document_title: Fast Five

question_text: where was the bridge scene in fast five filmed

text: Fast Five

text: Plot[edit]

text: When Dominic "Dom" Toretto is being transported to Lompoc Prison by bus, his sister Mia Toretto and friend Brian O'Conner lead an assault on the bus, causing it to crash and freeing Dom. While the authorities search for them, the trio escapes to Rio de Janeiro. Awaiting Dom's arrival, Mia and Brian join their friend Vince and other participants on a job to steal three cars from a train. Brian and Mia discover that agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are also on the train and that the cars are seized property. When Dom arrives with the rest of the participants, he realizes that the lead participant, Zizi, is only interested in stealing one car - a Ford GT40. Dom has Mia steal the car herself before he and Brian fight Zizi and his henchmen, during which Zizi kills the DEA agents assigned to the vehicles. Dom and Brian are captured and brought to crime lord Hernan Reyes, the owner of the cars and Zizi's boss. Reyes orders the pair be interrogated to discover the location of the car, but they manage to escape and retreat to their safehouse.

text: While Brian, Dom, and Mia examine the car to discover its importance, Vince arrives and is caught trying to remove a computer chip from it. He admits he was planning to sell the chip to Reyes on his own, and Dom forces him to leave. Brian investigates the chip and discovers it contains the complete financial details of Reyes' criminal empire, including the locations of US$100 million in cash.

text: Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs and his team arrive in Rio to arrest Dom and Brian. With the help of local officer Elena Neves, they travel to Dom's safehouse, but find it under assault by Reyes' men. Brian, Dom and Mia escape; Dom suggests they split up and leave Rio, but Mia announces she is pregnant with Brian's child. Dom agrees to stick together and suggests they steal the money from Reyes to start a new life. They organize a team to perform the heist: Han, Roman, Tej, Gisele, Leo, and Santos. Vince later joins the team after saving Mia from being captured by Reyes' men.

text: Hobbs and his team eventually find and arrest Dom, Mia, Brian, and Vince. While transporting them to the airport for extradition to the United States, the convoy is attacked by Reyes' men, who kill Hobbs' team. Hobbs and Elena are saved by Dom, Brian, Mia, and Vince as they fight back and escape, but Vince is shot in the process and dies. Wanting to avenge his murdered team, Hobbs and Elena agree to help with the heist. The gang break into the police station and tear the vault holding Reyes' money from the building using their cars, dragging it through the city. After an extensive police chase, Dom makes Brian continue without him while he attacks the police and the pursuing Reyes, using the vault attached to his car to smash their vehicles. Brian returns and kills Zizi while Reyes is badly injured by Dom's assault. Hobbs arrives on the scene and executes Reyes to avenge his team. Though Hobbs refuses to let Dom and Brian go free, he gives them a 24-hour head start to escape on the condition they leave the vault as it is. However, the vault is empty as it had been switched during the chase. After splitting the cash (Vince's share is given to his family), they go their separate ways.

text: On a tropical beach, Brian and a visibly pregnant Mia relax. They are met by Dom and Elena. Brian challenges Dom to a final, no-stakes race to prove who is the better driver.

text: In a mid-credits scene, Hobbs is given a file by Monica Fuentes concerning the hijack of a military convoy in Berlin, where he discovers a recent photo of Dom's former girlfriend Letty, who had been presumed dead.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto

text: Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner

text: Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto[12]

text: Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce

text: Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker

text: Matt Schulze as Vince

text: Sung Kang as Han Seoul-Oh[17]

text: Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs

text: Gal Gadot as Gisele Yashar

text: Joaquim de Almeida as Hernan Reyes

text: Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves

text: The central cast is rounded out by Puerto Rican singers Tego Calderón and Don Omar as Leo and Santos respectively, members of the heist team. Michael Irby plays Reyes' right-hand man Zizi.[23] Alimi Ballard, Fernando Chien, Yorgo Constantine, and Geoff Meedy portray Hobbs' team members Fusco, Wilkes, Chato, and Macroy. Michelle Rodriguez appears in photographs as Letty Ortiz, Dominic's girlfriend who is presumed dead following the events of Fast & Furious.[24][25] Eva Mendes appears in an uncredited cameo as Agent Monica Fuentes, reprising her role from 2 Fast 2 Furious.[24]

text: Production [edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: By February 3, 2010, it was confirmed that a fifth film, referred to as Fast Five, was going into production in the Fast and Furious series, and that a sixth film was being planned. It was also confirmed that Diesel, Walker, writer Chris Morgan and producer Neal H. Moritz would all return to their roles for the new installment.[26][27] Moritz said that, following the success of Fast & Furious (2009), which had reunited Diesel, Brewster, Walker and Rodriguez from the original film, the production wanted to bring them back again for the next one. Diesel felt that the story between the characters portrayed by himself and Walker should continue, envisioning it as three chapters, of which Fast Five would be the last. Diesel also wanted to bring back a variety of characters that had been in previous films without interacting, put them together and "have a lot of fun".[28]

text: The production had originally intended to film on location in Rio de Janeiro. However, the Puerto Rican government offered tax incentives totaling nearly $11 million, influencing the decision to film there, using Puerto Rico to represent Rio de Janeiro.[19][29]

text: Universal intended to transform the series from street-racing action into a series of heist films with car chases in the vein of The Italian Job (1969) and The French Connection (1971), with Fast Five as the transitional movie.[30] In April 2011, Universal chairman Adam Fogelson said:[30]

text: The question putting Fast Five and Fast Six together for us was: Can we take it out of being a pure car culture movie and into being a true action franchise in the spirit of those great heist films made 10 or 15 years ago?

