From the earliest zombie films of the 1930s to the explosion of zombies in film and television today, the definition of a "zombie" on screen has changed significantly.
As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with a fellow Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Black Widow, to battle a new threat from history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
Directors:
Anthony Russo,
Joe Russo
Stars:
Chris Evans,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Scarlett Johansson
When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it's up to Earth's Mightiest Heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.
Director:
Joss Whedon
Stars:
Robert Downey Jr.,
Chris Evans,
Mark Ruffalo
Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.
Director:
Joss Whedon
Stars:
Robert Downey Jr.,
Chris Evans,
Scarlett Johansson
Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
The powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.
Director:
Kenneth Branagh
Stars:
Chris Hemsworth,
Anthony Hopkins,
Natalie Portman
Steve Rogers, a rejected military soldier transforms into Captain America after taking a dose of a "Super-Soldier serum". But being Captain America comes at a price as he attempts to take down a war monger and a terrorist organization.
Director:
Joe Johnston
Stars:
Chris Evans,
Hugo Weaving,
Samuel L. Jackson
A fast-talking mercenary with a morbid sense of humor is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers and a quest for revenge.
Director:
Tim Miller
Stars:
Ryan Reynolds,
Morena Baccarin,
T.J. Miller
When Dr. Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful entity known as the Aether, Thor is heralded of the cosmic event known as the Convergence and the genocidal Dark Elves.
Director:
Alan Taylor
Stars:
Chris Hemsworth,
Natalie Portman,
Tom Hiddleston
With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father's legacy.
Director:
Jon Favreau
Stars:
Robert Downey Jr.,
Mickey Rourke,
Gwyneth Paltrow
After stealing a mysterious orb in the far reaches of outer space, Peter Quill from Earth, is now the main target of a manhunt led by the villain known as Ronan the Accuser. To help fight Ronan and his team and save the galaxy from his power, Quill creates a team of space heroes known as the "Guardians of the Galaxy" to save the world. Written by
James Hake
When Rocket is explaining his Prison Escape Plan and Groot goes to get the battery mounted on the wall, Groot's food tray disappears from his right hand as it passes behind Peter's head. However, you can see that his body leans to the right as he passes behind Peter in the frame and a clinking noise can be heard, hinting that he dropped the food tray off onto the table. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Grandpa:
Peter. Your momma wants to speak with you. Come on, Pete, take these fool things off.
[takes headphones]
See more »
Crazy Credits
The Marvel logo appears as young Quill is taken into space. See more »
Fooled Around and Fell in Love
Written and Performed by Elvin Bishop
Courtesy of Island Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises See more »
Starring – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel
If you've seen the trailers for Guardians of the Galaxy, you'd be within your rights to think Marvel Studio execs have been hitting the bottle hard or taking LSD.
The film revolves around a group of dysfunctional but goodhearted criminals – think Robin Hood's Merry Men of the future – comprising human thief Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Pratt), green assassin Gamora (Saldana), talking raccoon Rocket (Cooper), knife-wielding Drax the Destroyer (Bautista), and walking tree Groot (Diesel).
Like the Avengers, the Guardians get off to a false start but soon unite over a common cause, namely, the galaxy being obliterated by genocidal maniac, Ronan – not Keating – the Accuser.
Ah yes, the old, let's-exterminate-everyone-for-the-mistakes-of-their-forefathers ploy.
But unlike Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy oozes offbeat originality and frankly, it's the most unique and delightful film Marvel has created to date.
It's a hell of an achievement given the extensive movie library the company is building up and when you consider the characters aren't household names like 'big three' Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, but Marvel seems well aware of that fact with the final production risky to say the least.
The film opens in 1988, which is when Quill is abducted from Earth, and 26 years later we see he's become a crooked intergalactic outlaw with a taste for all things shiny, valuable and not his.
Given the distinct decade in which he was taken, his cassette player and mixtape of 70s and 80s tracks are laced throughout the film, which creates a quirky yet grounded quality in the midst of all of the dazzling interstellar warfare that takes place along the way.
