The Best and Worst of Bruce Willis

 The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "Rock the Kasbah" star Bruce Willis.


Films starring Bruce Willis that I've seen:
Die Hard
Pulp Fiction
Die Hard with a Vengeance
The Fifth Element
Armageddon  
The Sixth Sense
The Whole Nine Yards
Unbreakable
Tears of the Sun
Sin City 
Alpha Dog
16 Blocks
Lucky Number Slevin
Planet Terror
Live Free or Die Hard
Surrogates
Cop Out
The Expendables
Red
The Expendables 2
Moonrise Kingdom
Looper
A Good Day to Die Hard
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Red 2 
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Best Performance: Die Hard (1988)
Willis has played no shortage of memorable characters over his nearly three-decade career, but Die Hard gave birth to his most iconic one of all. Willis' charisma, likability and smart-ass comedic delivery made John McClane arguably the most badass action hero in movie history.

Worst Performance: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Calling Willis' performance in Moonrise Kingdom bad would be a stretch, but it's definitely the weakest performance I've ever seen from him. Willis' even-tempered performance just feels kind of awkward in Wes Anderson's quirky world, especially when he's sharing scenes alongside the likes of Edward Norton, Frances McDormand and Bill Murray-who are all fully committed to the zaniness of their characters.

Best Film: Pulp Fiction (1994)
There's really no way to properly articulate the love I have for Pulp Fiction without turning into a pathetic fanboy. Ever since I saw it for the first time when I was 13, I've been obsessed with it. This is the film that made me develop an appreciation for non-linear storytelling, introduced me to the brilliance of Quentin Tarintino's filmmaking and most importantly, advanced my love of film to the next level. As long as I live, I don't think another film will delight, entertain or floor me like Pulp Fiction does. 

Worst Film: Armageddon (1998)
I am one of the few jackasses on the planet that will go to great lengths to defend Michael Bay as a director. His explosion-heavy, little-to-zero substance style of filmmaking rightfully pisses a lot of people off, but I think he's a top-notch action director who has made a lot of really fun movies over the years. That being said, I simply can not defend Armageddon under any circumstances. Big-budget disaster movies are typically loud and dumb, but Armageddon takes that level of stupidity to new heights without any of the fun that's typically present in films of the genre. Armageddon plays out like a soap opera with absurd melodrama and overacting galore and by the time the final credits roll on this two-and-a-half hour cringefest, you'll be left wondering why Touchstone/Disney dumped $150 million into this project. 

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "Burnt" star Bradley Cooper.