Keanu Reeves Birthday Special: From Constantine to A Scanner Darkly, 5 Underrated Movies of the John Wick Star That Deserve a Second Chance!
With movies like Constantine more often being overlooked, there needs to be some of his classics that need to be brought back and given a second chance under the spotlight.
It’s the most breathtaking actor’s birthday as Keanu Reeves turns 58. The man who can’t age, the star has come a long way in his career. With there being a Keanussance this past decade, the action star shot back up in popularity after the release of John Wick. Since then, he once again became one of the hottest stars in Hollywood for the first time since Speed and The Matrix. Keanu Reeves to Develop and Host His Own F1 Documentary Series For Disney+.
With having a pantheon of great titles in his library like the John Wick movies and of course, his action romps, there are a couple of Reeves’ films that haven’t received the same kind of attention as his recent films. With movies like Constantine more often being overlooked, there needs to be some of his classics that need to be brought back and given a second chance under the spotlight. So, to celebrate his birthday, let’s take a look at five of his most underrated films.
Johnny Mnemonic
Starting off the list with a controversial entry, Johnny Mnemonic had quite the negative reception on release. However, with the passage of time it has taken quite the cult following. The sci-fi thriller follows Johnny, a man with a cybernetic implant in his head, take on the conspiracies of a futuristic 2021. A cyberpunk romp that’s fun and has a good Keanu performance, perhaps the film does deserve a second chance.
The Devil’s Advocate
Featuring a cast of heavy hitters like Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron, one has to wonder what went wrong here. Featuring a lawyer who goes to New York with his wife for a big firm, only to realise that his boss is the devil, the movie has all the makings for an exciting thrill-filled story. While there are issues, the cast is more than enough to carry this film.
Hardball
A sports drama that has all the charms of a genre film like this and plays by the book, Hardball at the time did end up getting the short end of the stick. Not a masterpiece by any means, the movie still had enough of heart to it that you could look past it flaws and get involved in the highs and lows of baseball.
Constantine
Taking on DC’s iconic occult superhero, Keanu Reeves’ version of the Hellblazer is quite underrated. While some big swings are taken with the iconic source material, there is still enough of that Keanu charm in there that deserves another chance. Being one of the riskier takes on the superhero genre in the early 2000s, Constantine is surely a good time.
A Scanner Darkly
Perhaps the best film on this list - A Scanner Darkly was well received, had a great cast and an amazing visual style at the front of it. Yet the film couldn’t make any noise in the film community. With a cell-shaded presentation, Richard Linklater’s take on the futuristic dystopia is a great view into the discourse regarding the dangers of tech and high surveillance. John Wick - Chapter 4 Comic-Con Teaser: Keanu Reeves Takes On the High Table as He Fights Donnie Yen and Other Assassins (Watch Video).
Well, here’s hoping these films can make some noise again considering they do deserve it. While it was also released recently, a special shoutout has to be given to DC’s League of Super Pets as well, which was a great time but just couldn’t make enough of an impact. With this, we finish off the list and wish Keanu Reeves a very happy birthday.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 02, 2022 09:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).