In addition to the soundtrack, jokes and comedy have never been more of a feature in a Marvel film – perhaps Iron Man 3 was the closest – as gags are thrown into the unlikeliest of scenarios to lessen the tension, and I would imagine, to really differentiate itself from Avengers Assemble, Star Wars and Star Trek, which by comparison are left looking very sombre.
That said, if you were going to compare Pratt's Quill to someone, the character is quite reminiscent of Chris Pine's Captain James Kirk – smart, womanising, reckless leaders, who eventually find their feet.
The editing is supreme and makes each bit of dialogue super-sharp and tight, so when the infamous five are bickering or talking generally, the repartee all feels really clean and natural without being awkward or forced.
Thor can be stubborn, Iron Man can be arrogant and Captain America is considered too stiff, but all of the Guardians bring even more wildly different qualities to the table and offer some diversity that doesn't ever grate or bore, which wouldn't have been possible without such excellent casting.
Meanwhile, the film is very much in the here and now, with Quill's backstory the only one that truly gets a look-in, which creates a sense of intrigue about his colleagues who only have their pasts hinted at, meaning sequel fodder.
There's just no way of knowing where you're going and tonally the movie delivers a piece of everything and it's done big and without hesitation.
Guardians may have been a gamble, but I'm Grooting for it to Rocket to the top.
10/10
283 of 498 people found this review helpful.
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(Rating: 12A, 121 mins) Written by Zen Terrelonge
Starring – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel
If you've seen the trailers for Guardians of the Galaxy, you'd be within your rights to think Marvel Studio execs have been hitting the bottle hard or taking LSD.
The film revolves around a group of dysfunctional but goodhearted criminals – think Robin Hood's Merry Men of the future – comprising human thief Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Pratt), green assassin Gamora (Saldana), talking raccoon Rocket (Cooper), knife-wielding Drax the Destroyer (Bautista), and walking tree Groot (Diesel).
Like the Avengers, the Guardians get off to a false start but soon unite over a common cause, namely, the galaxy being obliterated by genocidal maniac, Ronan – not Keating – the Accuser.
Ah yes, the old, let's-exterminate-everyone-for-the-mistakes-of-their-forefathers ploy.
But unlike Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy oozes offbeat originality and frankly, it's the most unique and delightful film Marvel has created to date.
It's a hell of an achievement given the extensive movie library the company is building up and when you consider the characters aren't household names like 'big three' Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, but Marvel seems well aware of that fact with the final production risky to say the least.
The film opens in 1988, which is when Quill is abducted from Earth, and 26 years later we see he's become a crooked intergalactic outlaw with a taste for all things shiny, valuable and not his.
Given the distinct decade in which he was taken, his cassette player and mixtape of 70s and 80s tracks are laced throughout the film, which creates a quirky yet grounded quality in the midst of all of the dazzling interstellar warfare that takes place along the way.
In addition to the soundtrack, jokes and comedy have never been more of a feature in a Marvel film – perhaps Iron Man 3 was the closest – as gags are thrown into the unlikeliest of scenarios to lessen the tension, and I would imagine, to really differentiate itself from Avengers Assemble, Star Wars and Star Trek, which by comparison are left looking very sombre.
That said, if you were going to compare Pratt's Quill to someone, the character is quite reminiscent of Chris Pine's Captain James Kirk – smart, womanising, reckless leaders, who eventually find their feet.
The editing is supreme and makes each bit of dialogue super-sharp and tight, so when the infamous five are bickering or talking generally, the repartee all feels really clean and natural without being awkward or forced.
Thor can be stubborn, Iron Man can be arrogant and Captain America is considered too stiff, but all of the Guardians bring even more wildly different qualities to the table and offer some diversity that doesn't ever grate or bore, which wouldn't have been possible without such excellent casting.
Meanwhile, the film is very much in the here and now, with Quill's backstory the only one that truly gets a look-in, which creates a sense of intrigue about his colleagues who only have their pasts hinted at, meaning sequel fodder.
There's just no way of knowing where you're going and tonally the movie delivers a piece of everything and it's done big and without hesitation.
Guardians may have been a gamble, but I'm Grooting for it to Rocket to the top.
10/10