Will Smith as Neo?!?

[FlyWf]

Connery was also allegedly another Morpheus option. Kilmer and Will Smith would've been a fantastic(much better) Morpheus and Neo combination.

[Klompy]

Thanks for the proof that I'm not crazy. I had a hard time picturing him being half asian, not that there's anything wrong with that.

[pryor15]

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I think Reeves gets a bum rap. Sure he sucks when he's trying to act with dialogue... and character and words and stuff.

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i just want to say that this cracked me up

i agree with a lot of what you said, this is just priceless

[RunDownHouse]

KneeCo,

You butchered what is arguably one of the most recognizable movie quotes from the 80's. You deserve whatever you get.

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

BTW, Gary Oldman would have been a sick Morpheous

[Lottery Larry]

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which is why he turned down the Matrix to do......WILD WILD WEST. wtf?

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Salma Hayek, of course.

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

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which is why he turned down the Matrix to do......WILD WILD WEST. wtf?

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Salma Hayek, of course.

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god knows he pounded that [censored].

[potato]

All you people who say Will Smith can't act need to see Six Degrees of Separation.

[fuzzwonder]

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But seriously -- I think Reeves gets a bum rap. Sure he sucks when he's trying to act with dialogue... and character and words and stuff. But a lot of acting is physical, especially movie acting (he couldn't get away with this crap on a stage), and Reeves' physical capabilities as an action star have been long underrated.

A bulk of the trilogy's great success is due to his performance as Neo, and much of that is really his look: how he runs up walls, shoots guns, does kung fu, and walks around in cool shades and a black trenchcoat. Not a lot of actors can pull that off (no matter how much more talented Phillip Seymour Hoffman is, he would be a total toolbag as Neo), and Reeves did a great job running up walls. He's equally adept in "Speed," a similarly lousy script that nevertheless benefits from him hanging off a speeding bus and jumping over subway trains. When you watch him do that crap, you just somehow suspend your disbelief. He gets paid a ton, and the studios know why. I think a lot of audience members don't -- or at least don't recognize it.

As for Will Smith, I think he's one of the few huge stars who also can manage that kind of physical acting, but his attitude is all wrong. The Wachowskis, as clever as they are, don't have a very good sense of humor and take their trilogy extremely seriously. Will Smith is too sarcastic to be a serious Neo. Sure he's good in his dramatic roles (I liked him in Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, etc.) but his smirk is always loaded with a wisecrack waiting to come out.

Men In Black was the right vehicle for Smith. Matrix was the right vehicle for Reeves. That's why all of those movies made a crapload of cash.

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hold up. you are talking about the guy who played in devils advocate and dracula with out any stunts.
i'm chalking this one up to he has the greatest agent known to man.

[BigPoppa]

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All you people who say Will Smith can't act need to see Six Degrees of Separation.

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It's not that he can't act. It's that he now only plays a character called "Will Smith" and any role will be rewritten so that it is appropriate for this character. There are a lot of roles that would be absolutely destroyed by the requirements of fitting the "Will Smith" persona.