The Most Memorable Keanu Reeves Sci-Fi Performances

Keanu Reeves has appeared in films from practically every genre over the course of his career. Action movies spring immediately to mind, thanks to the phenomenal success of Speed and the John Wick franchise.

He’s also thrived in comedies like Parenthood and the Bill & Ted films, dramas like My Own Private Idaho, and even animation – he provided the voice of daredevil Duke Kaboom in Toy Story 4. There really isn’t much he hasn’t done.

Aside from action, science fiction is the genre in which Reeves has worked most frequently. Every few years, he returns to the genre for a new effort. Some of his sci-fi movies have been undeniable blockbusters. The Matrix, in particular, was a cinematic game-changer. Others came and went quietly.

No matter the outcome, you can tell Reeves enjoys working in the genre – it shows onscreen. Any time he tackles a sci-fi project, you know he’ll do something interesting, as the following performances can attest.

Neo In ‘The Matrix’

The Matrix defined the word “cool” in 1999 thanks to its trippy visuals and complex story that mixes sci-fi action with philosophy. Reeves plays Neo, a guy who’s invited to take a pill that will allow him to discover the truth about the world.

He does, only to learn everyone is trapped inside a massive computer simulation. He turns out to be the Chosen One who can fight back against the system.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Reeves is a big part of why The Matrix works. For all the film’s dazzling visual effects and frenzied action, it’s the actor who grounds the story in something real. As Neo, he communicates the stakes, allowing the audience to become fully immersed in the plot.

The role needs someone who can project both intelligence and charisma, and Reeves fits that bill perfectly.

Ted In ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’

The hit Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure finds Reeves portraying Ted “Theodore” Logan and Alex Winter portraying Bill S. Preston, Esq. They’re dim-witted high schoolers who prefer playing in their mediocre rock band to studying.

After a man from the future visits them to explain their music will one day heal the world, the dudes borrow his phone-booth time machine to travel to different eras, from which they recruit notable historical figures to be part of the history presentation they absolutely must pass.

Reeves does something incredibly special here. Although Ted isn’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier, he makes the character endearing. Sincerity radiates from Ted, and he clearly has a good heart. Because of that, we laugh with him, not at him. The comedy would fall apart if we thought Ted was just an idiot. Reeves prevents that from happening.

Neo In ‘The Matrix Reloaded’

In The Matrix‘s 2003 sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, heroes Neo and Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) determine the only way to permanently shut the Matrix down is to locate the main system and destroy it.

Neo consults with “the Keymaker,” a man who can guide him through a series of back-door programs that will take him where he needs to go; however, the mercurial figure known as the Oracle tells him his actions may have deadly repercussions for his girlfriend, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss).

Reeves gets to add a bit more emotion to Neo this time around. The character is determined to bring down the Matrix, yet he also worries about the safety of the woman he loves. The sequel gives Neo more depth, and Reeves maintains very human qualities amid all the dazzling sci-fi action and eye-popping visual effects.

He ensures the story keeps its soul, all while once again becoming a fully credible sci-fi hero.

Klaatu In ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’

In the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, a giant, flaming orb is on a collision course with Manhattan. Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) is one of the scientists assembled to address the oncoming threat.

After the orb lands, an alien named Klaatu (Reeves) emerges, claiming to have arrived to save the planet – that doesn’t necessarily mean saving its inhabitants, though.

Early in his career, Reeves was criticized for a robotic acting style. His fans may argue this is an unfair criticism, as his inherent thoughtfulness was actually at play. The actor almost seems to be poking fun at the criticism in this role.

Klaatu is supposed to be a little off-kilter, given that he’s trying to assimilate on a strange planet. Reeves achieves that skillfully, while also striking up poignant chemistry with Connelly.

Johnny In ‘Johnny Mnemonic’

Johnny Mnemonic casts Reeves as a futuristic data courier who has information implanted into his head. He then delivers it from one location to another. His current mission is especially dangerous because, if he can’t deliver the highly-desired data within 48 hours, it will kill him.

Over the course of the movie, It becomes clear that someone will stop at nothing to access it.

