Once a TV sweetheart on Moonlighting, Bruce Willis cemented his presence as an action star following the success of Die Hard. The film made him an overnight success, popularizing him in an industry that was otherwise dominated by heavyweights like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. At the same time, he has also gone on to experiment with genres like sci-fi, comedy, and drama.
Even in the last two decades, he has been active as an action star joining ensembles of action blockbuster franchises like The Expendables, G.I. Joe, and RED. And then, there’s the aforementioned Die Hard series, with its four sequels.
BEST: The Jump (Die Hard)
One of the many iconic action scenes from Die Hard involves Willis’s cop hero John McClane narrowly missing a sniper shot. After battling one terrorist after the other, the injured and bare-footed McClane is on the roof of the Nakatomi Plaza.
When spotted by an FBI sniper in a helicopter, he’s mistaken as one of the terrorists, and he realizes that the next bullet might be for him. So, he quickly ties a hose around his waist and jumps off the roof. He then swings down to one of the floors and shoots down a window, entering the building.
WORST: The Final Act (Glass)
Glass disappointed many viewers for its highly-polarizing third act. Despite much build-up around the Osaka tower, Bruce Willis’s superhero, David Dunn, and James McAvoy’s antagonist, Kevin Crumb, never really reach the tower for a classic comic book-style finale. Rather, they end up fighting it out outside the building in an otherwise dull duel.
Finally, "The Beast" personality of Kevin allows him to drown Dunn in a water tank. Considering that water is his kryptonite, Willis’s character dies soon after. While the film doesn’t end there, Dunn’s death made for an underwhelming fight scene.
BEST: The Katana Scene (Pulp Fiction)
Bruce Willis plays Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction, a boxer on the run after double-crossing Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). After a road accident, both of them are gagged and trapped in a dungeon-like room inside a pawnshop. While the pawnshop owner, a corrupt cop, and "The Gimp" attempt to sexually abuse them, Butch frees himself after strangles The Gimp and then manages to get hold of a katana in the pawnshop.
He ends up slashing the owner and freeing Marsellus, who then shoots down the cop. It’s a straightforward scene characterized by director Quentin Tarantino’s usual brand of violence, but it’s the whole build-up to Butch’s plan (especially when he chooses his weapon of choice) that makes it stand out.
WORST: Ejection Seat (Die Hard 2: Die Harder)
John McClane is trapped in a plane’s cockpit when the terrorist, Stuart (William Sadler), throws in several grenades, hoping for McClane to die. Somehow, the grenades take time to explode, giving the valiant hero enough time to strap himself to the ejection seat.
Once the bombs explode, he pops out of the explosion unscathed. As is the norm in the franchise, he shouts, "Yippy-ki-yay." To say the least, the scene can be seen as a guilty pleasure and is one of the most recognizable moments from Die Hard 2, despite its ludicrous nature.
BEST: Car Exit (RED)
Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and his team of retired government assassins are targeted by the CIA for knowing too much. Hence, when Agent Cooper (Karl Urban) follows Moses, the latter has no option but to go back to his violent life. While the two engage in hand-to-hand combat, a truly spectacular sequence is when Cooper’s car crashes into Moses.
Undeterred by the car crash, Moses doesn’t even hit the brakes. He, instead, smoothly exits out of the moving car, shooting at Cooper’s windshield. Cooper is weakened by this unexpected onslaught of bullets and just drives away in defeat.
WORST: Smart Car Shootout (The Expendables 2)
The Expendables 2 is arguably the best chapter of the over-the-top action ensemble franchise. As expected, the final act goes all-out with its action stars shooting down and punching up anyone and everyone in the vicinity. Amidst the adrenaline-heavy sequences, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger show up randomly in a cramped Smart Car.
As Mr. Church (Willis) drives on, Schwarzenegger’s Trench takes out the doors and starts shooting. Soon, Church also joins him with his one hand on the steering and the other on a rifle. The scene is just an excuse to feature the two veteran action stars in a sequence that seems to provide comic relief.
BEST: Betrayal (Sin City)
In the dark underbelly of Sin City, aging police officer John Hartigan (Willis) shoots child-murderer Roark Junior (Steve Zahn) as the latter was attempting to kill an 11-year-old girl. Even though Hartigan seems to have the upper hand, he’s soon shot in the back by his own partner.
Hartigan is left to die while the girl survives and the sirens approach. The scene is notable for the film’s general black-and-white aesthetic that incorporates a heavy comic-book and neo-noir-influenced visual design. So, instead of the usual red, the characters’ blood is usually shown in splashes of white.
WORST: Death By A Bowling Ball (Death Wish)
The ill-timed reboot of Death Wish has its share of well-executed action sequences, but some of them are unintentionally hilarious. For instance, the vigilante, Paul Kersey, seeks to find information from a bartender. The run-in is interrupted by The Fish, a criminal who burgled Kersey’s house and killed his family.
In haste, he accidentally shoots the bartender instead of Kersey and that’s where chaos starts. With his gun jammed, fate seems to be on Kersey’s side as The Fish dies due to a series of convenient accidents. At first, he slips on a pool of blood and then misses all his shots while getting up. If that wasn’t enough, a bowling ball falls on his head that somehow moves his arm towards his own face, and he shoots himself.
BEST: Gruber’s Death (Die Hard)
After surviving a night filled with multiple obstacles, John McClane makes a last attempt to rescue his wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), from the clutches of Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). McClane surrenders, but Gruber is taken aback when the cop’s contingency plan comes to use. He uses a gun that he taped on his back to shoot the villain as he falls to his death.
However, he doesn’t die easily, as he still clings on to Holly’s watch, hoping to have his revenge. McClane easily overpowers him by unclasping the watch, finally ending Gruber once and for all.
WORST: Helicopter Attack (A Good Day To Die Hard)
The first Die Hard had some ambitious stunts, but was still believable enough in parts. The fifth installment, on the other hand, subverts reality completely, with sequences that seem far-fetched. When a helicopter starts shooting at John McClane and his son Jack (Jai Courtney), both make a dash towards the window.
They fall down several floors, but somehow survive while landing on a few construction planks. Both of them hardly take any time to recover from the physical shock and successfully escape. Much like the rest of the film, this scene got a tad bit too convenient in the protagonists’ favor.