text: Fogelson said that the racing aspect had put a "ceiling" on the number of people willing to see films in the series, and that, by turning it into a series where car driving ability is just one aspect of the film, he hoped to increase the series' audience.[30]

text: Writing[edit]

text:
"For me, each chapter in this franchise is an extension of the first one, and they each get bigger. It is always a privilege to be able to revisit a good character-driven story. This franchise is more than street racing and tuner cars; it really is about this larger family and community of racers."
— Morgan on his approach to writing the film[28]

tag: div

text: Lin wanted to explore the elements of "freedom and family" in the film and collaborated with Morgan towards that ideal, both having worked together on previous installments of the franchise. Morgan worked with Diesel to produce a story arc that would further explore and develop Diesel's character.[31] An idea involving heisting a large safe had been conceived by Morgan during the production of Fast & Furious, but that film's premise did not work with how Morgan envisioned it.  He later incorporated it into Fast Five.[32]

text: Filming[edit]

text: On a budget of $125 million,[2] the shooting of Fast Five was scheduled for July and August 2010.[33] Shooting had started by July 14, 2010,[34] but it took longer than forecast: the film was still being shot in early November 2010.[35]

text: Three film units worked simultaneously. The main cast were required to travel to Rio at the behest of Lin, who felt it important to understand the area and its culture to give the film a good sense of place.[36] Diesel agreed that it was important to shoot key scenes in Brazil, commenting "we were able to shoot where other productions might not be able to shoot because our franchise has such good street cred."[37]

text: The Rio film unit captured aerial shots of the city including Sugarloaf Mountain, Fort Copacabana, Ipanema Beach, the Dona Marta lookout point and the Christ the Redeemer statue. Establishing shots of the heist team members were taken as each arrived in Rio. Gibson was filmed arriving in character at Galeão International Airport but, when it became publicly known that a scene was being shot at the airport, the cast and crew were mobbed. A similar situation occurred while Ludacris was shooting a scene in which his character buys a car to drive around the city.[36] A scene where the completed heist team walk down a beach was filmed in Copacabana.[36]

text: The rooftop chase across favelas was filmed in Puerto Rico, where the production could have more control over the area. The main and second filming units began filming in and around the capital, San Juan. The island's mixture of tropical greenery and wide streets allowed the production to re-create the densely populated favelas of Rio while completing the larger action and external scenes without incident. Production designer Peter Wenham had the task of transforming Puerto Rico and Atlanta into the previously scouted Rio locations in four weeks, as the production deemed Rio unsuitable for filming many of the larger scenes. Wenham had to reinforce buildings to support the heavy camera equipment, and to alter the colors of more than 30 buildings in the city to make them suitable for filming. His team needed to alter the buildings and strew debris to make the area look disheveled and appear as a Rio shantytown. Wenham remarked that, though the development was difficult, in part due to the heat, it was "a walk in the park" compared with filming in the Rio favelas themselves.[11] Wenham aimed to maintain a monochromatic color scheme for the film, with muted blacks and grays, including his choice of colors for the cars used. He only chose to add a multitude of colors in the favela set.[38] The Teodoro Moscosco bridge connecting San Juan to neighboring Isla Verde was used to film the final showdown between Dom and Reyes, while a U.S. Navy base pier 60 miles outside San Juan stood in for the bridge for scenes involving the vault smashing cars.[39][29] Action scenes were also filmed in the Hato Rey and Río Piedras districts of San Juan.[39]

text: A foot pursuit in which Diesel, Brewster and Walker are chased across favela rooftops by Johnson and his team was filmed over the course of a week in the small hillside town of Naranjito, Puerto Rico. The scene was considered difficult to shoot, as pathways were slippery from moist tropical heat and the scene involved actors and stunt doubles running while avoiding dogs, chickens and other stray animals loose in the area. To capture the scene, a 420-foot cable-camera rig was used to allow for a fast moving, birds-eye view of the action, and cameras on cranes were set up on rooftops and in alleyways.[40] Walker and Brewster made multiple takes of the conclusion of the scene, requiring them to jump nearly 30 feet from a building onto a waiting safety mat.[11] In total the production employed 236 technicians, 13,145 extras, and generated 16,824 room nights at hotels, contributing $27 million to the Puerto Rican community.[29]

text: Filming moved to Atlanta, Georgia for the final phase.[38] Wenham and his team transformed a defunct train yard into an abandoned auto plant used by the protagonists as their headquarters.[41] Redesigning the train yard took place over several months. It was required to allow enough space for stunt drivers to drive into the building, and it had to include an integrated lighting system. The design team removed walls, hauled out old railway cars, suspended rusted car parts and auto-plant car rails, and constructed smaller buildings within the main building to transform the site. With twenty-five pages of script to shoot in a limited time, cinematographer Stephen Windon and his team spent three weeks setting up a series of high-powered, motorized lights in the rafters of the building, that could be controlled remotely to allow lighting to be altered quickly while fully illuminating the set.[42] An exterior scene involving Diesel and Walker attending a car party, involving several high-performance cars, was filmed near the Georgia Dome.[42] The train heist scene was filmed in Rice, California over three weeks.[43]

text: A brawl scene between Johnson's and Diesel's characters was considered difficult to choreograph. The characters were written to be equally formidable, so the fight was punctuated with moments of character development, as Moritz felt this made the fight more exciting. The scene required several weeks of rehearsal and more than a week of filming by the actors and their stunt doubles, who incurred several minor injuries.[44]

text: Vehicle stunts[edit]

text: The climactic vault heist required four weeks of preparation with every scene and camera angle determined in advance.[45] The filmmakers hired stunt director Spiro Razatos and stunt coordinator Jack Gill to direct the second-unit action filming.[46] The pair initially began research for the stunt by testing the capabilities of the prop vaults and the Dodge Chargers driven by Diesel and Walker. Filmed on the streets of Hato Rey,[47] the chaotic scene demanded specific timing that had to be synchronized with the various character interactions also occurring during the scene. Razatos chose to use a series of camera cars including a crane-mounted camera atop a Porsche Cayenne, which allowed him to film from a variety of angles and heights while the vehicles were in motion, and a Subaru Impreza with a steel cage built around it that allowed for tracking shots.[46] The Subaru's driver Allen Padelford would occasionally accidentally collide with the vault, creating a shower of sparks that inadvertently became useful footage. Padelford also developed a top-mount dual-drive system for the Chargers that allowed a stunt driver to control the vehicle from the roof, while the actor focused on their performance inside the car.[46]

