(Photo by Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection. Twelve Monkeys)
All Bruce Willis Movies Ranked
The latest:12 Monkeys celebrates its 30th anniversary! Starring Bruce Willis, critics hailed the film for its mind-blowing and kooky twist, and Willis’ excellent performance.
Where there’s a Willis, there’s a way. A way to make it from TV sitcom star to eternal everyman action movie hero (Die Hard). A way to make a talking baby movie work (Look Who’s Talking) to the tune of $300 million at the box office in the ’80s. And a way to throw it all away with misfires likeBonfire of the Vanities and Hudson Hawk. And a way to get it all back again by kickstarting the ’90s indie boom with Pulp Fiction.
Since then, Bruce has continued to have a wild career, with the occasional crucial movie released at the exact right time to freshen up his image, whether in epic blockbusters (Armageddon), muted horror (The Sixth Sense), twee comedy (Moonrise Kingdom), or sci-fi cult classics (Looper). Recent highlights include Glass, the surprise finale to M. Night Shyamalan’s trilogy that started with Unbreakable and Glass, and Edward Norton passion project Motherless Brooklyn. And now we’re ranking all Bruce Willis movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo
Critics Consensus: As thought-provoking as it is thrilling, Looper delivers an uncommonly smart, bravely original blend of futuristic sci-fi and good old-fashioned action.
Synopsis: In a future society, time-travel exists, but it's only available to those with the means to pay for it on [More]
Critics Consensus: Warm, whimsical, and poignant, the immaculately framed and beautifully acted Moonrise Kingdom presents writer/director Wes Anderson at his idiosyncratic best.
Synopsis: The year is 1965, and the residents of New Penzance, an island off the coast of New England, inhabit a [More]
Critics Consensus: Injecting its compendium of crime tales with the patois of everyday conversation, Pulp Fiction is a cinematic shot of adrenaline that cements writer-director Quentin Tarantino as an audacious purveyor of killer kino.
Synopsis: Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) are hitmen with a penchant for philosophical discussions. In this [More]
Critics Consensus: It's solidly directed by Robert Benton and stacked with fine performances from an impressive cast, but above all, Nobody's Fool is a showcase for some of Paul Newman's best late-period work.
Synopsis: Donald "Sully" Sullivan (Paul Newman) is an expert at avoiding adult responsibilities. At 60, he divides all his time between [More]
Critics Consensus: The plot's a bit of a jumble, but excellent performances and mind-blowing plot twists make 12 Monkeys a kooky, effective experience.
Synopsis: Traveling back in time isn't simple, as James Cole (Bruce Willis) learns the hard way. Imprisoned in the 2030s, James [More]
Critics Consensus:Live Free or Die Hard may be preposterous, but it's an efficient, action-packed summer popcorn flick with thrilling stunts and a commanding performance by Bruce Willis. Fans of the previous Die Hard films will not be disappointed.
Synopsis: As the nation prepares to celebrate Independence Day, veteran cop John McClane carries out another routine assignment: bringing in a [More]
Critics Consensus: M Night Shayamalan's The Sixth Sense is a twisty ghost story with all the style of a classical Hollywood picture, but all the chills of a modern horror flick.
Synopsis: Young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is haunted by a dark secret: he is visited by ghosts. Cole is frightened [More]
Critics Consensus: Visually groundbreaking and terrifically violent, Sin City brings the dark world of Frank Miller's graphic novel to vivid life.
Synopsis: In this quartet of neo-noir tales, a mysterious salesman (Josh Hartnett) narrates a tragic story of co-dependency, while a musclebound [More]
Critics Consensus: Even if it's not an animation classic, Over the Hedge is clever and fun, and the jokes cater to family members of all ages.
Synopsis: When Verne (Garry Shandling) and fellow woodland friends awake from winter's hibernation, they find they have some new neighbors: humans, [More]
Critics Consensus: It may not be the killer thrill ride you'd expect from an action movie with a cast of this caliber, but Red still thoroughly outshines most of its big-budget counterparts with its wit and style.
Synopsis: After surviving an assault from a squad of hit men, retired CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) reassembles his old [More]
Synopsis: Tensions between inmates and staff heighten in the world's most-dangerous maximum security penitentiary. Anarchy threatens to engulf the prison. [More]
Critics Consensus: Visually inventive and gleefully over the top, Luc Besson's The Fifth Element is a fantastic piece of pop sci-fi that never takes itself too seriously.
