Best And Worst Keanu Reeves Movies

Over the course of Keanu Reeves' long career in Hollywood, it seems like he's ventured into nearly every genre under the sun. From playing a rookie FBI agent tracking down a group of surfing criminals in Point Break to the unwitting solicitor who winds up at a vampire's castle in Bram Stoker's Dracula, Reeves isn't the kind of actor you can typecast, which just might explain his widespread popularity. And with his reputation as a humble, down-to-earth guy, it's no wonder he's enjoyed so much success.

On top of all that, Reeves has appeared in plenty of critically acclaimed films, but with more than 50 films under his belt, he's also worked on his fair share of bombs. Whether you're a long-time fan of Reeves, or you're just getting to know his filmography, it's time to explore the films that have cemented his reputation as one of today's most beloved actors, as well as the movies that his own skills just couldn't redeem. From action flicks to sci-fi fare, here are the best and worst films of Keanu Reeves.

In this romantic crime thriller, Reeves stars as Lucas Hill, an American diamond merchant who lands himself in trouble after traveling to Russia to sell a rare variety of blue diamonds to the gangster Boris Volkov (Pasha D. Lychnikoff). It seems like Lucas should've anticipated that this transaction wouldn't have worked out in his favor, and when he arrives, he finds out that his contact with the diamonds has disappeared. Now, Lucas is desperate to track him down before Boris comes looking for what he's owed. 

One might assume that a film involving a diamond heist and a forbidden romance would bring a little more excitement to the screen, but the plot of Siberia is rather plodding and dull. What makes Siberia so frustrating is how seriously this film takes itself. You can't even look at it as the kind of movie that's so bad that it's actually good in an ironic, tongue-in-cheek way. Much like an actual trek through Siberia, the entire journey is such a slog from beginning to end that audiences might feel like giving up halfway through.

Reeves plays Detective Scott Galban in the thriller Exposed. Galban is trying to uncover the mystery behind the shocking death of his partner, Detective Joey Cullen (Danny Hoch), who was undeniably corrupt. However, Cullen's colleagues worry that digging into his past will result in bad PR for the police department. Things get even stranger when Galban realizes that Isabel de La Cruz (Ana de Armas of Knives Out fame), a young woman with seemingly no prior connection to Cullen, might be involved with the case somehow.

Perhaps Exposed was doomed from the get-go. The film was originally titled Daughter of God, and the plot was supposed to focus predominantly on Isabel and her family. However, the studio behind the movie, Lionsgate, decided that centering the storyline around Reeves' character would result in higher sales. The film went through substantial changes in post-production, resulting in a very different movie than the director had initially planned. It's clear that this was a misstep in the end, and it's a shame the original narrative never saw the light of day.

Replicas was universally panned by critics, and it wasn't a hit with audiences, either. (We're talking a 9% and 33% Rotten Tomatoes score, respectivley.) To be fair to Reeves, he was probably the only bright spot in this practically unwatchable film. But try as he might, his own performance just couldn't salvage this flick. 

In Replicas, Reeves plays William Foster, a neuroscientist who ventures into unethical territory in the midst of grief. After his wife and children die in a car crash, he decides to try cloning them. He knows he has to keep this experiment a secret, but he can't hide forever, and naturally, this risky decision comes with some unintended consequences.

Admittedly, the idea behind Replicas is actually quite interesting, and with better execution, this could've been a more engaging film. Foster's experiments do prompt some interesting questions about ethics and science. But with numerous plot holes and characters who can't seem to stop themselves from making the worst possible decision in every scenario, watching it becomes a frustrating exercise.

This 1993 film adaptation of Tom Robbins' novel of the same name came as a huge disappointment to fans of the popular book. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues follows the strange journeys of Sissy Hankshaw (Uma Thurman), a woman who was born with abnormally large thumbs. However, she doesn't consider this to be a defect, and she makes the most of it by becoming a hitch-hiker, traveling all over America with the help of kind strangers. She eventually ends up working on the Rubber Rose Ranch, but Hankshaw isn't your typical cowgirl, and she can't stop getting into trouble on the ranch. 

As for Reeves, he has a small role in this film as Julian Gitche, an artist with whom Sissy has a brief, failed romantic fling. And sadly, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues fails to capture the lighthearted spirit of the novel is was based on. The disjointed plot doesn't quite work on screen, and the characters aren't particularly endearing. Perhaps some stories are best left on the page.

Based on the story of the same name by William Gibson, Reeves stars as the titular character in Johnny Mnemonic. Johnny has a cybernetic brain implant that can store all kinds of information, and in a dystopian society ruled by megacorporations where everyone is inextricably connected to the internet, his abilities come in handy. In Johnny's world, transmitting sensitive data can be dangerous, so as a "mnemonic courier," it's often up to him to carry certain information to different parties. However, doing so means risking his childhood memories, and he wants to remove his implant to get them back ... but unfortunately for Johnny, his work isn't quite done yet. 

Despite its amazing cast, Johnny Mnemonic didn't exactly get a glowing response from the critics. In fact, Reeves actually earned himself a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor, so it's safe to say that this role was a low point in his career. Although it was marketed as an exciting cyberpunk thriller, the plot completely falls flat, and worse still, this '90s film has aged badly. With its reliance on super dated technology, there's nothing truly memorable about the futuristic worldbuilding in Johnny Mnemonic. 

Generation Um... just might be the worst dud of Reeves' entire career. Even the title is underwhelming, and things don't really improve from there. This mumblecore indie flick was so unwatchable that it actually managed to score a whopping 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.

In Generation Um..., Reeves plays John, an escort-service driver who's lost all sense of direction in life. The film reveals 24 hours of his aimless existence in New York City, in which he meets up with two young women, Violet (Bojana Novakovic) and Mia (Adelaide Clemens). The film is an attempt at delving into urban alienation, but it falls short of this mission. In one scene, John points a camcorder at the women and asks them to "say something interesting." Neither offers up anything particularly poignant, and that basically sums up the film as a whole. In the end, this movie basically shrugs its shoulders and comes to the tired conclusion that young people these days just might be a little vain and self-absorbed.