Well known for his hardcore character in blockbuster action films, Bruce Willis is one of the most versatile movie stars of Hollywood. Willis started his career with some minor appearances in various T.V. shows and commercials until he landed a lead role in a rom-com television series called “Moonlighting” in 1985 but got his big break after starring as “John McClane” in the infamous film franchise “Die Hard.” After featuring in more than 70 films and 10 T.V. series, Bruce Willis has reached a net worth of $250 million.
Without further ado, let’s get started on this action trip and discover Bruce Willis top 25 films of all time.
1. Die Hard (1988)
- Director: John McTiernan
- Writer: Roderick Thorp, Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, Bonnie Bedelia
- IMDb Ratings: 8.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 94%
- Streaming Platforms: HBO Max, HBO Now, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play
It is deemed as one of the best action movies of all time. The plot of this infamous box-office success starts with John McClane, an NYPD cop, enjoying his Christmas vacation with his wife, Holly.
They meet at a party at the Nakatomi Corporation, where Hans Gruber, a German criminal, initiates an elaborate heist and takes everyone in the tower hostage. McClane somehow manages to escape the tower and decides to take down the terrorists and free the hostages.
2. Die Hard 2 (1990)
- Director: Renny Harlin
- Writer: Walter Wager, Steven E. de Souza, Doug Richardson
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson
- IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 69%
- Streaming Platforms: HBO MAX, HBO NOW, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play
It is the second film in the Die-Hard film franchise. Two years after the horrifying incident at Nakatomi Tower, our hero, John McClane, is waiting for his wife at the Washington Dulles International Airport.
However, after detecting some suspicious behavior at the airport, McClane learns that there is a plan brewing to hijack the airport system and ask to free a drug lord as ransom. McClain attempts to stop these criminals.
3. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
- Director: John McTiernan
- Writer: Jonathan Hensleigh, Roderick Thorp
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene
- IMDb Ratings: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 59%
- Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, HBO MAX & HBO
After being suspended by the NYPD, detective John McClane is forced to comply with a bomber named Simon Gruber and carry out a task that would tag him as racist.
He receives from an electrician, Zeus Craver. Simon contacts them again and manipulates them by threatening to detonate another bomb. John McClane and Craver are forced to comply, and the plot ends with them discovering Simon’s intentions.
4. Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
- Director: Len Wiseman
- Writer: Mark Bomback, Mark Bomback, David Marconi, John Carlin, Roderick Thorp
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Cliff Curtis
- IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 82%
- Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video
The fourth sequel of the series, Live Free or Die Hard, starts with John McClane, a NYPD detective, on his way to arrest a hacker named Matthew Farrell. He finds him being attacked by some assassins working under the orders of a cybercriminal, Thomas Gabriel. Both of them team up to take him down for good.
5. Pulp Fiction (1994
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Writer: Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Butch Coolidge), John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel
- IMDb Ratings: 8.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 92%
- Streaming Platforms: STARZ, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play
Pulp Fiction is one of the best comedy-crime movies of all time. This film, in which Willis plays the role of Butch Coolidge, tells the stories of various criminals of Los Angeles.
It is derived from the “Pulp Magazines,” famous for their raw, graphic violence and explicit language. In this movie, Willis’ character Coolidge is a boxer who is supposed to fight a mob king named Marcellus Wallace.
6. 12 Monkeys (1995)
- Director: Terry Gilliam
- Writer: Chris Marker, David Webb Peoples, Janet Peoples
- Cast: Bruce Willis (As James Cole), Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer
- IMDb Ratings: 8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 89%
- Streaming Platforms: Hulu, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Store
Directed by Terry Gilliam, Twelve Monkeys is a science-fiction movie adapted from a short film,” La Jetée.” The story starts in the year 2035, in Baltimore.
In 1996, a group called “The Army of the Twelve Monkeys” had released a virus that became a pandemic and almost killed the entire human race. James Cole, a 2035 prisoner, is tasked to time travel back to 1996 and find the origin of the virus and help scientists find a cure.
