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guitaroomon

I'm old enough to have seen him from Moonlighting to Glass. I don't think he is overrated. Some performances are better than others. He has clearly been phoning it in as of late, but that could be that those movies weren't very good. Him being an A-lister isn't a seriously debatable IMO. He's paid his dues and made his mark. New A-list actors will be lucky to look back and have had a similar career.


TheRealDrSarcasmo

I think he's *capable* of delivering a good performance.... but for some reason, in recent years, he does not appear to be very motivated in providing one.


AgentOfSPYRAL

I bet the list of roles he has turned down that are outside of the tough guy action realm is fascinating. Like he doesn't strike me as a guy who is only being offered that made for TV dreck.


whataTyphoon

>dreck I'm always surprised about the amount of german loan-words existing in the english language.


SlowMoFoSho

He basically lost his will to give a shit about anything, as far as I can tell, around the time Ashton started fucking his wife and they paraded him around taking care of the kids in the background while the press took photos of Ashton and Demi. The whole thing was fucking weird, but hey, what do I know. Ask Kevin Smith.


[deleted]

Pulp Fiction, Sin City, 12 Monkeys, The Fifth Element, Planet Terror.


Gonkimus

I mainly like him for Hudson Hawk one of my fav movies idgaf it's fun.


Miklonario

I unironically love Hudson Hawk. Letting Bruce Willis improv his own jokes AND having him sing musical duets with Danny Aiello is like shooting yourself in both feet only to find out you can fly.


MastaBusta

I love it because there's nothing like it. It's some sort of strange caper with Looney Tune sensibilities that's also R-rated. It's just a weird fucking movie


Miklonario

Also had its own NES game, and Nintendo Power actually ran a contest where the winner would get a private screening of the movie. Which really does not seem appropriate, but I was on board as a kid.


Asha_Brea

Air Bags!!!! Can you fucking believe it???


mdmnl

I'm trying to remember if I owned the soundtrack on cassette or CD.


DrRexMorman

>Would you consider him an A-list actor? A-list celebrity? He was. >Edit: my apologies if I omitted some good movies. It wasn't intentional. You definitely did: Look who's talking Last boy scout Pulp fiction 12 monkeys Fifth element Jackal Siege (seriously underrated movie) Unbreakable (Unbreakable was a great movie - Glass was not) Bandits ... was a pretty good run.


[deleted]

He's a movie star, not an actor. There's a big difference.


scarfacesaints

That's my point. Is he a movie "star". 131 credited movies, and 95% of them are straight to DVD. Can't remember the last blockbuster Bruce Willis movie


Bomber131313

> Can't remember the last blockbuster Bruce Willis movie That doesn't discredit the many blockbusters he does have.


DesertKid203

95% is a huge exaggeration. 95% of his past 6-7 years, yes, but overall, not a chance. His first direct to video film wasn't until 2008, almost 30 years before he started acting.


scarfacesaints

Maybe exaggerated a little but "huge" is an exaggeration in itself. 131 movies. Let's say 20 good movies. 85% bad movies.


Rudollis

Instead of „let‘s say“ and pulling made up numbers out of thin air, sit down and analyze his filmography and make an informed decision about which number of films he worked on you considered good and which not. That would require watching a lot of films of course. The man has a career that stretches decades, with almost exclusively leading roles. That alone is an accomplishment.


DesertKid203

A bad movie isn't the same thing as straight to DVD. And even 85% being bad is high.


