That's actually a solid point, IMO. Especially towards the beginning, the way he interacts with people...he's often got a bit of a smirk on his face and doesn't say much.
I think its a sign of the times. This was an 80's action flick, he was the leading man...they had to have him play the part of the macho man all the way through.
In another movie, another character may very well have reached across the armrest and shaken the hand of the man who advised he make fists with his toes, asked him his name, was pleased to meet him. But an action movie hero? A bit of a raised eyebrow and a smirk will do. Because he's a badass 24/7 damnit. Not just when things need some bad-assering.
Maybe they wanted a bit of an anti social Rambo element. But then again, Rambo is anti social out of PTSD, and he is still humble.
shareFunny..I was just doing a rewatch and I was thinking that I would get to watch a movie when Bruce Willis was still likable.
But I may have been thinking more of Bruce Willis himself rather than his character.
Still..he's not without his charm in the film. He backs down from certain attitudes and sees the error of his ways repeatedly. Being able to see ones faults is not always easy to admit.
And some of that smug attitude is what makes him a tough opponent for the sociopathic Alan Rickman.
Bruce Willis is too cocky/arrogant in this
That is a good scene, but in a weird way, it's like he's being arrogant as well, like "nobody chauffeurs me around, I ride up front."
It's a plausible point, but I got the impression that they were palling around, which sparked Argyle to offer to wait around for John to call him. Would they be buds like this if John was truly arrogant and condescending?
There's a difference between being arrogant and being keen on human nature with the knack for accurately sizing people up. For instance McClane sizes-up Ellis as a coke abuser with an improper interest in his wife, which naturally elicited disrespect. Argyle and Al Powell, by contrast, he liked.
mcclane being a dick and talking down to people is addressed
when mcclane asks if al has flat feet and says that working the desk isn't real police work and then later learns al was a desk jockey because he shot a kid he realizes he's an asshole