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" Bruce Willis is an all-time great action icon, yet over the past two years, he&amp;#039;s also become something a little less impressive: the headliner of a string of straight-to-VOD (or just about) releases that have flown so far under the radar that practically no one knows they even exist. Remember 2011&amp;#039;s Catch .44, or Setup? Or how about 2012&amp;#039;s The Cold Light of Day, or Lay the Favorite, or Fire with Fire? Few do. And Willis repeats that feat this weekend with The Prince, a thriller in which he co-stars as a villainous assassin who kidnaps the daughter of his former rival (Jason Patric). It&amp;#039;s B-grade pulp (also featuring John Cusack) that&amp;#039;s likely to be soon forgotten. Yet some of Willis&amp;#039;s finest, most subtle turns have, over the years, also undeservedly gotten short shrift. In honor of Willis work that actually warrants rediscovery, we present the roles that you should give another look:  Blind Date (1987)       Willis&amp;#039;s debut big-screen performance came in Blake Edwards&amp;#039;s Blind Date, an uneven romantic comedy that nonetheless provided initial confirmation that his smirky charm could elevate even the clunkiest of vehicles. Willis stars as an everyman who&amp;#039;s set up by his brother on a blind date with Kim Basinger \u2014 a seemingly amazing turn of events that soon leads to all manner of calamity involving Basinger&amp;#039;s ex-boyfriend (John Larroquette). Though far too many of the incidents strain to be wacky, Willis&amp;#039;s game performance, all bug-eyed exasperation and fuming-mad outbursts, reveals his sharp comedic timing and gift for rat-a-tat-tat verbal banter and slapstick-y physical nonsense.  Watch it on Amazon Instant, iTunes, and DVD  In Country (1989)      Willis followed up the blockbuster success of Die Hard by switching gears and showcasing his dramatic range via a supporting part in Norman Jewison&amp;#039;s In Country. Assuming a relatively peripheral role as a Vietnam vet suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Willis discards his smarty-pants cockiness for a far more subdued, intensely internalized performance. It was early proof that there was more to Willis than wiseass one-liners, and foreshadowed later work (especially with M. Night Shyamalan) that married his macho presence with a more wounded, shell-shocked paternalistic tenderness. Watch it on Amazon Instant, iTunes, and DVD  Hudson Hawk (1991) The film that, for a time, nearly ended Willis&amp;#039;s career, Hudson Hawk was a vanity project that allowed Willis to do everything he loved: action-hero stunts, goofy humor, and singing (note: this was in the midst of Willis&amp;#039;s attempt at a recording career). Co-written by the star himself, the film bombed with critics and audiences, yet in hindsight, Willis&amp;#039;s performance has a free-flowing naturalness that&amp;#039;s more endearing than people initially gave it credit for back in 1991. Sure, it&amp;#039;s Willis being BRUCE WILLIS, MOVIE STAR, but his over-the-top caricatured turn is all the more likeable for being so brazen \u2014 not to mention that, at certain moments, his extreme mugging carries with it at least a hint of self-awareness.  Watch it on Amazon Instant, iTunes, and DVD  Nobody&amp;#039;s Fool (1994)      After a string of less-than-stellar projects (The Bonfire of the Vanities, Striking Distance, Color of Night), Willis revitalized his critical reputation in 1994 with both Quentin Tarantino&amp;#039;s Pulp Fiction and Nobody&amp;#039;s Fool, a Paul Newman vehicle that, tucked away in its corners, features Willis (who&amp;#039;s only listed in the end credits) as a contractor for whom Newman&amp;#039;s drink-loving protagonist occasionally works. A minor yet heartfelt turn that again underlined Willis&amp;#039;s talent at playing average Joes who don&amp;#039;t wield firearms, it remains some of Willis&amp;#039;s sturdiest onscreen acting. Watch it on Amazon Instant, iTunes, and DVD  The Jackal (1997) A semi-remake of The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Jackal finds Willis in somewhat standard action-movie mode. However, Michael Caton-Jones&amp;#039;s indifferently received spy-vs.-spy thriller is unique in that it features Willis in the out-and-out villain&amp;#039;s role as The Jackal, a notorious assassin being hunted by a former IRA sharpshooter (Richard Gere) working for the FBI. Throughout this cat-and-mouse saga, Willis all but negates his smirkiness to deliver a portrait of cold, calculating ruthlessness that&amp;#039;s at the other end of the spectrum from his usual tough-guy roles. While it may not be Willis&amp;#039;s most nuanced performance, it remains one that successfully taps into his darker side. Watch it on Amazon Instant, iTunes, and DVD  Bandits (2001)      Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett received most of the huzzahs for Barry Levinson&amp;#039;s 2001 criminal comedy about two convict friends (Willis and Thornton) who, in the midst of a bank-robbing spree, wind up taking a housewife (Blanchett) along for the ride. Nonetheless, while his co-stars may benefit from more colorful characterizations, it&amp;#039;s Willis who holds this underrated lark together, with his nonchalant, totally composed coolness providing the foundation upon which the rest of the zaniness can rest. Watch it on Amazon Instant, iTunes, and DVD  16 Blocks (2006)      Perhaps the best film in the entire Willis canon that hasn&amp;#039;t yet gotten its due, Richard Donner&amp;#039;s 16 Blocks is a real-time thriller featuring the actor as a boozy NYC cop who&amp;#039;s tasked with the chore of transporting a witness (Mos Def) to a courthouse 16 blocks away from the station. That short distance soon becomes an immense challenge once Willis&amp;#039;s partner (David Morse) and a cadre of corrupt cops show up trying to kill Def&amp;#039;s character. Amid a familiar barrage of gunfire and white guy-black guy banter with the motormouthed Def, Willis is in his element, and layers his beleaguered police officer with a world-weariness. He seems like a version of Die Hard&amp;#039;s John McClane at the end of his line, who finds that he ultimately can&amp;#039;t escape the very thing he does best: kicking ass and taking names later. Watch it on Amazon Instant, iTunes, and DVD "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a29725/forgotten-bruce-willis-movies/>