Keanu Reeves’ star power continues to rise despite setbacks and criticism. For instance, Reeves was forced into a role he didn’t want, leading to one of his worst films. One of the actor’s strengths lies in playing villains with depth and intimidation, not clichés.
Keanu Reeves is one of the most magnetic movie stars we have today. Even after his explosion into iconography with The Matrix, the cavernous lows of The Day the Earth Stood Still and Ronin 47, and the constant criticism of his talent as an actor, his star power has only grown in recent years. He’s withstood so many slings and arrows that he deserves the chance to pick his own projects, like joining the satirical world of Ruben Östlund or becoming everyone’s favorite edgy hedgehog. It’s a privilege he hasn’t always been able to enjoy, and in a worst-case scenario that actually happened to him, he was once tricked by someone he trusted into doing a role he never wanted in the first place. Even worse, that betrayal job led to him making one of the worst films of his career, playing the title character in The Watcher, going way outside his comfort zone as a serial killer born out of clichés.
The Watcher (2000)
FBI agent Joel Campbell, burnt-out and shell-shocked after years spent chasing serial killers, flees L.A. to begin a new life for himself in Chicago. But five months later, Joel’s best laid plans are abruptly cut short when his new hometown becomes the setting for some particularly gruesome murders – murders that could only have been committed by one man: David Allen Griffin.
Actors
James Spader, Keanu Reeves, Marisa Tomei, Ernie Hudson, Chris Ellis
Run Time
97 mins
Director
Joe Charbanic
Release Date
September 8, 2000
Studio
Universal Pictures
What Is ‘The Watcher’ About?
Campbell (James Spader) is a detective who can’t get past how he inadvertently let an innocent woman get killed by a noted serial killer named David Allen Griffin (Reeves). When not on the job, he barely leaves his home, staying put in a bare-bones apartment that has only a TV, a couch, and an empty fridge. The only social life he really has is mandated therapy with Polly (Marisa Tomei), and his feelings for her are…frustratingly confusing and not developed at all. When Griffin comes back into the picture, taunting Campbell by calling him and telling him he’ll strike again soon unless Campbell can stop him, it’ll become his ultimate test of redemption. Or, at least, it would be, if the characters were further developed beyond fitting the basic archetypes of hero, villain, and damsel in distress. Reeves especially sticks out for how much he’s forced to do despite there being so little on the page.
