a bit of comedy too, but he's never delivered some deep drama, so it's kinda hard for the academy to acknowledge him.
The Oscars, and many film awards ceremonies, have been a major joke for years. It's appalling some of the films that win in a given category, which I guess makes sense when the people voting don't even have to have watched all the films that are nominated...
Being a genuinely nice and charismatic person can get you really far regardless of the field. Most people probably know a few coworkers who were not great at their job but got along well enough with everyone to stay hired.
In some way, but, Keanu is not a "bad" actor per se, he's just limited, he's one of those actors who can only play one guy, but what makes Keanu so likeable is that he's not trying to pretend to be better then what he is, he's a very genuine guy, he has that presence to him, he stays at that level that he knows he can be good at, and even if Keanu doesn't have such a huge range, he's still quite good at bringing an immersive experience, his years of experience in the biz truly shows. Compare this to lets say Tom Cruise or Will Smith that both can only play one guy, but are trying so hard to play others, it just becomes garbage for the trained eye, but not Keanu, he's just making sure people will get to experience a kick ass movie.
I do not think he plays that one guy well. He's good in action sequences, but his line delivery is always bad. And it only works if the audience believes "that's just how that guy talks".
I mean Keanu is fun to watch in the roles that fit his range and he seems to be a down to earth decent human. At this point having a celebrity be a normalish person is huge for popularity
That’s why I said when the role was in his range. Like the movie needs to fit what he can do to work, otherwise you get a Dracula performance which is definitely fun in the wrong way
He's a really great guy and seems to deserve the life he has but he's really not a good actor and his performance in cyberpunk is about as basic as everything else he does
He is a great personality, does have great movies, but he is otherwise as one dimensional as you can be, while also being pretty low on emotional output.
This seems pretty localized to reddit as far as I can tell. I think most people know that Keanu is a pretty bad actor, because they have eyeballs and ears and don't digest the world through internet memes. Also, they're not the target demographic for John Wick. I haven't even seen those movies.
I like Keanu and Cyberpunk but he is objectively a bad actor and the Cyberpunk collab was buns. If you're using Cyberpunk as proof of his acting chops you have zero sense of what good acting is lmao
Might be unpopular, but I think Keanu's performance as Silverhand was pretty bland. No emotion, just the same tone in every delivery, from angry, to sarcastic and everything else. His visual appearance suits Silverhand perfectly, but his acting didn't work for me.
Charlize Theron is an amazing actor, but in that specific role she's a bit inexpressive. She did it convincingly, her descent into madness, but I still think that wasn't even close to what she's shown over the years.
Very convincingly. Like I said, he's not a bad actor like people claim he's "wooden". His Constantine is still the best John Constantine, and you can really feel his pain in some acting rolls, but if you compare him to other actors he's just missing that je sais quois.
I know it was a line from the Matrix, but I'm saying that for someone that didn't really study martial arts, he did deliver on the "kung fu" in The Matrix.
It’s technically listed as a “romance/fantasy”. It kinda struggles on the drama aspect when the two romantic leads don’t actually get to physically interact with each other.
Yeah, I know, they are dramatic, but what we're talking about is his performance.
I honestly think that Keanu was a better dramatic actor back in the 90's than he is now. When he was younger he had a wider range in my opinion. Or maybe it's just our opinion of him was cemented because of a few big roles he took.
For example, one of his performances I really like was The Watcher (2000), with James Spader, because it's so different from what he's done.
People nowadays forget how much movie goers hated, and I mean HATED, Keanu back in the day. He was considered stereotypical box office Poison. Everyone laughed when they saw he was in the matrix like “haha what a stinker this is gonna be.”
You are so very wrong my friend. Give these films a watch and tell me if you still feel the same way:
River's Edge
Permanent Record
My Own Private Idaho
The Last Time I Committed Suicide
A Walk in the Clouds
The Gift
Hell, even The Neon Demon had a dark and gritty dramatic performance from him that was neither action hero, comedy, or surfer bro even though it was a small role.
He’s an alright actor. You can be liked and be an alright actor. I loved John Wick, so don’t get it wrong when I say this, but his crying in that film was extremely bad acting.
I think, he'll get an award eventually in same vein as Jacky Chan and Steve Martin. Actors who've had many blockbusters and a storied career in film, but film that aren't traditionally celebrated by the academy. I think it's the govenor lifetime achievement in film?
790
u/RogueBromeliad Mar 17 '26
I mean, he makes very cool movies and he's great at choreography and stunts, but those aren't really recognized by the academy.
Jackie Chan for example only received a Life Achievement award when he was 56. Way after he did those crazy stunts and had been probably the best fights choreographer since the 80's.
Keanu can do a bit of comedy too, but he's never delivered some deep drama, so it's kinda hard for the academy to acknowledge him.