Keanu Reeves has earned his stripes as one of cinema’s all-time great action heroes having starred in Point Break and Speed, as well as The Matrix and John Wick trilogies, both of which have fourth installments arriving shortly. Sure, he’s tackled almost every genre under the sun during his career, but he’s best known for kicking all sorts of ass.
One of the more underrated and overlooked efforts in his filmography also happens to be the one film he’s ever directed, with Man of Tai Chi flying largely under the radar when it was released in November 2013. It drew solid reviews from critics and fans alike, currently holding a 71% Rotten Tomatoes, but if flopped at the box office.
The movie could only muster $5.5 million from theaters on a $25 million budget, which was a real shame. Not only is Reeves a surprisingly accomplished first-time director, but he gives a great performance in a rare villainous role, with top-tier action stars Tiger Chen and Iko Uwais lending support.
An old fashioned actioner that follows a simple tournament-based format where the bad guy tries to rig the game just like the martial arts genre’s glory days, Man of Tai Chi deserved to find a much bigger audience than it did. It’s finding one now, though, having cracked Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched list as per FlixPatrol.
