Keanu Reeves has become a household name due to his work in the action genre. Breaking point in 1991 was a seminal film in this regard, as was Speed in 1994. Of course, the film that cemented Reeves' position as an action star was The Matrix in 1999, which was a huge success both critically and commercially, and was followed by four sequels.
After a career break that began in the late 2000s and lasted until the early 2010s, Reeves returned in a big way in 2014 with the release of John Wick. Reeves' portrayal of the titular assassin, aided by assured action direction from Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, was a surprise hit, and he has now reprized the role in five films in total, including the acclaimed John Wick: Chapter 4 in 2023. Reeves can next be seen as Wick in the upcoming spinoff, From the world of John Wick: ballerina, starring Ana de Armas.
John Wick 2 gets an impressive accuracy rating
Firearms expert highlights Reeves' gun training
A firearms expert praises Reeves' skill in handling weapons in John Wick: Chapter 2
(2017), awarding extra points for coolness. Directed solely by Stahelski this time around, the sequel to the 2014 action film sees Reeves pulled back into the dark world of assassins only to discover that a big price has been placed on his head. The second John Wick the film features a higher body count and doubles down on the action, with Reeves' Wick shooting dozens of enemies in a stylistic and flashy manner throughout the film.
In a recent video for Insiderformer special operations soldier Patrick McNamara analyzes scenes from one of the last shootings in John Wick: Chapter 2pointing out how proficient Reeves is with a gun in his hand. According to the expert, the film gets a lot right in terms of how Reeves moves and uses a gun, including how he collects ammunition from dead enemies and resorts to throwing the gun when he runs out of bullets.
The only area where the film loses points is due to a press check (checking the gun's chamber for a bullet) that is perhaps too flashy to use during the heat of battle. Check out McNamara's analysis of the film below:
It is known as battlefield recovery. So he has a pistol and several magazines, and you can say there are a variety of pistols out there, but he will find a magazine that matches the pistol in his hand. You could see him look, “Is this the right magazine for this pistol?” And looking at how many rounds there are in this.
So when it comes to reloading a pistol, we want to break the control, drop the magazine, sweep the centerline, eyes go from the scope to the fight, the magazine comes out. It is inserted, it is seated, it regains grip, back straight.
I say that primary skills are very important. The ability to throw something accurately, a rock, a bottle, an empty pistol in this case, because it's obvious he doesn't have an extra magazine for that pistol. I love the fact that he played.
What I love about this scene, and I call it eliminating predictability, where he kind of lowered his profile a little, he arrived and saw the guy's foot and shot him right in the foot and then came back with both hands and finished the job. . I thought that was really cool, eliminating predictability.
Therefore, a press check becomes extremely important because you need to understand the condition of the weapon system. Just because you loaded a magazine doesn't necessarily mean it's loaded. They will pull the slide back, leave the slide forward, and assume they are ready to go, when in fact they haven't fully seated the magazine, and unless you fully seat the magazine and load the pistol, you probably haven't loaded it.
You never want to go “Click” instead of “Boom” in a gunfight. You know it's the loudest sound you can hear in a gunfight. Therefore, press checks are free. Check for a lull in the fight. For me personally, it's not the press check that I would use, where he turns like this and pulls the slide back a little bit. It looks really cool. I will have more positive control.
You have to respect Keanu's skill in handling weapons. Not only the skill in handling the gun, but you understand the work he did, especially with the mechanics, because when it comes to reloading, pressing checks, everything like that, it's obvious that he has time behind a gun.
I'm going to go for an eight on this one. For cool points? A solid 10.
Our take on Keanu Reeves' gun skills in the John Wick franchise
Reeves' commitment is key to the franchise's success
One of the things that defines John Wick films apart from other action films is how highly trained the actors are. Reeves goes through months of training for each installment in the franchise, spending a lot of time specifically with firearms trainer Taran Butler. Behind-the-scenes videos of Reeves' training at the Butler facility show that he is now very proficient with weapons and that none of his skills are faked or exaggerated in the films.
This dedication from Reeves, Stahelski and the team is part of the reason every film in the Lionsgate franchise has been so successful. All of them were well received both critically and commercially, with John Wick: Chapter 4 reviews are the most positive of the bunch. It remains to be seen whether Reeves will return for a fifth film, but John Wick: Chapter 2 remains a seminal entry in the franchise, with some standout action set pieces and gunfights.
Source: Insider