Bruce Willis plays bounty hunter Ian Swan - get it? Because it's his swan song, his final film (not counting the two Detective Knight sequels, which were apparently shot back to back with the first one).
His condition is no secret by now, and he has trouble with the tone of his lines, but every now and then, there's still a glimpse of his old charm. He will be missed.
Right off the bat, the worst aspect of the film jumps at you. Any time willis is not shot from the front, it's a stunt double, even for shots of him just standing or walking. Weirdly, this even happens of closeup shots of his hands. Willis has white hair on back of his head, his arms and hands, but the stunt double has dark hair. He also doesn't have Willis's beard. In the age of deepfakes, this is unforgivable. How hard would it have been to either bleach his arm hair or add a latex cap with white stubble to his head? The stunt double is mostly shot in the shadow, which makes the transition to Willis well lit shots even more jarring. They also have a different physique and move differently. In other words... it's bad. Willis doesn't look healthy, and I sincerely hope he can relax during his retirement and that his physical health won't deteriorate. He deserves respect for taking on so many roles despite his illness, in order to make some fast extra cash for his family.
All that out of the way, I am happy to say that this final film is actually quite watchable. The script is mostly coherent, there is some decent character building, the pacing is pretty good except for the middle part, nice establishing shots and some good acting.
Stephen Dorff and John Travolta truly shine in their roles. Much like in Face Off, Travolta strikes the perfect balance of charm and sinistry, a master manipulator, who speaks softly and wears a smile that only thinly disguises a ruthless and calculating man beneath. He's given a son whom he appears to care for, which is a nice touch and gives him some humanity. John Travolta deserves more and better roles. He's truly one of the greats.
Stephen Dorff plays a gruff, world weary guy, but retains his boyish charm. Another criminally underappreciated actor. It's a pity he doesn't get more screentime.
Sadly the movie suffers from having too many characters. Some, like the MMA fighter serve no purpose at all, while others, like Willis's son and the police woman are underwritten. In fact, Stephen Dorff and the son's characters could have even been combined into one, or their arcs streamlined. Dorff sits out the middle of the film, while the son doesn't really do much during the beginning and end.
The supporting actors aren't very good for the most part. Pity.
The script has two twists. Nothing super fancy, but they were competent enough.
The action scenes sadly were not. Using digital blood spurts is such a waste.
Likwise, the ending sucked. In a final film, you want to see the hero riding off into the sunset, smiling one last time at the camera. That was a major missed opportunity.
Still, overall I enjoyed the film, and I'm glad Bruce Willis sendoff wasn't something dreadful like Fortress, Deadlock or 10 Minutes Gone or some trash like that. Farewell Bruce, thank you decades of entertainment!
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