Yeah…I’m thinking he’s back…this time for a sequel!
I don’t know about you but I’m super excited that John Wick‘s story line is going to continue.
Sure Hollywood is saturated with sequels but this one is at least an original idea and story. It’s refreshing and makes me hopeful that we will get more. They sure lucked out with Keanu because he’s such a professional and has become the Harrison Ford or Liam Neeson type of unlikely action star, though we always knew he had it in him from the early 90s with movies like Speed and Johnny Mnemonic and I think that’s why this role suited him so well.
Well, since that film has no release date yet and still waiting for Knock Knock to makes its release nation wide here’s a little something to hold us over until then:
Mr. Reeves is one of those actors who’ve been in a slew of different movies but there is one genre that has really stood out in his career.
Action movies!
We all know the movie. The one that broke him free from his stoner persona. The one that made every woman want to be held hostage on a bus just so they could nuzzle into his strong-ish chest. The one that made us want more kick ass Keanu in a cop uniform.
Sure, there are a handful of other action movies that you may think was his better “action” role and I would have to agree that his character Johnny Utah from Point Break comes in close second but there’s something about Speed that really gets my motor running. He’s just so confident and emotionless, unless he’s with Detective Harry Temple (Jeff Daniel’s character) who was his TRUE love.
But Speed stood out above the rest because, while all his peers were busy dispatching their bad guys with a knowingly raised eyebrow, Reeves played his hero as straight as a bullet. As someone who has always been averse to any trend that relies on a dosage of smug irony, it was his persona, rather than those of Cage or Travolta, that resonated most. While Bruce Willis flaunted the gift of the gab, Reeves showed little interest in chitchat and was all the better for it. Traven’s capacity to get his job done with a minimum of unfunny asides and forced repartees is something that appeals to anyone who covets the misanthrope’s life but comes up short in his particular brand of workplace self-assurance.
Pop Quiz hotshot, what will you be watching today? It’s wild that it’s been 20 years since this masterpiece of a film graced our silver screens and of course it has wiggled it’s way into Keanu! The Musical.
For a special anniversary treat here’s the Speed Song my good friend Ryan Eilbeck wrote for Keanu! The Musical
Keanu! The Musical 