Synopsis: The Earth is about to be destroyed by a huge ball of fire racing toward the planet. Cornelius, an old [More]
Critics Consensus: With a weaker ending, Unbreakable is not as a good as The Sixth Sense. However, it is a quietly suspenseful film that intrigues and engages, taking the audience through unpredictable twists and turns along the way.
Synopsis: David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is the sole survivor of a devastating train wreck. Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) is a [More]
Critics Consensus: Taut, violent, and suitably self-deprecating, The Expendables 2 gives classic action fans everything they can reasonably expect from a star-studded shoot-'em-up -- for better and for worse.
Synopsis: Mercenary leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) and the rest of the Expendables team reunite when Mr. [More]
Critics Consensus: It lacks the fresh thrills of its predecessor, but Die Hard 2 still works as an over-the-top -- and reasonably taut -- big-budget sequel, with plenty of set pieces to paper over the plot deficiencies.
Synopsis: A year after his heroics in L.A., detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is mixed up in another terrorist plot, this [More]
Critics Consensus: With a slow build to a dramatic conclusion, In Country benefits largely from its strong acting, particularly by Emily Lloyd in the lead role.
Synopsis: Samantha Hughes (Emily Lloyd) lives with her uncle, Emmett Smith (Bruce Willis), in a small Kentucky town. After her high [More]
Critics Consensus:Motherless Brooklyn's imposing length requires patience, but strong performances and a unique perspective make this a mystery worth investigating.
Synopsis: Lionel Essrog is a lonely private detective who doesn't let Tourette's syndrome stand in the way of his job. Gifted [More]
Critics Consensus:Die Hard with a Vengeance benefits from Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson's barbed interplay, but clatters to a bombastic finish in a vain effort to cover for an overall lack of fresh ideas.
Synopsis: Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is now divorced, alcoholic and jobless after getting fired for his reckless behavior and bad [More]
Critics Consensus:The Astronaut Farmer is a charming, inspirational drama that successfully avoids modern cinematic cliches while appealing to the optimistic dreamer in all of us.
Synopsis: Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), a rancher who once trained to be an astronaut, decides to fulfill a lifelong dream: [More]
Critics Consensus: Hawn and Streep are as fabulous as Death Becomes Her's innovative special effects; Zemeckis' satire, on the other hand, is as hollow as the world it mocks.
Synopsis: When a novelist loses her man to a movie star and former friend, she winds up in a psychiatric hospital. [More]
Critics Consensus:Look Who's Talking holds some appeal thanks to its affable stars and Amy Heckerling's energetic direction, but a silly script doesn't allow wit to get a word in edgewise.
Synopsis: The romantic ups and downs of accountant Mollie Jensen (Kirstie Alley) are viewed cynically by a most unusual bystander -- [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite strong performances from Bruce Willis and Mos Def, 16 Blocks is a shopworn entry in the buddy-action genre.
Synopsis: Boozy and world-weary, NYPD Detective Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) draws a routine assignment to transport trial witness Eddie Bunker (Mos [More]
Critics Consensus: A glossy yet unflinching portrait of violent, hedonistic teenagers. Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone chew the scenery, while Justin Timberlake gives a noteworthy performance.
Synopsis: Teenage dealer Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) and his friends kidnap the impressionable younger brother (Anton Yelchin) of a junkie (Ben [More]
Critics Consensus: Trying too hard to be clever in a Pulp Fiction kind of way, this film succumbs to a convoluted plot, overly stylized characters, and dizzying set design.
Synopsis: A case of mistaken identity puts a man named Slevin (Josh Hartnett) in the middle of a war between two [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite some fine performances and memorable scenes, Fast Food Nation is more effective as Eric Schlosser's eye-opening non-fiction book than as Richard Linklater's fictionalized, mostly punchless movie.
Synopsis: Don Henderson (Greg Kinnear), a marketing executive for a national burger chain must leave blissful ignorance behind when his boss [More]
Critics Consensus: While it's still hard to argue with its impeccable cast or the fun they often seem to be having, Red 2 replaces much of the goofy fun of its predecessor with empty, over-the-top bombast.
