Action man’s actions

I think it not presumptuous to expect those in the feeling world to be disturbed by Bruce Willis’ ambition to use the images of slaughtered lives, representations of the perils of unchecked power, as a backdrop for yet another promotion of his imperious ego (“A War of Compromise,” by John Horn, March 2).

Willis is clearly intoxicated with himself, and that’s OK when making spiritless action flicks. But not OK when trekking upon conflicts that reveal the desperate face of civilians caught in war.

To Bruce, it’s all about his own construct of bravery, “die-hard” bravery that has little do with reality -- the reality that images of dark-skinned savages in the jungles of Rwanda just don’t fly with the CNN audience, not nearly as well as images of European faces did in the heavily publicized Kosovo conflict.

I wonder if Bruce during any point in production felt the least bit discomfort playing the hero of the $90-million film with the African extras as the backdrop. I doubt it.

What is a deluded pretender like Willis doing working with the alert, lucid mind of Fuqua? I say the executives need to do their homework before shooting begins.

What a waste.

Francesca Harold Dean

Hancock Park