From Neo to John Wick viewers just can't stop hitting pause
in analyzing frame after frame of Keanu Reeves movies.
There are too many unforgettable moments to count throughout his career
but these are the ones that truly stand out above the rest.
While the famous proverb states "hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn,"
it may have to be updated to say, "hell hath no fury like John Wick after you
kill his puppy." When we meet this former hitman he's
living a quiet life of retirement while grieving his late wife.
But after the bloody assault on his new beloved pet he understandably desires revenge.
So he smashes open his basement floor in order to access the secret cache of weapons
he's buried beneath his home thus irrevocably plunging him back into
the world of assassins. This particular scene is frequently
paused by fans because it makes you wonder
what exactly is Wick going to do with that sledgehammer that he just happened
to have lying around? This moment also shows the grief and
desire for vengeance that consumes him. Along with the fact that the dog was a
present from his wife, whose death left him completely
shattered, the sledgehammer is the viewer's cue that this seemingly slow to
anger guy is about to go ballistic. The full weight of everything Wick has
been going through, loss, sadness, the need for retribution,
makes this clip among the most pause-worthy of Reeves's entire career.
Who can resist soaking it all in when someone demonstrates how lethal a pencil can be?
In John Wick: Chapter 2, the immediate
aftermath of his takedown of a couple of assassins in a coffee bar gets us so
hyped up that we simply must rewind and repeatedly digest Reeves' awesomeness.
After a multi-million dollar bounty is taken out on Wick, he's forced to fight
off a posse of killers who step up to claim the booty by closing the
open contract on his life. In this game of assassin, pretty much
everyone is willing to take a shot for that much money,
no matter how well respected the target is. Wick is able to fend off his
attackers by eliminating them with a simple pencil,
proving a writing device can indeed be mightier than a sword.
"He once killed three men in a bar-" "With a pencil. I know. I've heard the story."
Fans of the Wick franchise might want to take a break at this moment to drink in the
full scope of the impressive display of violence that's just been unleashed.
Not only does wick end two men after he's been wounded
he adds to his own lore about how he killed three men in a bar with a pencil.
Witnessing him actually performed this feat confirms that he's a badass capable
of turning just about any seemingly innocuous object into a
deadly weapon. The image of him holding the bloody
pencil after doing the deed sums up the emotions we experienced while watching it.
Things get even dicier for John Wick in
his third film. When he finds the elder who's
essentially the leader of the underworld he's given a choice
die immediately or pledge loyalty to the high table.
He chooses the latter option so he then removes his finger and gives his wedding
ring to the elder as a show of fealty. This is easily one of the coolest scenes
it demonstrates how Wick's desire for a peaceful life is often forced to take a
back seat to the seemingly endless obligations incurred by his history of
underworld violence. So why is this scene worth pausing?
It's all about the graphic intensity and the artistic culmination of so many plot elements.
Wick's commitment to honoring the memory
of his wife, his efforts to get out of the underworld lifestyle,
and the respect he holds for his allies at the continental
all unite at this moment. His severing of his own finger reminds us that he is a
man of focus commitment and sheer will.
Accepting disfigurement certainly proves just how far he's willing to go.
The scene in the Matrix in which Neo
ducks backwards to avoid gunfire is definitely iconic.
It's the first image that immediately springs to mind when you say the phrase
"dodging bullets". As Neo and trinity attempt to rescue Morpheus
they're ambushed by agents on a rooftop. Agent Jones takes over a nearby body and
begins the style of weaving and bobbing around the bullets that has become
synonymous with the Matrix franchise. When Jones fires back
Neo bends over backwards to avoid death with Reeves delivering arguably the most
famous moment of his career. It also represents
a huge leap forward in cinematic visual effects.
There are so many reasons to grab the remote and study this scene
frame by frame over and over again. There's the sight of the bullets flying
across the screen over reeves body, the way his arms flail in the air as he
bends backwards, and the bullet barely grazing his leg.
This moment also sets us on the path to believe that
Neo is indeed the chosen one who will destroy the matrix and free the people once and for all.
In the Force Awakens when Kylo Ren froze
Poe Dameron's laser with the force many fans were triumphantly drawn back
into the world of Star Wars. But that wasn't the first time that a
main character showcased this ability in a major sci-fi action flick. As Keanu
Reeves fans are well aware Neo had already performed this same feat
12 years earlier in the Matrix Reloaded. Before this unforgettable sequence
happens Neo and company are headed to the Merovingian
in order to rescue the key maker who can get them access to the source of the
matrix. After some hijinks involving the
Merovingian's wife, Neo manages to rescue the key maker
only for the Merovingian to then corner him. Once some henchman
opened fire on Neo he calmly puts his hand up and brings the bullets to a
standstill. Thereby providing us with one of the
most unforgettable images in the entire series of films.