text: Six versions of the 8-foot high vault were built, each with specific uses. One of the vaults was a façade built onto the front of a semitruck and was used for filming close shots of the vault destroying street cars. Another vault was a reinforced, four-wheel self-drive vehicle that was connected to 30-foot cables and dragged through the streets of San Juan by the two stunt Dodge Chargers.[48] The four-ton vault was driven by stunt driver Henry Kingi, who had to wear a temperature controlled suit to compensate for the temperatures within that could exceed 100 degrees.[39] A scene where the vault tumbled as the cars rounded a corner was a practical effect, and the result was more violent than the filmmakers had anticipated.[45] Over 200 vehicles were destroyed by the vault during filming.[47] Several stunts had to be cut including a final scene that would have seen the vault hanging over the edge of the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge. This stunt was abandoned when it was determined that even the powerful Chargers would not be able to support the vault's weight.[45]

text: The train heist presented several challenges. The filmmakers were required to effectively purchase a length of working railroad for filming and the trains necessary to ride the tracks. Then trucks had to be built that could race the train and meet the needs of the heist itself. Lin also required that the cars being carried on the train be able to jump out of the train at full speed. The scene took precise execution.[47] The filmmakers chose to use cars they could cheaply replicate for the train heist—a 1972 De Tomaso Pantera, a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette GS Roadster, and a Ford GT40—to avoid the expense of replacing a genuine $2 million Ford GT40.[47]

text: Music[edit]

text: Fast Five (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was released on iTunes on April 25, 2011, and on CD on May 3, 2011, by ABKCO Records.  It features many reggaeton and rhythmic Latin tracks, including songs by Don Omar, Busta Rhymes and many others, with three pieces from Tyler's original score for the film: "Assembling the Team", "Mad Skills" and "Fast Five Suite".[49]  Music guide AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars out of 5, commenting that "The goal here is to accompany a picture that, as usual, is packed with driving sequences involving flashy cars, beautiful, scantily clad women, and muscled men. That goal is accomplished with this beat-heavy music and the gruff, aggressive Latin rapping."[49]  Ludacris collaborated with Slaughterhouse and Claret Jai for the soundtrack's lead single, "Furiously Dangerous".[50]

text: The film score was released on May 3, 2011, by Varèse Sarabande.  The release has 25 tracks and plays for 78 minutes.[51]  The score spent four weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking as high as number 60 and reaching number 24 on the digital albums chart and number 5 on the soundtrack-only chart.[51]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The first trailer for Fast Five was released on Diesel's Facebook page on December 14, 2010, in what was believed to be the first ever use of this marketing approach.[52][53]  At the time, Diesel's page had over 20 million subscribers (one of the top five personal sites of celebrities), providing a wide audience for the trailer.  Following this debut, other members of the cast with personal social media platforms released the teaser trailer to their own fans.[52][53]

text: The Facebook game Car Town by Cie Games and the theater chain Regal Entertainment Group (REG) collaborated with Universal in a cross-media marketing promotion.  Car Town allowed players to view the trailer for the film in an REG-branded, in-game drive-in theater and race around a virtual Rio de Janeiro.  The game also featured missions and locations based on the plot of the film, while allowing players to race against Fast Five characters and take part in a bank heist.  REG offered players of Car Town the ability to purchase tickets in-game via Fandango for films at REG theaters.  By buying these tickets in-game, players were given promotional codes which in turn allowed them to unlock a virtual 1970s Dodge Charger, used by Diesel's character in the original film.  REG promoted the partnership between the film and the game in their theaters across 37 states, online and through social media, while Universal promoted it via their own Facebook, Twitter and YouTube sites.[54][55] In October 2011, it was claimed that over 200 million races had taken place within the virtual Rio de Janeiro environment in the six months since the campaign's April launch.[56]

text: Automobile manufacturer Dodge collaborated with Universal in marketing the film, supplying several Dodge Chargers to use in it.[57]  The partnership with Dodge included the "Fast Five" Dodge Charger driven by Robby Gordon in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series throughout April 2011 – the opening month of Fast Five. Dodge also sponsored the world premiere of the film in Rio de Janeiro.[57]

text: Release[edit]

text: The premiere of Fast Five took place on April 15, 2011, at the Cinépolis Lagoon theater in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[58] It was hosted by actress Susie Castillo and sponsored by car manufacturer Dodge.[57][59]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Fast Five grossed $209.8 million (33.5%) in the United States and Canada and $416.3 million (66.5%) in other territories for a total of $626.1 million.[3] Worldwide, it is the seventy-first highest-grossing film,[60] the seventh highest-grossing 2011 film,[61] the fourth highest-grossing film in the Fast & Furious series (behind Fast & Furious 6, The Fate of the Furious, and Furious 7),[62] and the fifth highest-grossing Universal film.[63] It achieved a worldwide opening weekend of $109.6 million.[64] The film reached a peak of number 55 on the list of all-time highest-grossing films worldwide in October 2011.[60] It became the highest-grossing film of the series in worldwide grosses (as well as separately in the US and Canada, and outside the US and Canada)[65] but was out-grossed in all three cases by Fast & Furious 6.[66]

text: Fast Five is the ninth highest-grossing 2011 film,[67] the third highest-grossing film of the Fast and Furious franchise (behind Fast 6 and Furious 7)[62] and the fifth highest-grossing Universal film.[68] It was initially released in Australia on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 – nine days before the release date in North America – followed by releases in the UK, South Korea and New Zealand. The earlier start in these countries was timed to coincide with their Easter holidays[69] and avoided competition from forthcoming summer films,[70] although this placed it in direct competition with Thor in some countries. By the end of its opening weekend, the film had accrued a total of $23.4 million from these countries.[71][72] On its second weekend, Fast Five earned $46.3 million across 3,139 theaters in 14 countries, ranking first at the box office in each of its ten new markets. For the overall weekend, it ranked second behind Thor.[73] In the third weekend of release, Fast Five topped the box office in a further 44 countries, playing in a total of 6,979 theaters across 58 countries. It ranked first during the weekend with $85.8 million.[74][75] It set an opening-weekend record in the United Arab Emirates ($1.65 million), holding this record for two weeks before being out-grossed by Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($2.24 million).[76]

text: Across all markets, the film scored Universal's highest-grossing opening weekend in Russia, Spain, Turkey,[77] Argentina, Brazil,[78] Chile, France,[78] India, Italy,[78] Malaysia, Mexico,[78] the Netherlands, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.[74]