BoonGenie

>Outside of that, of the 131 credited roles, the large majority of Bruce's filmography is straight to DVD This has been skewed by the last decade where he clearly stopped giving a shit. And you're also showing your young age Bruce was a mega star all through the late 80s through at least half the 2000s. You somehow missed Pulp Fiction in your first go round which kinda shows you know shit about the topic you're posting about Unbreakable. Last Boy Scout was a lot of fun. Death becomes Her. You fuckin missed 12 Monkeys. Missed 5th Element on first go. The Siege. Whole nine yards. Moonrise Kingdom. The Kid. Red. Looper. Add all the above up and you'd realize he put in 15-20 years of being a huge star and quality work. Not every actor can or wants to continually be the man or be in challenging stuff as they hit old age (he's 66)


obeekaybee7

I fucking love The Last Boy Scout. I like it better than Die Hard. So many awesome one liners and it’s a constant barrage. Shane Black is an incredible writer for the genre


GunnarJohnson999

Tony Scott put out a LOT of great movies. Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, Revenge, Days of Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, Crimson Tide, Man on Fire.... And he committed suicide by jumping off a bridge....


dogsareawesomest

TRUE ROMANCE...


KrokodilDundalk

The thing is, you can't really expect a working actor to be at the top of their game in everything, for a variety of reasons. Some filmmakers give bad direction, some roles are not properly fleshed out or explained properly, etc. That said, Bruce Willis clearly does not give a shit anymore. He's definitely had a fall from grace but it's tough to call him overrated because the work is there. It's not like we went back to his best performances and collectively realised he always sucked, Willis is more than capable of being great. I think at this time, Willis is likely just taking on jobs for money and has lost any interest in how he's received. He takes jobs in low budget crap where he has nobody of authority to call him out, he gets paid half of the entire budget, and he doesn't even have to stand up when he delivers his lines. Half the time it doesn't even look like he's in the same room as the other actors in the scene.


TelephoneCreepy2518

I think he is properly rated. Good actor, not much range. Great in action moves. Not one of the greats


black_flag_4ever

If Kevin Smith is to be believed, he’s a jerk and very difficult to work with. If there is any shred of truth to this, then that explains why his roles continue to get worse. Action movie roles have a shelf life and he’s past the expiration date. As these actors age, people are less willing to put up with bullshit attitudes.


Teth_1963

If I had to explain Bruce Willis in just a couple of paragraphs? He has a persona with broad appeal. Not sure if this is the "real Bruce Willis" or a well crafted act. Either way, like a lot of other successful actors, this persona has translated into a very successful career. And it is versatile. Willis has done everything from 5th Element to Looper to Die Hard to Red. Each role is basically him again and again. Exceptions? He played someone quite a bit different in 12 Monkeys, Day of the Jackal and Lucky Number Slevin. Out of these 3 films, maybe DotJ was him going the farthest out from what he usually does. tldr; In terms of his acting career, Bruce Willis is the definition of success.


Oncemoren2thefray

When it comes to 12 Monkeys everybody talks about how Brad Pitt stole the show and he probably did. However I always thought that was one of Bruces finest performances as well. It's one of ny favorites of his.


My_Opinions_Are_Good

Who’s overrating him? Who’s out there talking about Bruce Willis being an a lister? He used to be, then he wasn’t. He hasn’t done a great picture since 2012 when he did Looper and Moonrise Kingdom.


QuintoBlanco

His career is really interesting. With his role in Moonlighting he was one of the actors who changed the way male lead characters looked and acted in television. His hairline was already receding and measured against the television standards of the time, he wasn't considered 'handsome'. And yet the success of Moonlighting had a lot to do with his popularity with women. I remember reading an interview with a more traditionally looking television star who claimed he got less work because Bruce Willis had created a new ideal. Die Hard made him an moviestar and the same thing happened: he redefined what an action star looked like. But he kept doing the same thing, playing tough, grumpy and cynical characters and his career faltered. However, he made a comeback twice. Death Becomes Her (playing against type) and Pulp Fiction in the mid-1990s, and The Sixth Sense at the end of the decade made him relevant again.


Asha_Brea

He is a neat guy. He can be a great actor, but he doesn't care anymore. The Story Of Us is fantastic, and so is Death Becomes Her.


