081203 - NEO & KLAATU CONTRAST
I've seen the same trailer and from that interrogation scene, it looked like he was acting exactly like he did in the Matrix.
Anakin McFly: Matrix interrogation scene -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikcZ1DajkMs
Neo = closed body language - note seating posture; quietly defiant; hunched together; position of weakness: vulnerable, defensive, trying to hide his fear and frustration; would probably lash out at his interrogator if he had the ability to do so, but he knows he would lose; is defeated in that sense, but unwilling to give Smith the pleasure of seeing it.
TDTESS interrogation scene (in trailer) -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_bNDv0-ZrU
Klaatu = open body language - note seating posture; completely unfazed, unafraid. Position of strength: knows he could leave any time he wanted. Unflinching gaze: no blinking, almost fed up with the pathetic little humans who think they can hold him against his will.
I think he is a bad actor, because he is one. He has acted terribly in all the movies he has made
Your opinion =/= fact.
The characters are MEANT to be very different, but he does not illustrate the difference. I am talking about his mannerisms and style of acting. He illustrates absolutely no diversity.
Actually I think he's one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. Maybe he's not brilliant in all his different roles, but the diversity is definitely there. Jack of all trades master of... some, that kind of thing. There are changes in mannerisms and speech patterns across his roles, if you look closely.
Heck, one of the main reasons why I became a Keanu fan in the first place was because I had seen the Matrix trilogy and the Bill & Ted films and was thouroughly blown away by how two characters as different as Neo and Ted had been played by the same actor. That's range, that is. Then after that I watched Constantine, again so different from those two. I was impressed.
(Meanwhile, 'monotone' is not an acting style. It's a voice, and Keanu is generally acknowledged to be a much better physical actor while a weaker verbal one. That's part of my theory for why most of his acting awards (recently won 'Best International Actor' from the Germany Bambi awards 2008) come from foreign countries where his voice was dubbed. Turn off the sound, and Keanu's performance becomes brilliant.)