text: Fast Five is the third highest-grossing film in the Fast and Furious franchise (behind Fast 6 and Furious 7),[62] the sixteenth highest-grossing Universal film,[79] the sixth highest-grossing 2011 film,[80] the second highest-grossing heist/caper film, behind Inception,[81] and the second highest-grossing car-racing film, behind Cars.[82] According to Box Office Mojo, Fast Five is one of the most successful sequels of 2011, when taking into account that it is one of few to have outperformed the immediately-preceding instalment of its franchise in the US and Canada.[83]

text: Fast Five opened on April 29, 2011, in 3,644 theaters,[3] It took $3.8 million in midnight showings, setting new records for the Fast and the Furious series and Universal[84] (both records overtaken by Fast 6).[85] By the end of its opening day, it had accrued a total of $34.4 million (including midnight earnings), setting an April opening-day record, replacing Fast & Furious ($30.1 million),[86] and marking the third largest Friday outside of the summer and holiday period, behind The Hunger Games and Alice in Wonderland.[87][88] In total, Fast Five earned $86.2 million during its opening weekend, an average of $23,655 per theater,[2] with IMAX showings contributing over $8 million.[89] It thus set an opening-weekend record for the Fast and Furious series, for Universal,[90] (both records overtaken by Fast 6)[91] and for films released in April[90] (the record was surpassed in 2014 by Captain America: The Winter Soldier[92]). It also achieved the third-largest spring opening, behind The Hunger Games and Alice in Wonderland.[93][94] The film also set an opening-weekend record among films starring Diesel, Walker, Brewster, Johnson, Moritz and Lin,[90] records overtaken in all cases by Fast 6.[91]

text: The film opened dropped 62% on its second weekend, earning $32.4 million,[95] and ranking second behind Thor.[96] This result was partially attributed to the reduction in IMAX and large-format screens showing the film (reduced from 244[89] to 20[97]), since IMAX only contributed $510,000 to the film's second-weekend gross.[74] On June 4, 2011, 37 days after release in the US, the film became the first of 2011 to accrue more than $200 million.[98] The film received a one-week re-release in IMAX theaters on September 30, 2011.[99]

text:
Release date(s)

Budget

Box office revenue

Box office ranking (current/peak)

US & Canada

International

Worldwide

Release year

All time US

All time  worldwide

April 20, 2011 (2011-04-20) (Australia)
April 29, 2011 (2011-04-29) (United States)

$125,000,000[2]

$209,837,675[3]

$416,300,000[3]

$626,137,675[3]

#7 / #1[100][101]

#116 / #103[3][102]

#66 / #55[3][60]

Note(s)

Box office ranking accurate as of February 2013.

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Fast Five received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 77%, based on 193 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sleek, loud, and over the top, Fast Five proudly embraces its brainless action thrills and injects new life into the franchise."[103] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[104]

text: Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, praising it as "a skillfully assembled 130 minutes at the movies, with actors capable of doing absurd things with straight faces, and action sequences that toy idly with the laws of physics",[5] while Richard Corliss of Time considered it "maybe the first great film of the post-human era".[105] The New York Times said it deftly combined action and humor, stating "The only time you won't be watching the screen is when your eyes have squeezed shut because you're laughing so hard."[106] The Telegraph appreciated the presence of Johnson and Diesel together, calling it a "cosmic event", and added that director Lin had revitalized the series, saying "the start and finish here, defying every imaginable law of physics, are series highs."[107] Empire also heaped praise on Johnson, saying "How to re-ignite an ageing franchise? Drop [Johnson] on it. The best thing, by far, in Fast Five ... Dwayne Johnson hulks through the movie leaving testosterone trails in his wake."  However, Empire took the view that the film itself was "not, by any normal criteria, a good film", arguing that it was too long, although conceding that the action scenes, in particular the final car chase, made the film "the most entertaining in the series."[7]  Anna Smith of Time Out London also commented that the film was too long and criticized the simplistic characters and dialog, but she called the film "slick" and stated that these criticisms could be overlooked because "it doesn't take itself too seriously."[108] Variety focused on the roles of Johnson and Diesel, lamenting the current lack of 1980s-style "brawny" leading men and of the "manly men" typical of the 1950s and 1960s, and calling their pairing "a welcome injection of tough-guy vigor". Variety commented that, based on Fast Five, a "sixth entry could be something worth waiting for".[109] The New Yorker called the action scenes "spectacular", praising director Lin by saying his "direction and the sharp editing never confuse or lose momentum", but also found the film too long and criticized the dialog, labeling it "subpar  Ocean's Eleven-style banter".[110]  On the characters, The New Yorker considered Walker and Diesel "serviceable", but singled out Johnson for praise for bringing a "hip, comic knowingness to his role ... his enjoyment is infectious and keeps the movie speeding along."[110]

text: Total Film welcomed the return of Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson to "[inject] the film with much-needed laughs" and felt that Johnson fit into the established cast with ease, though it believed the film itself was "no mould-breaker."[111] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, who disliked the previous movies, gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4, praising the transformation of the series into a heist film ("Damn it, it works"), commenting favorably on scenes between Johnson and Diesel, and judging that "Fast Five will push all your action buttons, and some you haven't thought of."[112]  The Los Angeles Times felt that scenes shared by Diesel and Johnson were the "best moments" and appreciated the humor, but considered the pacing a "strange mix", switching between exposition, comedy scenes and then sudden action.[6]  The reviewer echoed other critics' sentiments concerning the running time of the film, but concluded that "the sheer audacity of "Fast Five" is kind of breathtaking in a metal-twisting, death-defying, mission-implausible, B-movie-on-steroids kind of way", labeling it the "best" of the series.[6]

text: Both Empire and Variety noted that the final chase scene of Fast Five contained allusions to Bad Boys II (2003): Variety stated that the scene "seems inspired in part by a similarly spectacular scene in Bad Boys II";[109] Empire said that it "nearly out-Bad-Boys-2s Bad Boys 2".[7]

