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That is basically what John McClane (Willis) becomes in Die Hard, though he too is introduced as a cop out of water. The script, by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, has McClane, a New York City detective, going to the Los Angeles office Christmas party of his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) in hopes of a reconciliation. Because the bash is taking place on a high floor of a high- rise, the revelers are easily sealed off from outside aid by an invading terrorist gang. The thugs miss McClane, who is in the john when they strike, so he is free to convert himself into a loose cannon, rolling through the mostly deserted building, eliminating the gang one by one.
In the first half of Director John McTiernan's movie, Willis wears an undershirt. In the second half he gets rid of it. And that's pretty much it for his performance. Of course, an actor is hard pressed to create a characterization when all he has to play against is gunshots and explosions. Any actor deserves sympathy when his love interest is sequestered from him, his nemeses are without human interest, his potential allies are all idiots, and the only sensible figure on the scene (Reginald Veljohnson) is always a walkie-talkie away. Still, Willis' presence is whiny and self-involved, and it is a ludicrous error to have him stop to confess past insensitivities before effecting his wife's climactic rescue. That is not the dramatically opportune moment to go Moonlighting.
Good, bad or indifferent, megabangs are beginning to cost megabucks. Reportedly, each of these films costs well over $30 million, with De Niro and Willis pulling in about $5 million a head. And in a season in which Schwarzenegger's Red Heat and Sylvester Stallone's pricey Rambo III are having trouble reaching profit, scholars of the bottom line are wondering if the action-adventure genre has a future. Possibly not, if people keep putting their money into more noise and bigger flames. But a performance like De Niro's, in a well-made entertainment like Midnight Run, is cheap at any price. And capable of restoring the audience's faith in the form.