7. Looper (2012)
- Director: Rian Johnson
- Writer: Rian Johnson
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Old Joe), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano
- IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 93%
- Streaming Platforms: Fandango Now, VUDU, Prime Video, Apple TV
The plot of this movie is set in the year 2074. A ‘Looper’ named Joe, working for a crime syndicate is tasked with transporting future criminals in the past, killing them, and disposing of their bodies. Later he learns that one day he will have to kill his past self in order to close the loop. Along with his friend Seth, Joe figures out a way to stay alive.
8. The Sixth Sense (1999)
- Director: M. N. Shyamalan
- Writer: M. N. Shyamalan
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Malcolm Crowe), Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Haley Joel Osment
- IMDb Ratings: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 86%
- Streaming Platforms: Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Store
This Supernatural movie revolves around the life of a psychologist named Malcolm Crowe. One day, he is visited by one of his former patients named Vincent Grey, who accused him of not treating him properly.
In an attempt to kill Crowe, Vincent shots him and then kills himself as well. Crowe, however, survives. Later in the story, he meets a young boy named Cole who claims that he can see dead people. He learns Cole’s gifts are real and the plot continues.
9. The Fifth Element (1997)
- Director: Luc Besson
- Writer: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Korben Dallas), Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker
- IMDb Ratings: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 70%
- Streaming Platforms: Hulu, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Store
This movie is adapted from a French film “Le Cinquième Élément.” Its plot is set in the 23rd century, where the earth is threated by some great evil. In order to destroy this evil, Korben Dallas, our hero, sets off to find an ancient weapon which can only be activated using the five elements.
While transporting the fifth element, Leeloo, who is a Human-Robot hybrid, is destroyed. Using her residual DNA, scientists successfully rebuild her. The plot concludes with Dallas and Leeloo teaming up and destroying the evil for good.
10. Unbreakable (2002)
- Director: M. Night Shyamalan
- Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
- Cast: Bruce Willis (David Dunn), Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn
- IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 70%
- Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video
“Unbreakable” is the first film of the Eastrail 177 Trilogy, preceding “Glass” and “Split”. David Dunn, a football player turned security guard, discovers that he is gifted with superpowers. An accident in his childhood had rendered his bone unbreakable.
After learning that Elijah Prince, a man with the “Brittle Bone Disease” was responsible for that accident. The movie ends with David reporting him to cops and lives on his life as a superhero.
11. Red (2010)
- Director: Robert Schwentke
- Writer: Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Frank Moses), Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren
- IMDb Ratings: 7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%
- Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
An Ex-CIA agent named Frank Moses, termed as R.E.D. (Retired, Extremely Dangerous), becomes a target of some assassins. He calls his old team members to help him investigate these assailants. The team now reassembled by Frank Moses, learns that the country’s Vice President is going to be assassinated and sets off on a mission to stop this operation.
12. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
- Director: Wes Anderson
- Writer: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Captain Sharp), Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
- Streaming Platforms: Peacock, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Store
Moonrise Kingdom is a teenage-drama film that Wes Anderson directs. It follows the story of two young lovers, Sam and Suzy, living on a fictional island called “New Penzance.” They decide to run away together after their guardians disapprove of their relationship. Captain Sharp, the local police organize a search party for both of them.
13. Sin City (2005)
- Director: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
- Writer: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez
- Cast: Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis (John Hartigan)
- IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%
- Streaming Platforms: CBS All Access, Tubi TV, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Store
Sin City (A.K.A. Frank Miller’s Sin City) is a crime film based on a graphic novel of the same name. Also, the plot includes four crime stories in which detective John Hartigan does everything in his power to make sure all the criminals are behind bars.
14. Lucky Number Selvin (2006)
- Director: Paul McGuigan
- Writer: Jason Smilovic
- Cast: Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu, Bruce Willis (Mr. Goodkat)
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%
- Streaming Platforms: Hulu, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Store
The story starts with the death of two bookies and a mob leader’s son. Meanwhile, Mr. Goodkat, a hitman, narrates the “Kansas City Shuffle” story to a young man at a bus terminal and then kills him. As the story proceeds, the reasons for these killings starts revealing and the plot concludes with Goodkat sparing Selvin’s life.