Synopsis: Former CIA black-ops agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and his old partner, Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), are caught in the [More]
Critics Consensus: An exciting, well-paced action film.
Synopsis: After terrorists attack a bus in Brooklyn, a Broadway theater and FBI headquarters, FBI anti-terrorism expert Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington) [More]
Critics Consensus: Lovely to look at but about as intelligent as the asteroid that serves as the movie's antagonist, Armageddon slickly sums up the cinematic legacies of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay.
Synopsis: When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) determines the only way to [More]
Critics Consensus:A Dame to Kill For boasts the same stylish violence and striking visual palette as the original Sin City, but lacks its predecessor's brutal impact.
Synopsis: The damaged denizens of Sin City return for another round of stories from the mind of Frank Miller. In "Just [More]
Critics Consensus:Last Man Standing's brooding atmosphere and bursts of artfully arranged action prove intriguing yet ultimately insufficient substitutes for a consistently compelling story.
Synopsis: Loyal to nobody but himself, John Smith (Bruce Willis) hires his services out to Fredo Strozzi (Ned Eisenberg), a bootlegging [More]
Critics Consensus: The Rugrats franchise has gone from fresh to formulaic.
Synopsis: Chuckie (Nancy Cartwright) and Tommy (Elizabeth Daily) find themselves stranded with their parents on a remote island. By coincidence, the [More]
Critics Consensus:Glass displays a few glimmers of M. Night Shyamalan at his twisty world-building best, but ultimately disappoints as the conclusion to the writer-director's long-gestating trilogy.
Synopsis: David Dunn tries to stay one step ahead of the law while delivering vigilante justice on the streets of Philadelphia. [More]
Critics Consensus: Though it sports a slick look and feel, Surrogates fails to capitalize on a promising premise, relying instead on mindless action and a poor script.
Synopsis: In the near future, people live their lives free of pain, danger and complications through robotic representations of themselves, called [More]
Synopsis: In 1935, Bronx teenager Billy Behan (Loren Dean) attracts the attention of powerful mobster Dutch Schultz (Dustin Hoffman) and quickly [More]
Critics Consensus: Though arguably superior to its predecessor, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is overwhelmed by its nonstop action and too nonsensical and vapid to leave a lasting impression.
Synopsis: In the continuing adventures of the G.I. Joe team, Duke (Channing Tatum), second-in-command Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), and the rest of [More]
Critics Consensus: The movie is overwhelmed by its chaotic visual effects and disjointed storyline.
Synopsis: An unhappy car dealer (Bruce Willis) believes that a dime-store author/philosopher (Albert Finney) has the answers to life's important questions. [More]
Synopsis: Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction) and Chad Michael Murray ("Riverdale") star in this explosive crime-thriller. When cop David (Willis) is injured [More]
Synopsis: When an assassination attempt is witnessed by two cops, Gabriel Tancredi, an ex-marine turned mob enforcer (Michael Rooker), is ordered [More]
Critics Consensus:Blind Date has all the ingredients for a successful madcap comedy, but the end results suggest director Blake Edwards has lost his once-reliable touch.
Synopsis: When bachelor Walter Davis (Bruce Willis) is set up with his sister-in-law's pretty cousin, Nadia Gates (Kim Basinger), a seemingly [More]
Critics Consensus: Bruce willie shot aside, the only other things popping out in Color of Night are some ridiculous plot contortions and majorly camp moments.
Synopsis: Attempts on his life escalate as a New York psychologist (Bruce Willis) closes in on a colleague's killer in Los [More]
Critics Consensus: A muddled, filler-grade mess, Gasoline Alley wastes its capable cast on a story that lacks the proper narrative fuel it desperately needs.
Synopsis: Bruce Willis, Luke Wilson and Devon Sawa star in the chilling story of a savage Hollywood murder set in present [More]
Critics Consensus: From its clichéd story to Bruce Willis' rote performance, Marauders is a crime thriller content to settle for merely competent -- a goal it all too rarely achieves.
Synopsis: FBI agents (Christopher Meloni, Dave Bautista) uncover a conspiracy while trying to nail a group of deadly bank robbers. [More]
Critics Consensus:Mercury Rising lays the action on thick, but can never find a dramatic pulse to keep viewers -- or Bruce Willis -- engaged with its maudlin story.
