What should Neo attempt next now that The Matrix Revolutions is mercifully over?
Beat the Devil, of course.
In his first post-Matrix bid to launch a new franchise, Keanu Reeves tussles with Old Nick to save our souls in Constantine.
Actually, Reeves’ already gone mano a diablo with the Prince of Darkness. That confrontation with Satan, as embodied by Al Pacino at his hammiest in The Devil’s Advocate, proved a draw in more ways than one. The campy horror yarn was one of only two hits—the other being A Walk in the Clouds—Reeves enjoyed between 1994’s Speed and 1999’s The Matrix.
The Wallah of Whoa also floundered in the years between The Matrix and 2003’s Reloaded and Revolutions follow-ups. So a rematch with Lucifer should allow Reeves to truly capitalize on The Matrix’s series-ending sequels in a way he failed to do with Speed or his first stint as the One.
Based on Alan Moore’s cult comic-book Hellblazer, Constantine stars Reeves as a private detective willing to go to Hell and back to stop meddling angels and dastardly demons from toying with mankind. Proudly rated R in an age when studios demand directors clean up their bloodbaths for PG-13 audiences, Constantine also boasts a climax constructed to spawn one sequel after another.
Reeves’ participation in a potential franchise so soon after The Matrix series stands in stark contrast to the roles he took after the first in the trilogy became a global phenomenon. At that time, he almost wanted nothing to do with films that could conceivably produce a sequel.
Instead, he went sports mad. He took snaps as a wash-up quarterback in the football farce The Replacements (2000) and played Hardball (2001) as a reluctant Little League coach. Neither film turned in championship-caliber performances. Hardball, though, may have fared better had it not opened three days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
If audiences accepted Reeves as a playoff-bound QB, they scoffed at the sight of him as a serial killer on the loose in The Watcher (2000). Evidently Reeves thought the same, as he reportedly tried to squirm his way out of making The Watcher. He proved more chilling in the minor role of a wife beater in director Sam Raimi’s The Gift (2000), his only memorable outing between Matrix installments.
Sweet November (2001), a remake of a 1960s syrupy romance, paired Reeves with his Devil’s Advocate wife Charlize Theron. Reunited, but it felt so bad, as the noble Theron dies a long and painful death just to teach the selfish Reeves a valuable life lesson.
You can’t blame Reeves for trying something different after The Matrix. The Bill & Ted adventures pigeonholed Reeves as the poster boy for Slackerdom, and he obviously believed the hype that Speed would make him the next great action hero. Hence Johnny Mnemonic and Chain Reaction, two disastrous attempts to transform him into Generation X’s very own Bruce Willis.
Reeves understandably did not want fall into the same trap with The Matrix. Unfortunately, throwing himself into such shallow and pedestrian projects as The Replacements and Sweet November hurt more than it helped.
This time, Reeves seems intent on avoiding the same mistakes he made after Speed and The Matrix.
He got things rolling by serving as one side of the love triangle in Something’s Gotta Give. Smart move. The romantic comedy allowed Reeves to lighten up after freeing mankind from the Matrix. Plus, the burden of carrying the comedy fell on Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.
He also takes a minor role—as an off-the-wall dentist—in this fall’s Thumbsucker. The Sundance comedy smash marks a return to the world of independent cinema, which Reeves inhabited frequently in his days before Speed.
Hellblazer devotees could never imagine Reeves as John Constantine, a blond Brit in the comic book. But here he is, puffing on one cigarette after another as he casts out demons with all the ease of Father Merrin in The Exorcist. Constantine isn’t going to make Matrix money, but Reeves’ between-two–worlds heroics and the gory special effects should guarantee a heavenly opening and a possible sequel.
Reeves could experience another sci-fi high in September with A Scanner Darkly, Richard Linklater’s take on the Philip K. Dick tale of drugs, paranoia and alternate realities. What sets A Scanner Darkly apart from such other Dick adaptation as Total Recall and Paycheck is Linklater’s decision to animate the live-action footage, as he did with Waking Life. Cue those jokes about how the often-wooden Reeves has never looked so animated.
Most important, Reeves is once again willing to work with an established director known for his ambition, integrity and ability to draw strong performances from even the stiffest of actors. Before Speed, Reeves often placed himself in the hands of directors with strong artistic visions, such as Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho) and Bernardo Bertolucci (Little Buddha).
In addition to Linklater, director Spike Lee is gambling on Reeves to help end his recent bad luck at the box office. A thriller about police corruption, The Night Watchman starts shooting later this spring from by a script by L.A. Confidential’s James Ellroy.
After The Night Watchman, Reeves and Speed damsel-in-distress Sandra Bullock get it on again in Il Mare. In what sounds like a lovey-dovey Frequency, the two fall in love after they defy time to exchange letters. Sounds a little dubious, but a Reeves–Bullock reunion should arrive with more sizzle than his second liaison with Charlize Theron.
The Bottom Line
What is the Matrix? For Keanu Reeves, it represents yet another shot at building upon the phenomenal popularity of a certified blockbuster. He squandered the opportunities afforded him after Speed and The Matrix. But Reeves has finally wised up, and his post-Matrix choices show great promise. Constantine is a franchise in the making. Working with directors Richard Linklater and Spike Lee is a worthy challenge, and wooing Speedster Sandra Bullock is the perfect way to make amends for the romantic blunders Feeling Minnesota and Sweet November.
