Action legend and immortal movie star Bruce Willis has had a rough past few years. He’s one of the most recognizable men in Hollywood, and his current output makes A Good Day to Die Hard look like Die Hard. In 2021, he starred in Apex, a boring mess that critics considered exploitative trash. His downfall has been depressing leading up to his retirement this February, but at least Amazon Prime Video has let an audience find and enjoy the project.
Every Recent Bruce Willis Movie Is a Sad Disaster
Have you ever wanted to watch the relentless march of time wreak its inevitable vengeance on a star you probably used to love? Of course not, but it happens regardless. We lose a few actors every year, often without warning. Bruce Willis was publically falling apart and still starring in movies. He appeared in over two dozen films, usually for around 15 minutes, with a $2 million price tag. He’s not the only older actor running this grift. Distribution executive Adam Champ gave the world the term “geezer teasers” in a 2021 Vulture article by Joshua Hunt. De Niro, Pacino, Cage, Travolta, and even failures like Seagal make geezer teasers. They use their face to sell trash they’re barely in and rake in millions for almost no work.
Apex isn’t the lowest-rated of Bruce Willis’ geezer teaser movies. It’s a good crash course in the art form for anyone wondering what they’re all about. Apex is a riff on The Most Dangerous Game featuring Bruce Willis being hunted by generic goons. He talks them all into killing each other so he doesn’t have to do any action scenes. He outwits Neal McDonough’s final hunter and escapes. Willis spends most of his screen time standing in the woods. A body double replaces him whenever his face isn’t visible. The film dropped into theaters in the UAE and Redboxes everywhere else. Critics savaged it but softened lightly when they heard more about Willis’ condition. Two years later, it appeared on Amazon Prime Video, where viewers in South and Central America kept it the sixth or seventh most-watched film for weeks. Willis announced his retirement and his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis in the meantime.
RELATED: Bruce Willis’ Family Celebrates His 68th Birthday Amid Dementia Diagnosis
The geezer teaser is a shameful indictment of studios. They shouldn’t reflect as poorly as they do on the stars who take the gigs. It’s a shame to see beloved performers waste their golden years in trash when they could retire on top or only show up for minor roles in great films. It’s just another way for sleazy producers to make a quick buck. Some make rip-offs to trick old people into buying the wrong DVD. Others use old people to sell their terrible films. There’s no art or expression in Apex. I was with a lot of other voices denigrating Willis and the other old stars making garbage like this. Now, I just hope his salary helps him enjoy his retirement. I don’t recommend watching Apex, but if you must, try to imagine him chilling for the rest of his life as a salve.