15. Death Becomes Her (1992)
- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Writer: Martin Donovan, David Koepp
- Cast: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis (Dr. Ernest Menville), Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini
- IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 54%
- Streaming Platforms: HBO MAX, HBO NOW, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play
Death Becomes Her is a dark-comedy film which revolves around the lives of three main characters. Madeline Ashton, a Broadway actresses and Helen Sharp, a writer, and her fiancé Dr. Ernest Menville, are caught up in a love triangle.
However, Dr. Ernest falls in love with Madeline and leaves his fiancé Helen. Years later, admitted in a Psychiatric hospital, Helen plots a revenge against the two.
16. The Last Boy Scout (1991)
- Director: Tony Scott
- Writer: Shane Black, Greg Hicks
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Joe Hallenbeck), Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham
- IMDb Rating: 7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 47%
- Streaming Platforms: iTunes, VUDU, YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft Store
The Last Boy Scout is an action-comedy film. The plot starts with Jimmy Dix, an L.A. Stallions player hiring a private detective named Joe Hallenbeck, to protect his girlfriend, Cory. Cory then dies in a shooting. Both Joe and Jimmy set out to find the people responsible and exposes a corruption scandal.
17. The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
- Director: Jonathan Lynn
- Writer: Mitchell Kapner
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski), Matthew Perry, Rosanna Arquette, Michael Clarke Duncan
- IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 44%
- Streaming Platforms: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
The story begins when Jimmy Tudeski, an ex-mobster moves to Montreal, Canada. His new neighbor Oz discovers that Jimmy has a bounty on his head and hence decides to befriend him. Forced by his wife Oz heads for Chicago to inform Jimmy’s boss about his location.
18. Last Man Standing (1996)
- Director: Walter Hill
- Writers: Ryûzô Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Walter Hill
- Cast: Bruce Willis (John Smith), Christopher Walken, Alexandra Powers, David Patrick Kelly
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 37%
- Streaming Platforms: VUDU, Prime Video, iTunes, VUDU, Google Play, Microsoft Store
The plot is set in the times of “Prohibition” in Texas. John Smith, a mercenary for hire, driving through a town named Jericho, is attacked by mobsters led by someone named “Doyle.” Later in the movie, Smith finds himself in the middle of a mob war between two rivals and decides to play both sides and make some money in the process.
19. Armageddon (1998)
- Director: Michael Bay
- Writer: Jonathan Hensleigh, J.J. Abrams, Tony Gilroy, Shane Salerno, Robert Roy Pool, Jonathan Hensleigh
- Cast: Bruce Willis (Harry S. Stamper), Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck
- IMDb b: 6.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 38%
- Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video
The plot starts with meteors entering the Earth’s atmosphere and destroying New York City. The NASA learns that they had been pushed out of the asteroid belt by a comet and that another huge one will be heading towards earth in 18 years.
An expert I deep sea driller, Harry S. Stamper is contacted and sent to train astronauts who would go to space and destroy the asteroid.
20. Nobody’s Fool (1994)
- Director: Robert Benton
- Writer: Robert Benton
- Cast: Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis (Carl Roebuck), Melanie Griffith
- IMDb Rating: 4.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 26%
- Streaming Platforms: Netflix, Prime video
The plot of this comedy film follows the life of Donald Sullivan, an arrogant construction worker and his enemy, Carl Roebuck (Played by Willis), a local contractor who never misses a chance to cause him trouble. The plot continues as Sully tries to overcome all the hurdles and finally be at peace.
21. Detective Knight: Independence
- Director: Edward Drake
- Writers: Edward Drake, Corey Large
- Cast: Lorenzo Antonucci, Dax Campbell, Kaleb Clifton
The 2023 American action movie Detective Knight: Independence, also referred to as Devil’s Knight, is directed by Edward Drake, who also wrote the screenplay and the story with Corey Large. It stars Bruce Willis, Jack Kilmer, Lochlyn Munro, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Willow Shields, Dina Meyer, and Timothy V. Murphy and serves as the third and concluding chapter of the Detective Knight trilogy as well as a follow-up to Detective Knight: Redemption (2022).
