Every Keanu Reeves Action Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Keanu Reeves has had a bountiful career since his cinematic debut in 1986's Youngblood. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he grew up in Toronto, Canada, and dropped out of high school early to pursue an acting career. His first name means "a cool breeze over the mountain" in Hawaiian, and it certainly fits his chill persona.

Reeves' early years are probably best remembered for his portrayal of Ted Logan, the time-traveling California slacker of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. But when Speed was released in 1994, Keanu Reeves the action star was born. Since then, Reeves has appeared in a number of action movies that have put his abilities to good use. He's a pretty subtle actor, so any movie that can take advantage of his physical skills is all the better for it. Of course, while some of them have been great, Reeves' action flicks haven't all been hits. Here are Reeves' action movies, ranked worst to best.

47 Ronin was one of the biggest box office bombs of 2013, as chronicled in Variety. The overly-ambitious project reportedly fell victim to a constantly-shifting focus in production and a lack of experience on the part of first-time director Carl Rinsch. There was also internal debate about the balance between Eastern themes and a perceived need for "more Western touches."

One of those Western touches was the addition of Reeves to the mostly Japanese cast of this telling of an old legend about 47 rogue samurai avenging the death of their master. What really brought 47 Ronin down was that, despite its well-choreographed fight scenes and slick use of 3D and CGI special effects, the movie was surprisingly dull, with little to no development from Reeves or any of the other one-dimensional characters. But don't worry — Reeves went on to make another martial arts movie in 2013 that turned out much better than 47 Ronin. We'll get there.

The final film in the Wachowskis' Matrix trilogy has the benefit of bringing the epic story to a close, granting it the opportunity provide a rousing climax and closure to its philosophical journeys. That didn't save it from receiving the worst reviews of the series, largely because it sucks all of the fun out of the entire franchise. Not only does Revolutions end on a downer of a conclusion — with Trinity killed in action and Neo sacrificing himself for peace between the humans and the machines — but the final showdown turned out pretty underwhelming in itself.

The program known as Agent Smith, played brilliantly by Hugo Weaving, wants to destroy the Matrix, the machine world, and the human world, for reasons that are never really clear other than he's a broken outcast and wants revenge. A rogue virus, Agent Smith was apparently supposed to be deactivated, but has instead decided to kill everyone. Additionally, the characters we know and care about kind of get lost in a jumble of side characters, overwhelming robot battle sequences, and a convoluted plot. The Matrix movies will always have really cool action scenes and intriguing ideas, but this one was a bit of a bummer.

While 1999's The Matrix was hailed as an exciting new entry into the sci-fi genre with groundbreaking filmmaking techniques, its two sequels weren't as well-received as that first hit. The two Matrix sequels weren't great mainly because, much like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, they felt like they should have been a single movie, but the plot had expanded and bloated to the point where the powers that be decided two would be cooler.

The second movie in the trilogy, 2003's The Matrix Reloaded, was praised for its action and style but panned for its portrayal of the humans who live in Zion, humanity's haven outside of the Matrix. We know this movie is from 2003 and all, but it's hard to believe that every free human would just be partying half-naked at a giant rave. Between that and Reloaded's over-reliance on philosophical conversations at the expense of the action, it doesn't live up to the first Matrix movie, despite Reeves' excellent fighting skills.

It's impossible to stop John Wick. It's also impossible to dislike his movies. Mash the beauty of ballet with the madcap action of Buster Keaton, then toss in a couple of buckets of blood, and bam, you've got John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. The third installment of the franchise picks up right after Chapter 2 (more on that one later), with John being declared excommunicado. Haunted by the memory of his dead wife, John prepares for war and finds himself wandering through the Sahara, battling the Chairman of Iron Chef fame, and taking a horse for a nice evening gallop down the streets of New York.

In other words, it's all adrenaline, all the time.

Needless to say, the stunts are superb, and while there might be a bit of movie magic in that motorcycle chase scene, all that crazy stuff going down in the stables is absolutely real. And what about those furry, flying Belgian Malinois? The ones leaping through the air and climbing up walls? That's all totally real too. And whether he's swinging swords, trading blows with the cast of The Raid 2, or throwing down with an NBA player, the fight scenes are all jaw-droppingly good — especially that moment when John's tossing knife after knife after endless knife.

Of course, Reeves isn't the only one having fun here. Halle Berry steals the show as a pistol-packing, dog-loving, MMA-expert assassin who should get her own franchise, and even Lance Reddick helps battle an army of gun-toting goons. Everybody here is having a blast. Chapter 3 doesn't have quite the emotional impact of the first Wick film or the incredible world-building of Chapter 2, but it's still an exhilarating entry in Keanu Reeves' coolest and craziest franchise.

Granted, all of the John Wick movies are great, and it's hard to rank them. John Wick: Chapter 2 comes in just behind the first because, well, the first was kind of a surprise comeback film for Reeves. But we'll get to that. 

John Wick: Chapter 2 begins just a few days after the events of John Wick, and finds the former assassin continuing his rampage of revenge — only this time with a new dog, a pit bull without a name. The film features just as much violence and absolutely insane fight sequences, which are just as well-shot and sleek as in the first film. John Wick: Chapter 2 also takes a trip over to Rome for some international espionage and action scenes among the ancient ruins of the eternal city, proving that Wick is truly an international assassin of the world. John Wick: Chapter 3 is heading to theaters this year. With a global contract out on Wick's head, will he survive? Probably!

Never before and never since has a city bus had such a grand movie moment. Speed is the film that put Reeves on the action radar, and is still a great watch 25 years later. Reeves stars as Los Angeles SWAT officer Jack Traven, who boards an LA bus that's rigged with a bomb that will explode if the vehicle's speed drops below 50 miles per hour. Sandra Bullock co-stars as a passenger named Annie who takes over driving duties while Jack tries to defuse the bomb and save the other passengers.

Speed's premise is a tad ridiculous, and there are plenty of unbelievable moments throughout the movie (including when the bus manages to somehow launch itself into the air to clear a freeway jump), but its absurdity is overshadowed by the fact that it's so darned fun. Reeves and Bullock have great chemistry, and his action prowess here is accompanied by his endless charm.