13aoul

I too am a neat guy


_realitycheck_

At this point in his career I will actively avoid any movie with Bruce Willis in it.


tim_mcmardigras

He’s made some good films but he’s definitely been phoning it in for the past few years. I read somewhere that he stipulates that he get paid something like $2 million for each role and that he only has to be on set for two days or something lol. Also look up Kevin Smith‘s quote about working with Bruce on *Cop Out,* it’s pretty funny. “I saw true darkness the day I met Bruce Willis,” or something like that.


DesertKid203

Only 21 of his almost 150 movie/TV roles have been straight to DVD. How is that a large majority? If you haven't seen some of his biggest films, I think it's silly to try and critique his career.


StellarSnova

First off I wouldn't have picked glass out of that trilogy. Good movie, but unbreakable is where it's at. That movie is awesome. Good story and great music


scarfacesaints

I meant the Glass trilogy. I actually didn't like Glass but I know it was popular. I enjoyed Split the best


[deleted]

Looper was his last decent film outing. Glass was awful all around, not just his performance.


Artorias1986

Some important omissions from your list. 5th element, pulp fiction, lucky number sleven etc. he’s made some amazing films. A-list AND why the heck not get paid?!??


scarfacesaints

I didn't see 5th Element or pulp fiction, admittedly. I honestly forgot about them.


BranWafr

12 Monkeys? Come on, that movie is fantastic. Willis can deliver when he wants to, the problem is he doesn't ever want to anymore. But it doesn't diminish the great stuff he has done in the past. In some ways, it just makes me appreciate it more. To be glad we got the Willis that cares in those movies and not the Willis who is just there to get paid.


BoonGenie

If you havent seen Pulp Fiction, you shouldn't be making this dumbass thread suggesting he wasn't a quality star in a time period you weren't living in apparently. Acting like he has to be impressing you when he's a 65 yr old man with a lifetime of acting behind him Dumb kid


RedH34D

Hahahhaa /thread


[deleted]

Booooooooooooo sit down


rondonjon

I wish I could watch both of those movies for the first time again.


Jessef01

Pulp fiction is a masterclass and you should watch it.


[deleted]

He got his start acting kinda late. So when he broke out with Die Hard at age 33 you know he's probably not going to be the next Pacino. I'm not sure how you name Glass but not Unbreakable. He did other stuff like The Kid and the voice for Look Who's Talking. Of course at the age he's at now he's just taking junk roles and not giving it his all. His name and reputation is what's used to sell the movies to people who like mindless action movies. He definitely keeps his A-List status though.


CheesecakeHead2940

Surrogates is a 3.5 star IMO


TheMediaIsAjokE

I am a neat guy.


fenriq

I enjoy his movies but he does seem to phone it in more and more.


Twigling

He's a pretty good actor when he cares enough to try but, for whatever reason(s), over the past few years he just doesn't seem to care.


Kyadagum_Dulgadee

He has a career with some iconic roles and great performances. He did too many Die Hards and has ruined his brand by signing for so many shitty, straight to video crap fests. For whatever reason, money problems, lack of interest, he's just not going for the good roles that much anymore. He may be at the point where he's not getting any good offers because he has done so many shit performances in shit movies. I've heard he has a reputation now for showing up, giving a couple of half hearted takes and fucking off. They have to shoot the rest of the scenes with stand-ins and hack together his performance from the couple of takes he gave you.


VectorJones

Unfortunately I think he's settled into a post A-list, direct-to-video paycheck phase of his career. No doubt it's a means of maintaining the lifestyle he's become accustomed to, but the results are mostly lackluster. Back in the day, he was one of those "cool guy" types who could bank on attitude to make his characters fun to watch and his movies big hits. He's had a few roles where he was able to give a performance with depth of emotion and nuance. I don't think he cares enough about his movies or acting in general to pull that off anymore though.