This moment is worth pausing not only because of Neo's freezing ability
but also because of how effortlessly he does it. When the henchmen open fire on
him he puts one hand out and brings the
bullets to a standstill all while maintaining the same calm
demeanor that he typically wears within the Matrix.
His laid-back attitude in the face of death has a huge effect not just on the
audience but also the Merovingian upon witnessing
this display he remarks, "Okay, you have some skill."
The image of Neo preparing to face down Agent Smith one final time in the
Matrix Revolutions unquestionably belongs on anybody's
shortlist of Keanu Reeves most paused moments.
After finally making it to the Machine City, Neo encounters the machine's leader
Deus Ex Machina. He's able to broker a deal in which he stops Agent Smith from
taking over the matrix in the physical world,
while the machine leader spares the free human city of Zion.
The leader agrees and then Neo is inserted into the matrix to begin his
duel with Agent Smith after smith goes on a monologue about
how the purpose of life is that it should end,
Neo gets up and strikes that famous pose although this is hardly the first time
that Neo has taken this stance it rises above all the others thanks to
the sheer swagger that he displays despite the long odds that he faces he
chooses to stand up when Smith knocks him down and confidently beckons
at him as if to say "come at me bro" Neo's willpower
determination and refusal to stay down are what make this moment profoundly special.
"Can you feel it Mr. Anderson?"
Keanu Reeves has starred in his fair share of comedies but no scene in his career has provided
more laughs than the one in Always Be My Maybe.
When he comes waltzing into a high class restaurant in slow motion while Awolnation's
"Sail" plays. In this scene Randall Parks Marcus
and Vivian Banks Jenny have gone to meet
Ali Wong's Sasha and her mystery boyfriend at the restaurant
after the three gets settled, Sasha's boyfriend arrives fashionably late
and it's dramatically revealed that she is in fact dating Keanu Reeves who is of
course played by reeves himself. While reeves screen time in this movie
amounts to a mere 14 minutes he makes the most of it he takes all of
the hyperbole that's been said about him over the years and pokes as much
fun at the audience as he does it himself. As he arrives in slow motion
both Marcus and Jenny's mouths fall wide open
which works as a parody of people who put Reeves on a pedestal.
By having him play into the assumptions that people have about him
he lures the audience into laughing at themselves.
1989's Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
was Reeves first real blockbuster and the scene in which the two title
metal heads discover the existence of time travel remains one of the most
memorable moments of his entire career. Reeves Ted and Alex Winter's Bill are
working on a high school history project that will determine whether or not they
pass their class, and although they don't know it yet it
will also decide whether their band will become the basis for a future utopian
civilization. While they sit outside a Circle K
convenience store working on their assignment
a strange man named rufus arrives from the future
to ensure that Bill and Ted succeed in their mission. His appearance is soon
followed by Bill and Ted from the future and then hilarity ensues. The look on
Ted's face as he attempts to comprehend the strange things unfurling in front of
him is why this sequence makes it onto our
list, his exaggerated ignorance adds to the farcical nature of this
scene by playing into many of the stereotypes about dumb high schoolers.
Including the number 69 always being on their minds
even though this movie was released more than 30 years ago
this scene has managed to retain its most excellent entertainment value by
appealing to teenagers of subsequent generations who are still alive and kicking.
"Oh and Ted give my love to the princesses."
"Who?" "You'll see."
Few Keanu Reeves scenes are lingered upon more than the one in
Speed, in which he hurls himself from a car onto a bus,
while both vehicles are barreling along at over 50 miles per hour.
Reeves plays LAPD bomb defusal specialist Jack Travern,
who must deal with a man who's threatening to blow up a bus full of
people unless he's paid 3.7 million dollars.
Jack and his partner Harry race to catch up to the bus and stop the extortionist
before it's too late. Once they catch this speeding vehicle
Jack makes the decision to join the bus riders
thus providing us with an all-time classic action sequence.
Jack jumping into a moving bus ranks among Reeves most paused clips
because of the shock factor as well as the bravado that he displays
the "wow" element in Jack's fearlessness in a moment of crisis
gets our hearts racing and set the tone for what remains to come
in one of the best action movies of the 90s.
Keanu Reeves taking a stroll through hell in 2005's Constantine, like it's no big deal,
makes for a surreal and totally pause-worthy moment. When a woman named
Isabel Dotson utters Constantine's name before jumping off a tall building
her twin sister Angela goes to Constantine to figure out why Isabelle
killed herself. Constantine then decides that the best
course of action is for him to transport himself to hell
to find the answers that Angela seeks. The image of Constantine walking among
demons in hell makes for one of the coolest Keanu Reeves moments
because the cinematography is simply amazing. From the howling winds blowing
fire to the general post-apocalyptic atmosphere,
the setting alone makes for an incredible moment.Then the demon zombies
giving chase to Constantine as he tries to recover a medical tag
really hammer in the gravity of the danger that he's in it all combines for
a moment that you'll want to slow down just to soak everything in.
"Jesus."
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