 |
| Image Source Gage Skidmore |
When mentioning the name Bruce Willis at one point it was said with a bit of respect. He was regarded in the 80s and 90s as a talented actor and box office star. However, over the past few years, I've noticed a change. When seeing his name online it is often as the butt of a joke now, referencing many of the shitty films he has done recently.
And yes, many of the films he has done are crap such as the "Death Wish" remake, and a large series of easily forgettable films where he basically plays the same grizzled old tough guy. But mixed in with that are some decent performances, most recently reprising his David Dunn in "Glass." "Sin City" isn't that old of a film and an excellent one. As well as Wes Andersons "Moonrise Kingdom." Yes, these performances don't live up to the caliber of his performance in "Twelve Monkeys" or one of my favorite performances as "Hudson Hawk."
Kevin Smith has talked about his experience working with Willis in "Cop Out" and what a pain in the ass he was to work with. But just because someone can be difficult does that necessarily make him a bad actor? Maybe Smith just needs to be more of a hard ass director for someone like Willis? It is possible to be a fan of both, which I am. I don't see a lot of people holding it against Kevin Smith that the majority of his films in the 2000s have been less than stellar. Any fans of Tusk out there?
As people of the public, we often like to take people who have made it to the top and tear them down, and using the crap that he occasionally makes in-between his decent performances seems to be what we are doing now. Bruce Will is in his 60s and is straddling that line between former big-budget action star and what actors become as they get older in life.
Some performers might have an easier time of it than others, Michael Caine, for example, isn't someone we think of as an action star but if you look at his films from the '70s that is pretty much what he was. But even he had a bit of a transitional period going from "The Italian Job" and "Get Carter" in the '70s to performances like the recent Arthur in "Kingsman" and Alfred in the Batman Movies.
So, stop trying to make your internet nerd selves feel better by ripping on someone more famous, wealthy and who has had sex with more supermodels than you. Go back to your video games and internet porn. And when a crappy Bruce Willis movie comes out to skip it and wait for something that it with seeing to get out of the basement for. Because even though he doesn't do as many good films he used to, he does occasionally do something worth watching and enjoying.
Comments