Synopsis: "Mercury Rising" stars Bruce Willis as Art Jeffries, a renegade FBI agent who combats ruthless federal agents to protect Simon [More]
Critics Consensus:Once Upon a Time in Venice has a little more of a spark than typical late-period Bruce Willis tough guy movies, but it's still a steep, disappointing tumble from his best work.
Synopsis: Steve Ford is a private detective in Venice Beach, Calif., who's good with the ladies, bad with the punches and [More]
Critics Consensus: Weighed down by a rote story and passionless performances, Striking Distance represents one of the lesser '90s genre outings from action hero Bruce Willis.
Synopsis: Sgt. Tom Hardy (Bruce Willis) denounces his partner, Jimmy Detillo (Robert Pastorelli), for brutally interrogating a suspect. After Jimmy falls [More]
Synopsis: Bruce Willis stars in the action-packed, Sci-fi thriller. Fleeing a devastating plague on Earth, an interstellar ark comes under attack [More]
Synopsis: Bruce Willis stars in the action-packed, Sci-fi thriller. Fleeing a devastating plague on Earth, an interstellar ark comes under attack [More]
Critics Consensus:Death Wish is little more than a rote retelling that lacks the grit and conviction of the original -- and also suffers from spectacularly bad timing.
Synopsis: Dr. Paul Kersey is a surgeon who often sees the consequences of the city's violence in the emergency room. When [More]
Critics Consensus:The Bonfire of the Vanities is a vapid adaptation of a thoughtful book, fatally miscast and shorn of the source material's crucial sense of irony. Add it to the pyre of Hollywood's ambitious failures.
Synopsis: In this adaptation of the Tom Wolfe novel, powerful Wall Street executive Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) is riding with his [More]
Critics Consensus:A Good Day to Die Hard is the weakest entry in a storied franchise, and not even Bruce Willis' smirking demeanor can enliven a cliched, uninspired script.
Synopsis: New York City cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) arrives in Moscow to track down his estranged son, Jack (Jai Courtney). [More]
Critics Consensus: Laden with schmaltz and largely bereft of evident narrative purpose, North represents an early major disappointment from previously sure-handed director Rob Reiner.
Synopsis: North (Elijah Wood) is a talented and bright kid, but his mom (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and dad (Jason Alexander) are utterly [More]
Critics Consensus:Four Rooms comes stocked with a ton of talent on both sides of the camera, yet only manages to add up to a particularly uneven -- and dismayingly uninspired -- anthology effort.
Synopsis: Working New Year's Eve at a hotel in Hollywood, Calif., the new bellhop, Ted (Tim Roth), has no idea what's [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite the presence of Halle Berry and Bruce Willis, Perfect Stranger is too convoluted to work, and features a twist ending that's irritating and superfluous. It's a techno-thriller without thrills.
Synopsis: Rowena Price (Halle Berry), a reporter, uses her investigative skills to solve the murder of a friend. Her search leads [More]
Critics Consensus: Dull and predictable, Midnight in the Switchgrass squanders an evocative setting and some committed performances on a would-be thriller that rarely raises a sweat.
Synopsis: Bruce Willis (DIE HARD franchise) and Megan Fox (TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN) lead a powerful cast including Emile Hirsch [More]
Critics Consensus: The Shareef don't like Rock the Kasbah, and neither will viewers hoping for a film that manages to make effective use of Bill Murray's knack for playing lovably anarchic losers.
Synopsis: While visiting Kabul, Afghanistan, washed-up music manager Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) gets dumped by his last client. His luck changes [More]
Critics Consensus: Let he who is without Cosmic Sin cast the first stone -- and possibly use it to rouse Bruce Willis from the slumber he seems to be in throughout this dreadful sci-fi blunder.
Synopsis: Bruce Willis and Frank Grillo star in the new epic sci-fi adventure set in the year 2524, four hundred years [More]
Critics Consensus: Bruce Willis and Thomas Jane are visibly bored by the dreary material in this sci-fi hodgepodge, proving that star power in service of a lousy script is no virtue.
Synopsis: A self-aware, artificial human (Ambyr Childers) becomes caught in the crossfire between a cop (Thomas Jane) and the creator (Bruce [More]
Synopsis: Starring Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction), this action cyber-thriller continues the adventure begun in Fortress. Weeks after the deadly assault on [More]
94%
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