text: Not all reviews were positive, however. Film4 criticized both the film's long running time and its treatment of female characters, remarking "[Females] cameo strikingly in buttock form. Others actually have first names". But Film4 praised Johnson's role as DSS agent Luke Hobbs, saying he "provides a more credible anti-antagonist to our anti-heroes than the straight up villains can manage".[8]  The Boston Herald gave a more mixed reaction: it derided the lack of realism as removing any sense of threat to the protagonists, but conceded that "these films may be robustly anti-intellectual and deplorably commercialized, but they are the envy of the rest of the world."[113]  Despite giving the film a positive review and praising the action, The Hollywood Reporter was critical of its stars, saying "it's clear the budget wasn't used on acting lessons for the cast."[114]  The New York Post's Kyle Smith gave the film a negative review, criticizing the shortage of car-related action before the finale and calling it less a "vroomer" and more a "knucklehead Ocean's Eleven".[115]  Smith went on to call the film's villain Reyes (Almeida) "unforgivably dull" and considered the long running time a result of taking "that long to read every item in the cliché dictionary."[115] Time Out New York stated that "The Fast and the Furious movies haven't exactly gotten better as they've gone along" but gave the director a backhanded compliment, saying "Justin Lin, taking his third turn behind the franchise's wheel, is at least a competent hack."[116]  Ebert was more complimentary, saying "Justin Lin is emerging as a first-rate director in this second-rate genre"[5] and Rolling Stone managed "Justin Lin, who misdirected the last two sequels, finds his pace this time, staging dynamite action."

text: Brazilian critics[edit]

text: Brazilian reviewers criticized the use of Rio de Janeiro in the film, claiming it was stereotyped as "dominated by heavily armed drug traffickers, corrupt police, and sexy women".[9] O Globo accused the producers of using "aerial shots and quick editing" to "deceive the viewer" into believing that the criminal acts take place in Rio.  Globo also reacted negatively to the use of "foreigners" to represent Brazilians, "speaking Portuguese with laughable accents".[9] Veja agreed with O Globo, saying, "The city of Rio and the Rio Film Commission supported the production. But the image that will spread across the world is exactly what the city doesn't want."[117]

text: Accolades and recognition[edit]

text: Tyler's score for Fast Five earned him an award at the 2011 BMI Film Music Awards.[118]  The marketing components of Fast Five were nominated for three Golden Trailer Awards, winning one for Best Summer Blockbuster 2011 TV Spot.[119] For the 2011 Teen Choice Awards, Fast Five received five nominations, including Choice Action Movie and Choice Action Movie Actress.[120] Three of the five available nomination slots for Choice Action Movie Actor were taken by actors from Fast Five: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Paul Walker.[120]  The film ultimately received one Teen Choice Award, for Choice Action Movie.[121] The film received two nominations for the 2011 People's Choice Awards for Favorite Action Movie, and Favorite Action Movie Star for Diesel.[122] Diesel was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.[123] The film's sound and music editing was nominated for a Golden Reel Award for Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film by the Motion Picture Sound Editors society.[124] The film also received two Saturn Award nominations from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Action/Adventure Film and Best Editing for Kelly Matsumoto, Fred Raskin, and Christian Watner.[125]

text: In December, 2011, Richard Corliss ranked the film number 10 on his list of the Top 10 Best Movies of 2011, saying, "A carnival of roguish heroes and pretty girls, car chases and cliffhangers, Fast Five is as much a tribute as The Artist or Hugo to the cinema's primal thrills."[126] Empire placed the film number 20 on its list of the Top 20 Films of 2011,[127] while IGN named it the "Best Action Movie" of 2011.[128] Fast Five was listed as the number 1 most illegally downloaded film of 2011 on BitTorrent with approximately 9.3 million downloads.[129][130]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Recipient
Result
Ref.

2011

BMI Film Music Award

Film Music

Brian Tyler

Won

[118][131]

Golden Trailer Awards

Best Action TV Spot

"Fast Women" – Universal Pictures, AV Squad

Nominated

[119]

Best Summer 2011 Blockbuster Poster

"Fast Five" – Universal Pictures, Cold Open

Nominated

Best Summer Blockbuster 2011 TV Spot

"Super Bowl" – Universal Pictures, AV Squad

Won

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Movie – Action

Fast Five

Won

[120][121]

Choice Movie Actor – Action

Vin Diesel

Nominated

[120]

Dwayne Johnson

Nominated

Paul Walker

Nominated

Choice Movie Actress – Action

Jordana Brewster

Nominated

2012

People's Choice Awards

Favorite Action Movie

Fast Five

Nominated

[122][132]

Favorite Action Movie Star

Vin Diesel

Nominated

Critic's Choice Awards

Best Action Movie

Fast Five

Nominated

[133]

NAACP Image Award

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

Vin Diesel

Nominated

[123]

Golden Reel Awards

Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film

Fast Five

Nominated

[124]

Saturn Awards

Best Action/Adventure Film

Fast Five

Nominated

[125]

Best Editing

Kelly Matsumoto, Fred Raskin, and Christian Watner

Nominated

text: Home media[edit]

text: On August 2, 2011, USA Network purchased the rights to the United States network premiere of Fast Five.[134]  The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2011,[135] and in the United States on October 4, 2011,[136] in 2.35:1 aspect ratio with DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. A triple pack was also released containing a Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy of the film in either Blu-ray or DVD packaging.[137][138]  The Blu-ray versions contains several exclusive additional features, including behind-the-scenes footage, cast and crew interviews, a "virtual car garage" that provides further details on the vehicles used in the production, and music tracks from the film.  Both the DVD and the Blu-ray contain a theatrical and extended cut of the film,[136] director commentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel and features on the three central characters.[138] Commenting on the extended cut, Lin said "this is the version that I prefer."[136] During first week sales in the United States the DVD was the number 1 selling DVD, the number 1 rental DVD,[139] and the number 2 selling Blu-ray disc behind the Blu-ray re-release of The Lion King.[140] 57% of the total first week disc sales of Fast Five were the Blu-ray disc version.[140]

text: To promote the release of the DVD and Blu-ray, Universal Studios Home Entertainment sponsored the first race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, at the Chicagoland Speedway.  The event, renamed as the "Fast Five 225", took place on September 16, 2011, with Gibson and Brewster as Grand Marshals; Gibson sang the American national anthem for the event and Brewster acted as honorary starter.  The event served as the kickoff for the first weekend of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and was won by Austin Dillon.[141]  The deal marked the first time that a film promotion had been allowed to take over a NASCAR race as a title sponsor.[142]  Continuing the partnership with Car Town, the game was used as the exclusive means of pre-ordering the Blu-ray/DVD combo release at Walmart, via players clicking on a Walmart-themed truck, which in turn provided the player with Fast Five branded in-game rewards.[56]