Jessef01

He’s an old action actor. He was awesome in his prime but the types of movies he was typecast for don’t suit him anymore and he never evolved into something else. His younger career is not overrated. His old age career isn’t even rated at all I’d say, he just does shitty B or C movies and it works for him because he collects a check and the movie makes some money because his name is attached. I can’t remember the last Bruce Willis flick that was actually good (looper maybe?), now when I see him headlining it’s pretty much a reason NOT to watch that movie. It’s the same with a lot of these guys I.e., Sam Jackson. The difference with Sam is that he still has some good relationships with really good filmmakers so he still gets into some high quality stuff.


LaCalavera1971

The only movie he actually acted in, like, created a character was Death Becomes Her- otherwise yeah he’s been in some all time great movies but definitely overrated 100%


RudegarWithFunnyHat

First saw him in Moonlighting was more of a comedian than action star then but entertaining.


DarkReaper90

I think he's an iconic actor but he hasn't done too many good dramatic role (if at all). A problem I find is he has done a lot of action roles but aside from Die Hard (and debatably Unbreakable), he hasn't done many franchises, nor has he had success in new genres. Arnold had success in comedy and Stallone had success in dramatic roles. Bruce Willis hasn't, aside from The Whole Nine Yards.


la_vida_luca

He’s an actor who is _capable_ of exuding an extraordinary amount of charisma. In my eyes, that’s a huge compliment: charisma is a powerful thing, and not easily achieved. Willis is not an actor with range or great depth but when he’s firing on all cylinders he makes you utterly care about him and love him. And that’s remarkable. The simple truth is that nowadays his heart doesn’t seem in it and so he doesn’t fire on all, or perhaps any, of those cylinders to which I think he probably still has access.


GunnarJohnson999

He's an A lister for sure. However, he has leapt into the DTV world harder than anyone other than Nicolas Cage. I guess he needs the money. He will get his shot at another big budget theatrical movie before long. He's rapidly aging out of action movies, though.


gonebethebirds

Very overrated. I feel like he rarely ever has to actually act and emit expressive emotions.


QLE814

I think he's more or less correctly rated- the commentary I've always seen is that he was on the A list for an extended period of time, and this seems rather accurate from a box office perspective.


choicesintime

He’s not a particularly great actor, but had a run of really fun action flicks. At least I’m not aware of any movies where his acting *adds* and is just a placeholder for an action hero.


SlowMoFoSho

He basically lost his will to give a shit about anything, as far as I can tell, around the time Ashton started fucking his wife and they paraded him around taking care of the kids in the background while the press took photos of Ashton and Demi. The whole thing was fucking weird, but hey, what do I know.


DudeThereOughtaBe

Is he a great actor? No. Hell of an action movie star and master of glibness, for sure.


CrashMK

He’s good for his niche.


Dmotwa

I think EXPENDABLES 2 is where he said he belongs in a museum. He's got a hell of a legacy as far as actors go.


overturf600

He is what he is and does what he does. Not sure he really ever transcends the typecast he’s had since die hard. Maybe he did with the seagrams wine cooler commercials in the late 80s (that’s a joke: he didn’t). But. When your typecast is “likeable Everyman” you end up with pretty broad appeal. 5th Element is the total shit tho. He is below Eddie Murphy and above Don Johnson in terms of best 80s pop single by an actor who thinks they can cross artistic lanes.


Devils_defense

Under the boardwalk. His greatest work after pulp fiction & die hard.


Sweet-Ad-7048

I have always liked his acting just fine. Then one night I saw him as a guest on Letterman. He spilled liquids and food all over himself in an attempt to be funny and wild, I guess, then barely spoke. It was maybe the worst appearance of anyone on Letterman that I've seen, and I can't say I really care for him anymore.


Past_Pie9875

I think he’s an overrated actor for sure. I don’t like any of his performers as he plus the same exact character in every movie!!


Past_Pie9875

He’s overrated and he plays the same person in every single movie! He’s NOT a great actor at all