Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
This article was originally published on February 8, 2019.
It has been republished to mark the 25th Anniversary ofThe Matrix.
And 1999sThe Matrixmarked the entrancing culmination of all he had been experimenting with during that decade.
These actors,at least at the time, hewed closer to a more traditional form of Hollywood machismo.
It needs a lead who can operate on such levels as well.
Nor does he possess the jokey charisma of a Will Smith.
The results profoundly rewrote the expectations of what an action star could be.
Reeves suggested that an action star shouldfeel, at full tilt.
In the wake of Neos slender poise, the notion of the unlikely action star became quite common.
The melodramatic, FX-heavy superhero origin stories that proliferated throughout the 2000s also owe a huge debt toThe Matrix.
(Undoubtedly the most potent of this latter subgenre is Reevess own neon-soakedJohn Wickfranchise.)
More striking though is how muchThe Matrixand its star influenced the internal lives of action leads going forward.
Unlike other action stars, Reevess masculinity is fluid, mutable.
Hes one of the few male action stars who is also a gracious scene partner.
Its more than just kindness; theres a sense that hes completely sure and secure in his own masculinity.
With Keanu,The Matrixtakes on greater shades than merely being a propulsive, slickly engrossing blockbuster.
As writer-directors, the Wachowskis carry a potent belief in humanitys essential value.
Reeves doesnt just reflect this, but complicates it as well.
This is often mistaken for a blank-slate quality.
But he is far from blank.
