Bruce Willis has established himself as a screen legend over his four-decade-long career, with roles such as Die Hard, Moonlighting, and Pulp Fiction permanently cementing him in the minds of filmgoers everywhere. As his career comes to a close, due in large part to his diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, he has found himself mostly appearing in smaller, lower-budget non-theatrical productions.
While these films are widely maligned and dismissed as Redbox filler, in no small part due to the sheer number of them — Willis has appeared in 36, counting the upcoming film Assassin, which marks his final screen appearance — that same factor ensures that there are a few diamonds in the rough worth audiences' time.
10 'Survive the Game' (2021)
Rotten Tomatoes: 14%
Willis plays a police officer, David, injured during a drug bust gone wrong. His partner pursues the culprits to a farm owned by a troubled veteran (Chad Michael Murray), and the three men must use their wits and tactical abilities to defeat a mob of angry drug pushers in this James Cullen Bressack-directed action thriller.
The film was heavily lambasted for its weak performances, particularly from Willis, who is given very little to do in the film. One dissenting review referred to it as a solid, no-frills action flick, but others were quick to describe the movie as feeling as though it were shot by amateurs. Negative reviews pointed out a derivative script, no real flair to its direction, and incompetent fight choreography and stunt work.
9 'Breach' (2020)
Rotten Tomatoes: 19%
Also known under the name Anti-Life, in this sci-fi film, Cody Kearsley plays the janitor of an interstellar ark carrying three hundred thousand people away from a dying earth. When a parasitic alien breaks free, the crew (including Willis as the protagonist's boss and Thomas Jane in a supporting role) must find a way to prevent it from reaching the cryogenically-frozen passengers.
Critics largely roasted this film for being derivative and uninspired, making negative comparisons to Alien and The Thing. Willis' performance was noted as a relative bright spot, with reviews pointing him out as particularly lively compared to other late-career roles. However, the movie was still unable to rise above its unoriginal concept and cheap production value.
8 'Trauma Center' (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 20%
In this action-thriller, Willis plays a police officer attempting to keep a lone woman safe in a locked-down hospital ward after she witnesses a murder committed by corrupt police officers.
Critics largely demolished this film for its paper-thin plot and extraordinarily cheap production values. Nicky Whelan, playing the film's female lead, was noted as a surprising bright spot. However, the film was criticized for Bruce Willis barely appearing in it and for making poor use of its limited location, with little creativity applied to its action staging.
7 'Fortress' (2021)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 20%
In this action film, mercenaries storm a retirement community to rob it of six hundred million dollars in cryptocurrency. Willis, playing an ex-CIA agent, is tasked with defeating the mercenaries, including their leader, Balzary (Chad Michael Murray).
Critics destroyed this film for its clumsy use of cryptocurrency as a plot point, Willis' weak performance, and its slow pace. One dissenting review noted it as being a thrilling action movie; however, critics were largely united in their dislike of this film.
6 'Gasoline Alley' (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 35%
In this neo-noir thriller, Bruce Willis and Luke Wilson star as homicide detectives tasked with solving a vicious Hollywood murder. In addition, Devon Sawa (of recent Chucky fame) stars as a reformed ex-con suspected of the murder who embarks on his own investigation to prove his innocence.
This film drew surprisingly strong reviews from critics, with some noting Devon Sawa's performance as a major strong point of the film. However, many criticized it for being derivative of Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive. While critics largely gave Willis' performance a light touch due to his aphasia diagnosis having been made public, the film drew criticism for being simply another direct-to-video Bruce Willis film, with little to make it stand out beyond Sawa's performance.
5 'Corrective Measures' (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60%
In this comic-book-adapted prison drama, Bruce Willis plays The Lobe, a mind-controlling supervillain sent to a prison for people with extraordinary abilities. Tensions rise as the prison's warden attempts to extort The Lobe out of his fortune, and eventually, anarchy erupts when things boil over.
Critics were relatively kind to this film, released shortly after Willis made his retirement from acting public. Some noted it as a fun throwback to genre films of old, with one review comparing it to The Toxic Avenger, and its odd high concept was largely praised. However, critics were quick to point out how being a late-career direct-to-streaming Willis film holds it back, stopping short of considering it a true hidden gem.
4 'Motherless Brooklyn' (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 64%
In this noir thriller directed by Edward Norton, Norton plays a private detective tasked with solving the murder of his mentor (Willis). While searching through the jazz clubs of Brooklyn and Harlem, the protagonist stumbles upon a web of secrets and conspiracy, unlike anything he had ever seen before.
While Willis' role in the film is very small, the role marked the final time he would be seen on screen in theaters. The film was widely praised for its aesthetic sensibilities and thematic depth, though criticized for its departures from its source novel and its extraordinarily slow pacing. While Willis drew little specific note from critics, his performance was praised as part of an overall strong ensemble.
3 'Detective Knight: Rogue' (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
In this police procedural, Willis plays Detective James Knight, a veteran Los Angeles police officer tasked with chasing a mask-wearing gang of robbers to New York after they wound his partner (Lochlyn Munro).
Critics were largely kind to this film, considering it one of the best of Bruce Willis' late career. The plot, rendered surprisingly complex by a series of twists throughout the movie, was praised and criticized in equal measure; Willis, meanwhile, was noted as being significantly more present in the role than in most of his post-diagnosis outings (with one review comparing his performance to Kobe Bryant's final NBA game).
2 'Detective Knight: Redemption' (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
In custody after the events of the previous film, Det. Knight (Willis) finds himself caught in a jailbreak orchestrated by a Santa Claus-themed terrorist gang. Promised his badge back in exchange for defeating the terrorists, Det. Knight embarks on a Die Hard-esque crusade for justice.
Much like the previous film, this entry in the Detective Knight trilogy was noted as a surprisingly good action film, given its low budget and ailing star. Critics were largely sympathetic to the difficulties in Willis' performance, and the film was noted as having surprisingly strong underlying themes and subtext. However, some critics pointed out that the tricks used to film around Willis' difficulties sometimes led to absurd results, rendering the movie at times bizarre to watch.
1 'Detective Knight: Independence' (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Assigned to work the July 4th parade in Los Angeles, Det. Knight (Willis) finds himself in a race against time to stop an EMT posing as a cop from committing a vigilante crime spree across the city.
This film received the same kind of reception as its predecessors, with critics specifically noting it as a fitting end to Willis' career. The film drew some mild criticism for various technical flubs, along with having little to do with its predecessors. However, it was regarded as a solid action thriller.