Keanu Reeves fans were amazed at his skills on the shooting range after a video recently resurfaced of him training for his blockbuster sequel John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
In the video, which appears to have originally been shared around the time of the film’s release in May 2019, Keanu performs a run with what is known as a Sig Sauer MPX submachine gun.
The 59-year-old actor stunned a new group of fans with the clip, which shows him making laps around an obstacle course and displaying near-flawless marksmanship while shooting multiple targets along the way.
Several social media users joked that he wasn’t “pretending to be John Wick,” but instead looked like he could have been just as deadly with a gun as his movie character.
The video also featured his co-star Halle Berry, 57, standing behind him and measuring his run through the track after appearing in her own shooting video at the time.
I can’t believe it: Keanu Reeves fans were amazed to see his skills on the shooting range after a video recently resurfaced of him training for his blockbuster sequel John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
It is real! The video, originally released in May 2019 to coincide with the release of John Wick 3, featured so much incredible filming from Keanu that fans wondered why he wasn’t “pretending to be John Wick.”
Iconic: The first John Wick film came out in 2014 – and fans celebrated the ninth anniversary of its release
The clip appears to be making the rounds again on social media as fans celebrated the ninth anniversary of the theatrical premiere of the first John Wick film on October 24, 2014.
The video begins with Reeves loading his gun while Halle holds the timer behind him.
He wears a gray t-shirt with a brown baseball cap and dark pants, while she wears a black tank top and matching leggings and black arm warmers.
Both screen stars wear sunglasses and bright orange earplugs to protect their hearing, as the loud noise of gunfire could easily damage their hearing.
There’s a short beep as she starts the timer, and then Keanu is gone.
He quickly fires two shots into the torso of a white dummy before turning around and firing again at white block stands about the same size as his imaginary enemies.
He apparently used the double-tap technique, in which he fired a second shot in quick succession after the first, which can be seen from the fact that most of the posts in the torso area had two bullet holes.
In this technique, the second shot is fired immediately after the first while the gun’s sights are still aimed at the same spot.
In combat, the two shots would increase the chances of killing an enemy.
Timely: The clip appears to be making the rounds on social media again as fans celebrated the ninth anniversary of the theatrical debut of the first John Wick film on October 24, 2014
Shootout: He quickly fires two shots at the torso of a white dummy before turning around and firing again at white block stands about the same size as his imaginary enemies
Double Trouble: He appeared to be using the double-tap technique, firing a second shot in quick succession after the first, as evidenced by the fact that most of the posts in the torso area had two bullet holes
Impressive: His co-star Halle Berry hung behind him and operated the timer. She cheered as he completed the course in just over 16 seconds
During the shootout, Keanu crouched slightly and walked between towers of large truck tires and rusted cars to fire at the targets. He could also be seen hiding behind banners to protect himself.
After he defeated the last fake villain, the women behind him began to cheer.
Halle pumped her first steps and shouted that he ran the course in just over 16 seconds, clearly impressing everyone.
Social media users were just as impressed with the video as they were when it was first released, leading to a wave of posts about Reeves’ skills with a firearm and breathless comparisons to his on-screen character John Wick.
“Keanu Reeves didn’t pretend to be John Wick,” wrote one user, who added a shocked emoji after reposting the video.
Another fan joked: “John Wick has been pretending to be Keanu Reeves this whole time.”
Another person came up with a conspiracy theory to explain Keanu’s firearms skills.
“People thought these moves were just for show?” Keanu is John. “John has just retired to become an actor called Keanu,” they wrote.
Another person joked: “John Wick was never a character, just a second personality.”
Among the astonished reactions to the video were several re-released clips from the John Wick films that featured Reeves tossing his used magazine aside as he removes it from his pistol.
The movement seemed to help him put the magazine away a little quicker than simply letting gravity pull the magazine to the ground, and added to the fast, non-stop action of the John Wick films’ shooting scenes.
Reeve’s most recent John Wick film was the critically acclaimed “Chapter Four,” which was released in theaters in March of this year.
Just like him: Social media users were just as impressed by the video as they were when it was first released, leading to a wave of posts about Reeves’ skills with a firearm and breathless comparisons to his on-screen character John Wick
Reversal: Some fans joked that it was actually “John Wick pretending to be Keanu Reeves.”
Sideline: Another joked that the assassin had retired and started a second career as actor Keanu Reeves
Two guys, one body: Another person joked: “John Wick was never a character, just a second personality.”
What can’t he do? Others were inspired by the clip to post about how Keanu Reeves appears to have popularized a new method of emptying his pistol magazine
Confrontation! Some fans compared Keanu to other leading actors known for their roles in action films. Several Twitter users imagined who would win in the showdown between him and Tom Cruise
The film – the longest in the series at almost three hours – was a success with both critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned an impressive 89 percent fresh rating from the most reputable critics polled by the site and grossed an impressive $432 million.
This made it the most successful entry in the series to date, even though each entry had a larger budget: John Wick: Chapter 4 cost around $100 million to produce, compared to a modest $20 to $30 million for the first film .
The final entry seemingly showed how Wick met his end, although it was often described as “ambiguous”, presumably due to fans and critics’ assumption that the character should not die, which would prevent him from returning for lucrative sequels.
In July, the film’s director, Chad Stahelski, told Empire Magazine that he had originally filmed a version of the ending that showed John Wick alive despite seemingly having been shot and creating a grave for him, but test audiences rejected it instead this ending as of I prefer the version that only shows Wick’s grave.