Bruce Willismay have gotten his big break on TV, thanks toMoonlighting, but its the movies he starred in that he remains best recognized for today.

He was certainly prolific from the late 1980s onwards, and though hesstepped away from acting due to health concerns, so many of his films live on.There are also so many, making his body of work an inarguably massive one.

Of course, lots of movies does mean a widerange of quality when it comes to those movies, but thankfully, heres something thatll cut through the lesser Willis films and get to the best of the best.

The-10-Best-Bruce-Willis-Movies,-Ranked

Image by Federico Napoli

Not every good movie he was in can be counted here (it would take a while), so consider this the greatest hits of the greatest hits; the timeless titles Bruce Willis will always be remembered and celebrated for.

15’Last Man Standing' (1996)

Director: Walter Hill

A reworkingofAkira KurosawasYojimbothat isn’tA Fistful of Dollars,Last Man Standingputs more of an action/thriller spin on the premise of one man gets involved in a gang war in a small town.

It is the kind of premise that can be revisited and reworked pretty consistently, because its easy to mine action, drama, or even comedy from such a situation.

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Image via Warner Bros.

Last Man Standingalso gets some good mileage out of its Prohibition-era setting, andthe overall strong supporting cast that includes the likes of Bruce Dern, William Sanderson, Christopher Walken, and Michael Imperioli.

Sure, some of it might well be derivative, and its not like its the most amazing action movie of the 1990s or anything, butLast Man Standingis nonetheless underrated, and Willis is pretty great in the lead role.

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Cast

14’The Last Boy Scout' (1991)

Director: Tony Scott

Another movie with Last in the title that came out in the 1990s,The Last Boy Scoutis pretty different fromLast Man Standing, besides both featuring Bruce Willis and a good deal of action.The Last Boy Scoutisa buddy action moviethat pairs Willis withDamon Wayans, the former playing a detective assigned to protect a girl whos murdered, and the latter playing that girls boyfriend.

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They form an uneasy alliance and take down those involved with the murder, and revenge naturally plays a part in the whole thing, too.

Its less comedic than most buddy cop-key in movies, butthere is still some banter alongside the fairly gritty and in-your-face violence(the latter is arguably to be expected,whenTony Scottis the directorat the helm).

13’Planet Terror' (2007)

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Theres a certain playfulness toPlanet Terrorthat basically makes it a comedy, alongside also being anabsurdly violent horror/action/thriller film.

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Its a homage to exploitation movies of old, and Bruce Willis casting here is part of the joke, given hes a big star who can be (and was) put on the poster, only for his total screen time to amount to something between a cameo and a supporting role.

So, if you want a lot of Bruce Willis, youll be let down, butthats in keeping with exploitation/grindhouse cinema, the whole teasing something that you might not necessarily get kind of thing.

And at leastPlanet Terrorsatisfies in other ways, too, with it being one of the most chaotic, entertaining, andgooey filmsRobert Rodriguezhas ever directed(and thats saying something).

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12’The Fifth Element' (1997)

Director: Luc Besson

While the 1980s might have been the bestera for wild and unchecked science fiction,The Fifth Elementis a film that shows how chaotic sci-fi could still exist and flourish beyond the 1980s, too.

It takes place in 2257, and follows Bruce Willis taxi driver character as he gets wrapped up in a strange plot that involves a mysterious young woman whos somehow linked to a conflict that could decide the fate of the universe.

Its never grim or overly serious, though, becauseThe Fifth Elementwants to be as over-the-top as it can without going into all-out farcical territory.

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The resulting movie is messy to watch, but you cant fault the sheer amount of creativity here.The Fifth Elementis bursting with ideas and is kind of exhausting, butits also often thrilling, entertaining, and striking to look at, so its worth at least one dizzying trip.

11’Death Becomes Her' (1992)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

The main star ofDeath Becomes Heris probably the special effects, which can be said abouta good manyRobert Zemeckismovies.

However, the actual cast here is also exceedingly strong,with Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep, and Isabella Rossellini appearing as the lead characters here, and all manage to get on the films strange and continually unstable wavelength.

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Narratively,Death Becomes Heris all about the rivalry between two women that escalates and eventually becomes deadly when magic gets involved.

As far as genres go, its a broad comedy, but its alsosomething of a supernatural horror filmand fantasy elements are plainly important, too.

The special effects, as mentioned before, are elaborate, too, and largely hold up decades on from the films initial release.

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Image via Warner Bros.