text: Sequel[edit]

text: A sixth film in The Fast and The Furious series was planned in February 2010 as development on Fast Five began, and in April 2011, it was confirmed that Morgan had begun work on a script for the potential sixth film.[27][30]  Diesel and Moritz returned as producers for the film and Lin would return to direct. Fast & Furious 6 was released on May 24, 2013.[143]


document_title: Guardians of the Galaxy (film)

question_text: who plays bad guy in guardians of the galaxy

root

text: Guardians of the Galaxy (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In 1988, following his mother's death, a young Peter Quill is abducted from Earth by the Ravagers, a group of space pirates led by Yondu Udonta. Twenty-six years later on the planet Morag, Quill steals an orb but is attacked by Korath, a subordinate to the fanatical Kree, Ronan. Although Quill escapes with the orb, Yondu discovers his theft and issues a bounty for his capture, while Ronan sends the assassin Gamora after the orb.

tag: p

text: When Quill attempts to sell the orb on Xandar, capital of the Nova Empire, Gamora ambushes him and steals it. A fight ensues, drawing in a pair of bounty hunters: the genetically and cybernetically modified raccoon Rocket, and the tree-like humanoid Groot. Nova Corps officers capture the four, detaining them in the Kyln. A powerful inmate there, Drax, attempts to kill Gamora due to her association with Ronan, who killed his family. Quill convinces Drax that Gamora can bring Ronan to him, though Gamora reveals that she has betrayed Ronan, unwilling to let him use the orb's power. Learning that Gamora has a buyer for the orb, Quill, Rocket, Groot, and Drax work with her to escape the Kyln in Quill's ship, the Milano.

text: Ronan meets with Gamora's adoptive father, Thanos, to discuss her betrayal. Quill's group flee to Knowhere, a remote criminal outpost in space built in the giant severed head of a Celestial. A drunken Drax summons Ronan while the rest of the group meet Gamora's contact, the collector Taneleer Tivan. Tivan opens the orb, revealing an Infinity Stone, an item of immeasurable power that destroys all but the most powerful beings who wield it. Tivan's tormented assistant Carina grabs the Stone, triggering an explosion that engulfs Tivan's archive.

text: Ronan arrives and easily defeats Drax, while the others flee by ship, pursued by Ronan's followers and Gamora's adoptive sister Nebula. Nebula destroys Gamora's ship, leaving her floating in space, and Ronan's fighters capture the orb. Quill contacts Yondu before following Gamora into space, giving her his helmet to survive; Yondu arrives and retrieves the pair. Rocket, Drax, and Groot threaten to attack Yondu's ship to rescue them, but Quill negotiates a truce, promising the orb to Yondu. Quill's group agrees that facing Ronan means certain death, but that they cannot let him use the Infinity Stone to destroy the galaxy. On Ronan's flagship, the Dark Aster, Ronan embeds the Stone in his warhammer, taking its power for himself. He contacts Thanos, threatening to kill him after first destroying Xandar; hateful of her adoptive father, Nebula allies with Ronan.

text: The Ravagers and Quill's group join with the Nova Corps to confront the Dark Aster at Xandar, with Quill's group breaching the Dark Aster with the Milano. Ronan uses his empowered warhammer to destroy the Nova Corps fleet. Gamora fights and defeats Nebula, who then escapes, but the group find themselves outmatched by Ronan's power until Rocket crashes a Ravager ship through the Dark Aster. The damaged Dark Aster crash-lands on Xandar, with Groot sacrificing himself to shield the group. Ronan emerges from the wreck and prepares to destroy Xandar, but Quill distracts him, allowing Drax and Rocket to destroy Ronan's warhammer. Quill grabs the freed Stone, and with Gamora, Drax, and Rocket sharing its burden, they use it to destroy Ronan.

text: In the aftermath, Quill tricks Yondu into taking a container supposedly containing the Stone, and gives the real Stone to the Nova Corps. As the Ravagers leave Xandar, Yondu remarks that it turned out well that they did not deliver Quill to his father per their contract. Quill's group, now known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, have their criminal records expunged, and Quill learns that he is only half-human, his father being part of an ancient, unknown species. Quill finally opens the last present he received from his mother: a cassette tape filled with her favorite songs. The Guardians leave in the rebuilt Milano along with a sapling cut from Groot.

text: In a post-credits scene, Tivan sits in his destroyed archive with two of his living exhibits: a canine cosmonaut and an anthropomorphic duck.[N 1]

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord:
The half-human, half-alien[8] leader of the Guardians who was abducted from Missouri as a child in 1988 and raised by a group of alien thieves and smugglers called the Ravagers.[9][10][11] About the character, Pratt said, "He had a hard time as a kid, and now he goes around space, making out with hot alien girls and just being a rogue and a bit of a jerk, and through teaming up with these guys, finds a higher purpose for himself."[12] He also added that the character is a mix of Han Solo and Marty McFly.[8] Pratt, who was mostly known for playing supporting characters, including Andy Dwyer on the television series Parks and Recreation, initially turned down the role. Pratt had lost weight to portray fit characters in films such as Moneyball and Zero Dark Thirty, and had given up ambitions to play the lead role in action films after humbling auditions for Star Trek and Avatar. Casting director Sarah Finn suggested Pratt to Gunn, who dismissed the idea despite struggling to cast that role. Despite this, Finn arranged for a meeting between the two, at which point Gunn was immediately convinced that Pratt was perfect for the role. Pratt also won over Feige, despite having gained weight again for Delivery Man.[13] Prior to filming, Pratt underwent a strict diet and training regimen to lose 60 lb (27 kg) in six months.[14] Pratt signed a multi-film contract with Marvel,[15] and was granted a temporary leave from his work on Parks and Recreation in order to accommodate his participation in the film.[16] Wyatt Oleff portrays a young Quill.[17]

Zoe Saldana as Gamora:
An orphan from an alien world who seeks redemption for her past crimes. She was trained by Thanos to be his personal assassin.[9][18][19] Saldana said that she became Gamora through make-up rather than computer generated imagery (CGI) or performance capture.[20] On taking the role, Saldana said, "I was just excited to be asked to join by James Gunn and to also play someone green. I've been blue before [in Avatar]."[21] Saldana described Gamora as "...a warrior, she’s an assassin and she’s very lethal but what saves her is the same thing that can doom her. She has a sense of righteousness. She’s a very righteous individual."[8]

Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer:
A warrior who seeks to avenge his family's death at the hands of Ronan.[18] On relating to the character, Bautista said, "I can just relate to Drax so much it's not even funny. Just the simple things that we have in common. Simple things like the tattoos, the tragedy – because you know, I had a bit of tragedy in my life as well. So it's really easy for me to pull from that." Bautista also said that there was "a lot of comic relief to Drax", but the character was not aware of it. Bautista stated that he did not do much preparation for the role, because "Luckily, for me, I'm a lifelong athlete and I adapted real quick."[22] Bautista's makeup took approximately four hours to apply, though it could be removed in just 90 minutes.[23] Drax has various scarring patterns on his body, which replace the simple tattoos from the comics, each having a specific story. Additionally, his skin tone was changed from the bright green in the comics to a muddier grey, to avoid visual similarities to the Hulk.[24]

Vin Diesel as Groot:
A tree-like humanoid[25] who is the accomplice of Rocket. Diesel stated that he provided the voice and motion capture for Groot, after originally being in talks to star in a new Phase Three Marvel film.[26][27][28] Diesel also provided Groot's voice for several foreign-language releases of the film.[29] Krystian Godlewski portrayed the character on set, though his acting was not used in the final character CGI.[30][31] On the character, which Gunn based on his dog,[32] Gunn said, "All the Guardians start out the movie as bastards – except Groot. He's an innocent. He's a hundred percent deadly and a hundred percent sweet. He's caught up in Rocket's life, really." Gunn added that the design and movement of Groot took "the better part of a year" to create.[33] Gunn added, "The ways in which Vin Diesel says, 'I am Groot,' I am astounded. All of the 'I am Groots' that were earlier voices didn't sound very good at all... Vin came in and in one day, laid down all these 'I am Groot' tracks, and he's a perfectionist. He made me explain to him with ever  [sic] 'I am Groot,' exactly what he was saying... It was amazing when we first put that voice in there how much the character changed and how much he influenced the character."[34] Regarding the limited words used by Groot, Diesel said in many ways this was, "... the most challenging thing to ask an actor to do."[35] Diesel found an emotional note in his performance, invoking the death of his friend and Fast and Furious co-star Paul Walker, saying, "This was in December [2013], and the first time I came back to dealing with human beings after dealing with death, so playing a character who celebrates life in the way Groot does was very nice."[36] Groot's form and size-changing abilities are seen, with Gunn stating that he has the ability to grow in the film.[37]

Bradley Cooper as Rocket:
A genetically engineered raccoon-like bounty hunter and mercenary who is a master of weapons and battle tactics.[9][25][38][39] Gunn worked with live raccoons to get the correct feel for the character, and to make sure it was "not a cartoon character", saying, "It's not Bugs Bunny in the middle of the Avengers, it's a real, little, somewhat mangled beast that's alone. There's no one else in the universe quite like him, he's been created by these guys to be a mean-ass fighting machine."[40] Gunn also based the character on himself.[32] Describing Rocket in relation to the rest of the Guardians, Cooper said, "I think Rocket is dynamic. He's the sort of Joe Pesci in Goodfellas guy."[41] Cooper voiced Rocket, while Sean Gunn (James' younger brother) stood in for the character during filming.[42] James Gunn said that for the role of Rocket, some physical movement from Cooper, including facial expressions and hand movements, was recorded as potential reference for the animators,[43] though much of Sean Gunn's acting is used throughout the film.[30] Before Cooper was cast, James Gunn said that it was a challenge finding a voice for Rocket, that he was looking for someone that could balance "the fast-talking speech patterns that Rocket has, but also can be funny, because he is really funny. But also has the heart that Rocket has. Because there are actually some pretty dramatic scenes with Rocket."[44]

Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser:
A Kree radical who agrees to retrieve an artifact for Thanos in exchange for eradicating his mortal enemies, the Xandarians. Ronan and his Sakaaran army[45] hunt down the Guardians when they interfere with his goals.[9][46] Describing Ronan, Gunn said, "He is the primary villain, and he is a really twisted guy, he has a really religious bent in this film. He has a very sick and twisted view of what morality is; strength is virtue and weakness is sin and that is what he lives by, and I think he is very scary because of his beliefs, which are real to him."[47] Pace, who originally auditioned for Peter Quill,[48] described Ronan as a "psycho" and a "monster".[49]

Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta:
A blue-skinned bandit who is the leader of the Ravagers and a paternal figure to Quill.[9][50] Yondu helps Quill to steal the orb before Quill betrays him, leaving Yondu and the Ravagers to chase the Guardians. On the character, Rooker said, he has "some interesting issues–not a good guy, not a bad guy. There's hope and there's a heart inside Yondu." Gunn created the film's version of the character specifically with Rooker in mind, while borrowing the character's mohawk and use of a whistle-controlled arrow from the comics. Rooker fully committed to the role once he knew his role on the TV series The Walking Dead would be ending.[51] Rooker's makeup took approximately four hours to apply.[52]

Karen Gillan as Nebula:
An adopted daughter of Thanos who was raised with Gamora as siblings and is a loyal lieutenant in the employ of Ronan and Thanos.[9][11] About the character, Gillan said, "She is the female villain of the film ... She is very sadistic and evil, but I like to think for a very valid reason."[53] She also added, "I think she's a really interesting character. What I like to play around with is how jealous she is. She's Gamora's sister, and there's a lot of sibling rivalry. That's the most interesting aspect to me, because jealousy can consume you and turn you bitter, and ugly. And she's a total sadist, so that's fun too."[54] Gillan researched the ancient Spartans, shaved off her hair, and trained for two months for the role.[54][55] The character's makeup took approximately four and a half hours to be applied.[54]

Djimon Hounsou as Korath:
A Kree[45] ally of Ronan who is a feared intergalactic hunter.[9] As to why he took the role Hounsou said, "I have a four-year old son who loves superheroes from Spider-Man to Iron Man to Batman. He's got all the costumes. One day he looks at me and says 'Dad, I want to be light-skinned so I could be Spider-Man. Spider-Man has light skin.' That was sort of a shock. This is why I am excited to be a part of the Marvel Universe, so I could hopefully provide that diversity in the role of the superhero."[56]

