Roy Rogers is a clown, a clown with a performing horse and a guitar. He wears the trappings of a Hollywood hero like John Wayne or Zoro but then cracks wise and burst into song like an outmoded TV host as well as a matinee star and a restauranteur.
He's a pussy cat in comparison to John McClain, so it's strange he would prefer Rogers over Rambo because of the "spangly shirts". But there's something of the performer in McClain too. His modus operandi seems to be shock and awe, combined with sass and cheek. Smack talking his enemies over radio waves and provoking them to reveal their plan or screw up in some other way.
In Die Hard, John get's his ass kicked four ways from Sunday, but he finds the reserves to pull through. Most of Bruce Willis' performance in this film is played alone, with most of the dialogue spoken into a walkie talkie. These moments are great for fleshing our character and to stand as a counterpoint to some hectic action and slow-mo violence (an impromptu kneecapping with the victim then falling through a plate of glass is particularly shocking).
But it's the violence that we came for, the redemption of the broken down old cop, the reconciliation of the broken down marriage and even the foiling of the bad guys plan doesn't matter as much as the guns and explosions that lead up to it. And it's on this count that Roy and John couldn't be further apart and thank god for that.
Yippe Ki Yay!
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