It’s not ‘The Matrix’: Keanu Reeves names the best Keanu Reeves movie of the 1990s
These days, Keanu Reeves is basically a saint.
Acting is almost his secondary purpose these days, as he exists almost solely to remind people just how nice human beings can be. He’s been at the very top of his game for a long time, constantly reinventing himself and introducing his brand of earnest enthusiasm to entirely new generations; what an honour it is to be on the planet at the same time as him.
The handsome Canadian really came into his own in the 1990s, and while his breakthrough role in the first Bill and Ted movie had come at the very end of the previous decade, this was the era in which he established himself as a leading man. He branched out of comedy and into the action hero mould that we best know him for today, alongside dotting his trajectory with detours into dramatic roles, such as in My Own Private Idaho and A Walk in the Clouds. There was also Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but the less said about that the better.
During an appearance on Esquire’s ‘Explain This’ show on YouTube, the ’90s icon was asked to name the best film he made during the decade, which is borderline torture. He was in so many incredible movies during this time, like Speed, Much Ado About Nothing, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, and, of course, The Matrix, only released nine months before the decade ended, but it still counts. However, because he’s a nice man, Reeves refused to give an answer that might upset anyone.
“I’m not going to pick a favourite,” he claimed, “I have searing, incredible memories from all of these films”, but eventually realising that he had no choice, he finally relented and spoke about one ’90s movie experience he will cherish forever. “I will say that working on [The] Devil’s Advocate,” he continued, “Getting the chance to, to act with Al Pacino…”, he then made a gesture that summed up his feelings in a way no words ever could.
Released in 1997, The Devil’s Advocate is a fantasy-horror helmed by the dynamic duo of Neo and Michael Corleone. Reeves plays a lawyer who, after several run-ins with his boss, played by Pacino, becomes convinced that he is actually Satan. The movie, which was directed by Helen Mirren’s husband Taylor Hackford, drew inspiration from Milton’s Paradise Lost, Dante’s Inferno and the story of Faust and his pact with the Devil.
You’d think a pedigree like that would have produced something good, but sadly, critics thought the movie was more hellish than heavenly. Reeves didn’t care, though; as a self-professed mega-fan of Pacino, he did everything in his power to work alongside him, including taking a pay cut and choosing it over Speed 2: Cruise Control, so you can’t call it anything other than a success.
The Devil’s Advocate marked something of a turning point for the actor, wherein he hadn’t had a hit in a little while prior to the film, but his performance reassured audiences that he hadn’t lost his touch. He probably could have thrown up on screen and still not been bothered, for he took the job to work with one of his idols, and that’s exactly what he got.