Upon its release in 1995, Johnny Mnemonic was critically reviled and flopped at the box office. The movie is, however, a little more interesting when seen in the rear-view mirror. This is an early example of cyberpunk cinema, made during the earliest days of the internet. It paved the way for other, similar stories to be told onscreen.

In it, Reeves uses his natural introspective quality to good effect. He makes his character someone who plausibly has a head full of stuff he needs to get out.

Ted In ‘Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey’

The titular dudes take a whole different kind of trip in the second Bill & Ted film, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. They’re killed by lookalike robots sent from the future. Now in the afterlife, they come face-to-face with Death himself (in the form of William Sadler). Death offers them an opportunity to regain life, but only if they can outwit him in a series of games.

The setting freshens up the concept, but Reeves and Winter maintain the superb comedic chemistry they established in the original. Putting Bill and Ted in the afterlife is perhaps even wilder than what they endured before.

Reeves increases his comic confusion, hilariously showing how clueless Ted is to the significance of meeting Death. His performance is cranked up a notch, and he earns big laughs as a result.

293 VOTES

Alex Wyler In ‘The Lake House’

The 2006 film The Lake House is a romantic drama with a sci-fi twist that reunites Reeves with his Speed co-star, Sandra Bullock. She’s a doctor, he’s an architect, and they share the same vacation home. The catch is, they’re two years apart in time.

The characters fall in love by sending romantic letters back and forth via a magical mailbox in front of the home. From there, the movie questions if and how they might be able to meet face-to-face, despite the temporal difference.

In The Lake House, fans get to see a more tender, sensitive side of Reeves. Not only does he swoon over Bullock’s letters, but he also writes some swoon-worthy missives to her, too. The story also features a subplot in which his character feels rejected by his father, who built the vacation home.

Even though the film’s plot is fantastical, this is a rare chance to see Reeves playing a normal human, with no comedy or action. It’s him and his emotions, and Reeves proves the chemistry with Bullock was no fluke in their earlier hit.

341 VOTES

Neo In ‘The Matrix Revolutions’

The Matrix Revolutions, released in 2003, opens with Neo stuck in a netherworld somewhere between real life and the Matrix. His lover, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and mentor, Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne), rescue him. This time around, they need his help ensuring the machines don’t make their way to the underground city of Zion.

Neo decides the best way to prevent this is to travel to their land and attempt to negotiate peace with their leader, known only as “the Source.” In the meantime, Morpheus launches an offensive counterstrike against the machines from Zion’s central docking area.

By the series’s third installment, audiences have grown used to seeing Neo as a hero, but now he’s also a prospective peacemaker. In addition to reaffirming his action-star bona fides, Reeves gives his character a seriousness of purpose.

Through his efforts, we understand how much Neo wants to prevent calamity. He has to use his intellectual side more consistently in this installment, an angle Reeves sells powerfully.S

Chain Reaction is a 1996 sci-fi movie that attempts to tackle an important real-world issue. Reeves plays Eddie, a member of a scientific research team that has developed a fusion device that could make a positive environmental impact.

Before they can put it into practice, however, a private company wants to use it for less-benevolent purposes, so they steal the device, framing Eddie and his colleague, Lily (Rachel Weisz), for murder in the process.

Movies about wrongfully accused protagonists are a dime a dozen, but the chance to see Reeves in one is, nevertheless, notable. Aside from bringing his inherent likability to the role, he captures the benevolent quality that drives his character, Eddie, who really wants to make the world a better place.

When something is threatening that goal, he works overtime – and puts himself in grave danger – to rectify the situation.

Reeves has never looked quite like he does in Richard Linklater’s 2006 sci-fi mystery A Scanner Darkly. After he and the other actors delivered live performances, they were then rotoscoped, a process in which animators trace over real-life footage.

In the film, Reeves plays Bob, a cop assigned to infiltrate the criminal underground where a dangerous chemical called Substance D is being peddled. Bob becomes hooked on the stuff, whose intense effects cause him to occasionally forget his own identity.

A Scanner Darkly looks seriously cool, and Reeves makes an excellent choice in portraying Bob. He masterfully suggests how the character loses himself in the throes of the drug and, even further, how this loss of identity pains him. It’s a strong performance in a sleek, cool film.