Bruce Willis might be known for such action hits as Die Hard, Armageddon, The Fifth Element, and The Expendables, but sadly, as his health declined, he appeared in a number of low-budget movies that some say tarnished his legacy. Not Quentin Tarantino, however, who recently defended Willis’ decision to nab a few quick paychecks shortly before word broke that he’d been diagnosed with aphasia, going so far as to say he was “really impressed” by the films.
Speaking on his Video Archives Podcast, Tarantrino admitted to watching at least six of the direct-to-video flicks, including Vice (2015), Trauma Center (2019), and Deadlock (2021), calling them “very easy to watch” and “entertaining.” The Pulp Fiction director also said he doesn’t see what critics see, and praised Willis’ performances.
“These movies that he’s been making for these companies have really gone under fire in a really big way, and there’s been these kinds of expose articles written about them and talking sh*t about these movies. I was really impressed by Bruce in these movies. I thought he was really charming in them. He’s really fun.”
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Despite Willis only appearing for a few minutes in many of the low-budget affairs, he often received top billing as a way to entice audiences to give them a watch. The New York Times reported that he would earn about $2 million per flick, often only working a couple of days on each production. A Los Angeles Times piece later exposed that he had to wear an earpiece to be fed lines, something that Tarantino said is obvious, but didn’t stop Willis from giving it all he had.
“You can never have a scene where he says a line, somebody else says a line, and he says a line back. You’re getting one line out of him at a time, so there’s always a cut. But he’s making it work. He’s not phoning in his performances […] The people who are putting these movies down obviously have never seen any real exploitation movies before.”
Bruce Willis’ Legacy Is Anything But Tarnished
While Tarantino often has some hot takes when it comes to movies that we don’t all necessarily agree with, in this case, he’s right. Willis’ decision to appear in a number of these films obviously came when he was trying to do as much as he could during a time when he knew the clock was ticking on his career. You can’t fault him for that, and it doesn’t even come close to erasing the many classics we’ve all come to love over the years.
From the aforementioned hits to ones like The Last Boy Scout, 12 Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, and Unbreakable, there’s plenty in his filmography to be thankful for, which no amount of direct-to-video duds can ever make us forget. Though he may not be able to act anymore, Willis should be proud of the career he’s had, and we should all be grateful that we got to watch him in the first place. So, screw the haters. We’re going to go grab some popcorn and watch Gasoline Alley. It’s got Devon Sawa and a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes, so you know it’s going to be a blast.
- Release Date
- July 15, 1988