10’Nobody’s Fool' (1994)

Director: Robert Benton

Now, there are plenty of Bruce Willis films that are worth celebrating that also have more substantial Willis roles, butNobodys Foolshould still be highlighted, even if hes not in it a ton.

Its a movie starringPaul Newman, and he makes the biggest impression, overshadowing a rathertalented supporting cast that includes Willis, Melanie Griffith, Jessica Tandy, andeven a young Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The narrative ofNobodys Foolsees Newmans character, Sully, getting on in years and having numerous small things he has to contend with and keep on top of, mostly relating to work and family relationships.

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Its a somewhat relaxed, slow, but ultimately endearing dramedy, with the high-quality performances playing a huge role in elevating the entire movie from decent to very good.

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9’Sin City' (2005)

Directors: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller

Few comic book movies feel quite as comic book-y (for lack of a better term) asSin City, which was released in2005 and was one of that years best films.

It has several stories all taking place in a mostly black and white and very film noir-inspired world, with characters encountering criminals, brutal killers, gang wars, and chances for redemption as they go about their strange lives.

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Bruce Willis plays one of the most prominent characters, a police officer whose life takes a drastic turn after he makes a decision to save a young girl from a vicious person with very powerful friends.

He blends into the world ofSin Cityamazingly well, showing that if hed been alive andactive as an actor back when film noir movies were being made, he could well have had a career starring in such films.

8’Die Hard With a Vengeance' (1995)

Director: John McTiernan

Itmight not be the best in the series, but theres a good argument to be made thatDie Hard With a Vengeanceis the second-best in whats probably Williss most famous film series.

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Image via Dimension Films

John McClane is once again unfortunate to find himself in another sticky and tense situation, with the villain this time around (played amazingly well byJeremy Irons) having personal reasons for targeting and tormenting McClane.

The thrills are consistent throughoutDie Hard With a Vengeance, which scraps the confined tweaks of the earlier films and lets John McClane loose throughout New York City.

Willis also has a great buddy dynamic withSamuel L. Jackson, and itsthe humorous banter they have alongside some reliably good action scenesthat makes the thirdDie Hardfilm succeed surprisingly well.

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7’Unbreakable' (2000)

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Unbreakableis a superhero movie, but not in the way that most superhero movies are identifiable as such.

It felt a little ahead of its time, stripping back the conventions of the genre right as superhero movies were starting to get more popular, and quite a while before they became ridiculously popular (it feels like the 2010s was when superhero flicks dominated most of all).

Thats all to say thatUnbreakableisn’t really an action movie, nor a particularly fantastical one,instead being more of a psychological drama/thriller film that looks at what having unusual powers would do to ones life.

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It sets up an engaging conflict between characters played by Bruce Willis and (again) Samuel L. Jackson; one that culminated eventually in 2019sGlass(though that film certainly wasnt as good asUnbreakable).

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6’Looper' (2012)

Director: Rian Johnson

It doesnt quite stick the landing, but much ofLooperis genuinely excellent, with a wonderfully high-concept premise thats committed to for almost all the films runtime.

It involves assassins executing targets who get sent back in time, given how advanced forensic technology is in the future.

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The assassins have a good life, generally, but are required to kill their future selves at one point before retiring and living out their lives until theyre sent back to be killed… by themselves.

A routine is established, but things go wrong and spiral out of control, with the future version ofJoseph Gordon-Levitts character breaking loose and running amok.

It gets a little too small-scale and static in its final act,but the firsttwo acts or so ofLooperare awesome, and one of the very best from Williss later years as an actor.

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Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) stands alongside the orange-haired Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) as she flashes her identification in ‘The Fifth Element’ (1997).

Image via Gaumont Buena Vista International

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Ernest (Bruce Willis) and Madeline (Meryl Streep) looking shocked in the same direction in Death Becomes Her

Image via Universal Pictures

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Paul Newman as Donald “Sully” Sullivan and Bruce Willis as Carl Roebuck sit at a table together in Nobody’s Fool

Image via Paramount Pictures

Bruce Willis' John standing with Jessica Alba’s Nancy in Sin City

Image via Miramax

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Bruce Willis as John McClane pointing his gun at a person offscreen in Die Hard with a Vengeance.

Image via 20th Century Studios

Samuel L. Jackson headshot

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David Dunn (Bruce Willis) searches a train station in ‘Unbreakable’

Image via Touchstone Pictures

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Bruce Willis holds a younger version of himself (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and aims a gun off camera

Image via TriStar Pictures

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