On January 20, 2023, Detective Knight: Independence was released by Lionsgate in a few theaters and on video on demand. On February 28, 2023, it was made available on DVD and Blu-ray.
22. Detective Knight: Redemption
- Director: Edward Drake
- Writers: Edward Drake, Corey Large
- Stars: Bruce Willis, Corey Large, Mitchell Baker
Christmas action movie Detective Knight: Redemption, also known as Christmas Knight, is a 2022 American production that was produced by Corey Large, Randall Emmett, and George Furla and directed by Edward John Drake. It features Paul Johansson and Bruce Willis and serves as the second movie in the Detective Knight trilogy and a follow-up to Detective Knight: Rogue (2022).
On December 9, 2022, Detective Knight: Redemption was released by Lionsgate in a few theaters and on VOD. On January 17, 2023, it was made available on DVD and Blu-ray.
23. Paradise City
- Director: Chuck Russell
- Writers: Edward Drake, Corey Large, Chuck Russel
- Stars: Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Stephen Dorff
On their 1987 debut album Appetite for Destruction, the American rock group Guns N’ Roses released the song “Paradise City.” It is the only song on the album to use a synthesizer, and it was first made available as a single in January 1989.
The band’s third top-ten single, it peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the UK Singles Chart. Their first of three singles to do so, it also peaked at the top of the Irish Singles Chart.
24. Detective Knight: Rogue
- Director: Edward Drake,
- Writers: Edward Drake, Corey Large
- Stars: Bruce Willis, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Lochlyn Munro
A 2022 American action movie, Detective Knight: Rogue (also referred to as simply Knight). It is directed by Edward John Drake from a screenplay co-written with Corey Large and produced by Large, Randall Emmett, and George Furla. It features Bruce Willis, Lochlyn Munro, and Jimmy Jean-Louis and is the opening chapter of the Detective Knight trilogy.
On October 21, 2022, Detective Knight: Rogue was released by Lionsgate in a few theaters and on video on demand. On November 29, 2022, it was made available on DVD and Blu-ray.
25. Wrong Place
- Director: Mike Burns
- Writer: Bill Lawrence
- Stars: Bruce Willis, Ashley Greene, Michael Sirow
American action movie Wrong Place is set in 2022. It is directed by Mike Burns from a story by Bill Lawrence, and it was made by Randall Emmett and George Furla. Bruce Willis and Ashley Greene are the stars.
Vertical Entertainment released Wrong Place on July 15, 2022, in a few theaters and on VOD. Moreover, on September 20, 2022, it was made available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Other Noteworthy Movies Featuring Bruce Willis
- Hostage (2005) – As Jeff Talley
- Hudson Hawk (1991) – As Hudson Hawk
- Motherless Brooklyn (2019) – As Frank Minna
- Colour of Night (1994) – As Bill Capa
- Sixteen Block (2006) – As Jack Mosley
- Acts of Violence (2018) – As James Avery
- Charlies Angels: Full Throttle (2003) – As William Rose Bailey
- Tears of The Sun (2003) – As A K Waters
- Once Upon a Time in Venice (2017) – As Steve Ford
- Blind Date (1987) – As Walter Davis
- The Kid (2007) – As Russ Duritz
- Billy Bathgate (1991) – As Bo Weinberg
- Perfect Stranger (2007) – As Harrison Hill
- Shatterday (The Twilight Zone) – As Peter Novins
- Breakfast of Champions (1973) – As Dwayne Hoover
- The Expendables (2010) – As Mr. Church
- Extraction (2015) – As Leonard Turner
- Striking Distance (1993) – As Tom Hardy
- Planet Terror (2007) – As Lt. Muldoon
- Beavis and Butt-head Do America (1996) – As Muddy Grimes
- Alpha Dog (2006) – As Sonny Truelove
- Hart’s War (2002) – As Col. William
It is pretty obvious that Willis’s epic acting skills and his iconic character roles receive admiration universally. But his everyman nature is what has conquered hearts of millions. Moreover, there’s no doubt that anyone can ever replace this “Die Hard” superhero and will live on eternally as one of the best actions stars this world has ever seen.
