A rebirth for Keanu Reeves as an actor

Rating: 7/10 (24 October 2014)

Let's be blunt: film snobs, along with many regular movie-going fans, think that Keanu Reeves' acting is, to put it mildly, a bit wooden. For those who thought he was a mediocre actor at best should see John Wick. It's proof Reeves has drastically improved as an actor.
I read a "professional" review in which the film critic still lambasted Reeves' "robotic demeanor". That is absolute nonsense. I was so intrigued when I saw the trailer for this movie. Immediately it struck me that Keavu Reeves seemed to absolutely own this role. But that was just short outtakes. Could he really be that good in the whole movie?
Easy answer: yes.
John Wick is a revenge thriller. He's emotionally wounded from the untimely death of his wife from some undisclosed illness. The son of a Russian crime boss makes the tragic mistake of attacking John Wick and killing his dog. We have no idea up to this point that John Wick is legendary as a killer. Ruthless and skilled, everyone fears him.
No apology is sufficient for what was done to him so he embarks on a mission to kill the crime boss' son. As always happens in movies of this genre, John Wick is always outnumbered by ten to one, and yet he kills everyone in his path to revenge and keeps moving forward.
Although at the end there was some dopiness to the plot, Keanu Reeves was stellar. He was focused, not wooden. He was dynamic, not robotic.
We've seen a younger Keanu Reeves do comedy. He had some great successes. We saw him in Dracula, and wish we hadn't. We've seen him in near-misses like A Walk In The Clouds, that failed in no way due to him (he was excellent) but in cheap, sappy plot points that tried to bring an emotional closure.
Now we see him clearly back in the game. I would love to see Keanu Reeves do something risky now; maybe take a chance on a comedy. It's clear he is up to it. His reputation as an actor should greatly improve after this rock solid performance.