THE BRUCE WILLIS REVIEW

By Nate Lee

BEST FILMS: Live Free or Die Hard / Pulp Fiction Sure, Pulp Fiction is a classic, and Willis was a major contributor, though deserved “back seat,” if you will, to Jackson and Travolta. The “Die Hard” series, though, changed the genre far more than any of Arnold’s or Tom Cruise’s efforts. The fact that Willis can pull off a fourth version which is compared favorably to the first (and it really is better) is no mean feat. There is certainly room for argument with any of a half dozen other action features, though; and the M. Night pair are also contenders.

NON-ACTION-HERO ROLES:

Pulp Fiction (a washed-up boxer)

The Sixth Sense (a child psychologist, opposite Haley Joel Osment )

Unbreakable (a quasi-superhero, opposite Samuel Jackson, directed by M. Night Shyamalan)

Fast Food Nation

The Player (himself)

Bandits (bank robber)

In Country (Vietnam vet)

Nobody’s Fool (opposite Paul Newman)

Lucky Number Slevin (an assassin)

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HE DOES COMEDY:

Blind Date (his first major role, directed by Blake Edwards, opposite Kim Basinger)

Death Becomes Her (caught in the crossfire between Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn)

The Kid (caught in a time warp with Spencer Breslin as himself)

The Whole Nine Yards (a mobster in witness protection)

BLOCKBUSTERS: Die Hard 1, 2, 3, 4 Sixteen Blocks Grindhouse Fifth Element The Last Boy Scout 12 Monkeys Sin City Armageddon Hostage

ACTING STYLE:

Cop. Detective. Cop. What you see is what you get, and, of course, you love it. So much so, that you, the American, will hardly accept him in anything else. He does comedy. He has a softer side, a contemplative side, a realistic side. But most of those roles haven’t had quite the success of his enormous appeal as the everyman smart alecky macho action hero.

THE REAL WILLIS:

Breakfast of Champions/Everyman cop>

Though Dwayne Hoover, the champion of “Breakfast of Champions” is the role he always wanted to play, we know that Bruce is born to be, if not play, a cop.

BITS AND QUIRKS:

Talking out of the side of his mouth. The quick rolling of the eyes. The patter, of course. The double take. The patronizing look to his erstwhile naïve partners.

GREAT SCENES:

DIE HARD (1)

Yippie Kai Yay scene > walking on glass > throwing the guy out the window > Showdown with Alan Rickman out the window >>

DIE HARD (4)

The repartee with Justin Long is the best ever > Driving the truck, facing off with a jet fighter > The basement scene with Kevin Smith > The elevator shaft and the car

SIXTEEN BLOCKS

Taking over the bus > The cake at the end

THE JACKAL

Testing out the gun on Jack Black

ARMAGEDDON

Blowing up the meteor at the end

THE SIXTH SENSE

The first interview with Osment > The revelation

UNBREAKABLE

The train wreck > The psychic scenes at the stadium > Conversations with Jackson

IF YOU LIKE HIM, YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T LIKE:

Bonfire of the Vanities

Hudson Hawk