Die Hard was far from the only Bruce Willis Franchise, but how do they rank alongside one another? While he may have retired from acting in 2022, Willis leaves behind an incredible filmography. It's true that action movies may have been his most successful projects, but he appeared in everything from horror (The Sixth Sense) to drama (In Country) and even had his own children's TV series (Bruno The Kid). While some action stars may have struggled with roles outside the genre, Willis was able to switch between drama, comedy, romance and everything in between with ease.
Like any major star, Willis made his share of duds (with Hudson Hawk being one of the most infamous), but even his weakest offerings (usually) had something to enjoy. Outside of the Die Hard movies, the star tended to avoid franchises until later in his career, but during the 2000s, he frequently began to appear in sequels to his own work. They're not all action roles either, with the star mixing some comedy offerings in there too. Here's every Bruce Willis franchise, ranked.
9. Fortress
Towards the end of his career and before his aphasia diagnosis was made known, Willis embarked on a series of low-budget action projects for production company Emmett/Furla Oasis. The two Fortress movies were a rare series for Willis during this period, but they're saddled with the same issues of many Emmett/Furla films; cliched characters and dialogue, weak action scenes and slack pacing. Fortress and its sequel Sniper's Eye are both turgid action thrillers that largely sold themselves on Willis' - who was well paid for Die Hard - involvement, and outside of a hammy villain turn by Chad Michael Murray, nobody seems to be having fun.
8. Detective Knight
Detective Knight consists of three movies; Rogue and Redemption from 2022 and 2023's capper Independence. They cast Willis as the titular rule-breaking cop, and at least compared to the Fortress saga, they possess some energy and half-decent action setpieces. That said, they're still STV filler from the Emmett/Furla Oasis sausage factory, so there's little invention in terms of story or characterization. The second outing Redemption also tried to sell itself as something of an unofficial Die Hard sequel by taking place at Christmas - but all that does is remind viewers they could just be watching the original Christmas classic Die Hard instead.
7. The Whole Nine Yards
The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards paired Willis with Friends' co-star Matthew Perry for what just might be the former's oddest series. The first movie is a dark comedy where a retired hitman (Willis) makes life difficult for Perry's stressed-out dentist. The central pair have decent chemistry, but The Whole Nine Yards isn't particularly funny either, with most of its setpieces landing with a thud. The Whole Ten Yards might just be one of the most unnecessary follow-ups in film history too, and retroactively makes the original look like a laugh riot.
6. Red
The first Red was based on a comic series of the same name and focused on retired CIA agents being targeted for assassination for unknown reasons. The first entry featured a killer supporting cast - Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, etc - while Willis is having a lot of fun. Red - which won't get part 3 - is an enjoyable if utterly disposable action comedy. Red 2 attempted more of the same, but the comedy felt forced compared to the original, while its leading man - and most of the returning cast, in fact - looked like they were there to cash a cheque and nothing more.
5. Sin City
Sin City was one of the coolest movies of 2005 and saw Robert Rodriguez adapt the cult Frank Miller comic series. Willis took the lead role of Detective Hartigan for the third story "That Yellow Bastard," where he protects Jessica Alba's Nancy from a yellow-tinged killer. Willis fits the pulpy, hardboiled tone of Sin City very well, with the Dirty Harry-inspired Hartigan being one of the star's better latter-day roles. Sadly, Sin City itself isn't nearly as cool as it appeared in 2005, while the Eva Green-fronted sequel A Dame To Kill For - where Willis makes a cameo - came far too late to cash in on its surprise success.
4. Look Who's Talking
Another outlier in Bruce Willis' franchise evolution is his appearances in the first two Look Who's Talking movies. To be exact, he voices baby Mikey, whose inner monologue provides much of the saga's humor. The original Look Who's Talking by Amy Heckerling is the better movie, and while some of its gags have aged poorly, Willis' spirited turn and the chemistry between Kirsty Alley and John Travolta make it work. Look Who's Talking Too added the voice of Roseanna Barr as Mikey's little sister, but the sequel is a strained, witless retread of the original; Willis wisely steered clear of 1993's trilogy closer Look Who's Talking Now.
3. The Expendables
The Expendables was created by Sylvester Stallone as a way to unite action cinema's biggest stars together in one movie. In the original, former box-office rivals Willis and Schwarzenegger camoed, with both returning for (slightly) more substantial roles in the sequel. The Expendables movies are enjoyable Wednesday night fare, but they felt like pale imitations of their star's most famous work too. The action is often undercut by lackluster CGI and choppy editing. Fun as it was to see Willis trading barbs and machine gun fire with Stallone and Arnold, they all deserved a cooler vehicle than The Expendables 2.
2. Unbreakable
M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable series (AKA the Eastrail 177 Trilogy) are subversions of superhero cinema that eschew big-scale battles to get into their character's psychology instead. Unbreakable from 2000 was commenting on superhero blockbusters before they were even a thing and features one of Willis' most moving turns as an everyman who comes to realize his true purpose in life. Unbreakable was always designed as a trilogy, but 2016's Split was released as a stealth sequel following the origin of a new supervillain with Willis making a cameo. Split was too long and muddled in parts, but featured terrific performances by Anya Taylor-Joy and James McAvoy.
The final part of the trilogy was 2019's Glass, which brought Willis, McAvoy and Samuel L. Jackson's titular villain together. Sadly, Willis' role was largely reduced, while Glass' attempts to subvert audience expectations resulted in a frustrating and often pretentious thriller. McAvoy and Jackson inject it with life, however, and to Shyamalan's credit and despite the trilogy's numerous issues, these films never lack in ambition. Unbreakable is also another example of why Willis was often undervalued as a dramatic actor.
1. Die Hard
Die Hard gave birth to a new breed of action hero. For its many imitators, there's no touching the original. Willis gave a star-making turn as snarky cop John McClane - a role passed by MANY actors - who matched wits with Alan Rickman's terrorist Hans. Die Hard 2 is more of the same, but it's aged surprisingly well, while 1995's With A Vengeance overcomes its plot issues with well-executed setpieces and the addition of Sam Jackson's Zeus. Sadly, Live Free Or Die Hard and A Good Day To Die Hard were vapid blockbusters that misunderstood the appeal of the series, but overall, Die Hard is the defining Bruce Willis Franchise.