John C. Reilly as Rhomann Dey: A corpsman in the Nova Corps, the Nova Empire's military and police force.[9][57]
Glenn Close as Irani Rael:
The leader of the Nova Corps, known as Nova Prime, whose mission is to protect the citizens of the Nova Empire and keep peace.[9][58][59] Close stated that she "had always wanted to be in a movie like [Guardians of the Galaxy], and that it would be "the most fun to play something like the Judi Dench [as M or] Samuel L. Jackson [as Nick Fury] role".[60] She said that she took the role because she "love[s] to do stuff that's different" and wanted to show that she "[has] always been up for anything."[61] She also stated that her contract has "several" films on it, and that she would be open to working on other Marvel Studios films in addition to returning for Guardians sequels.[60]

Benicio del Toro as Taneleer Tivan / The Collector:
An obsessive keeper of the largest collection of interstellar fauna, relics, and species in the galaxy who operates out of a place in space named Knowhere.[9][58][62] Describing del Toro's performance, Gunn said, "He's like an outer-space Liberace. That's what it says in the script, which he's kind of doing."[43] On bringing the character to life, del Toro said, "What James [Gunn] wanted, that I found out little by little as I was doing it, is that he wanted me to explore and just keep pushing the character and keep creating [him] as I was in front of the camera."[63]

tag: ul

text: Additionally, Josh Brolin appears, uncredited, as Thanos through voice acting and performance capture.[64][65][66] Sean Gunn stood in for Thanos during filming and portrays Kraglin, Yondu's first mate in the Ravagers.[30] Alexis Denisof reprises his role as Thanos's vizier, "The Other", from The Avengers.[67] Ophelia Lovibond plays Carina, the Collector's slave;[68][69] Peter Serafinowicz plays Denarian Garthan Saal, a Nova Corps officer;[70][71] Gregg Henry plays Quill's grandfather;[72] Laura Haddock plays Quill's mother, Meredith;[71][73] Melia Kreiling plays Bereet;[74] Christopher Fairbank plays The Broker;[75] Mikaela Hoover plays Nova Prime's assistant;[76] Marama Corlett plays a pit boss at the bar, The Boot;[77] Emmett J. Scanlan plays a Nova riot guard;[78][79] Alexis Rodney plays Moloka Dar;[80][81] Tom Proctor plays Horuz, a Ravager;[82] and Spencer Wilding plays a prison guard who confiscates Quill's Walkman.[80][83] Canine actor Fred appears as Cosmo.[6] Stephen Blackehart had a supporting role.[84] Naomi Ryan also had a supporting role in the film, though it was cut in the final version.[77] Cameos in the film include: James Gunn as a Sakaaran;[6] Stan Lee as a Xandarian Ladies' Man;[6][85] Lloyd Kaufman as an inmate;[86][87] Nathan Fillion as the voice of an inmate;[6][88] Rob Zombie as the voice of the Ravager Navigator;[6] composer Tyler Bates as a Ravager pilot;[89] and Seth Green as the voice of Howard the Duck.[7]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text:
"I think anybody... who would have said that this would make a great main movie would have been laughed off. It's such an unlikely thing to do. So I think it's lovely to work on something and expose its potential to the point where a company like Marvel will say, 'Yes, this makes sense.'"

—Dan Abnett, co-writer of the 2008 Guardians of the Galaxy relaunch, on the project[90]

text: Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige first mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy as a potential film at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, stating, "There are some obscure titles, too, like Guardians of the Galaxy. I think they've been revamped recently in a fun way in the [comic] book."[91] Feige reiterated that sentiment in a September 2011 issue of Entertainment Weekly, saying, "There's an opportunity to do a big space epic, which Thor sort of hints at, in the cosmic side" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Feige added, should the film be made, it would feature an ensemble of characters, similar to X-Men and The Avengers.[92]

text: Feige announced that the film was in active development at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International during the Marvel Studios panel, with an intended release date of August 1, 2014. He stated that the film's titular team would consist of the characters Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon.[93] Two pieces of concept art were also displayed, one of Rocket Raccoon, and one featuring the entire team.[94] In August 2012, James Gunn entered talks to direct the film, beating out other contenders, including Peyton Reed and the duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.[95] The Avengers director Joss Whedon, who signed a deal to creatively consult on all of the films leading up to The Avengers sequel,[96] was enthusiastic about the selection of Gunn to direct, saying "James [Gunn] is what makes me think it will work... He is so off the wall, and so crazy, but so smart, such a craftsman and he builds from his heart. He loves the raccoon. Needs the raccoon... He has a very twisted take on it, but it all comes from a real love for the material. It's going to be hard for [the human characters] to keep up."[97]

text: Writing[edit]

text: Nicole Perlman, who was enrolled in Marvel's screenwriting program in 2009,[98] was offered several of their lesser known properties to base a screenplay on.[99] Out of those, Perlman chose Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's Guardians of the Galaxy, due to her interest in space and science fiction,[99] adding, "I think [Marvel] were a little taken aback when I chose Guardians, because there were ones that would make a lot more sense if you were a romantic-comedy writer or something like that." Perlman spent two years writing a draft, immersing herself in the Guardians universe, and was asked in late 2011 to create another draft, before Gunn was brought in in early 2012 to contribute to the script.[100] Gunn eventually rewrote the script entirely because "it didn’t work" for him; he would use the film The Dirty Dozen as a reference to convey his ideas of the film to Marvel.[101] Gunn later explained that Perlman's draft was very different from the script he used during filming, including a different story, character arcs and no Walkman; he stated, "In Nicole’s script everything is pretty different... it's not about the same stuff. But that's how the WGA works. They like first writers an awful lot."[102] In August 2012, Marvel Studios hired writer Chris McCoy to rewrite Perlman's script,[103] however, it is unclear what contribution he had to the final script, since he did not receive production credit.[58]

text: Gunn revealed that character introductions were the "hardest scenes to crack", with Thanos' introduction being the most difficult. He felt that "having Thanos be in that scene was more helpful to the [MCU] than it was to Guardians of the Galaxy," yet he still wanted Thanos in the film, without "[belittling] the actual antagonist of the film, which is Ronan." To solve his dilemma, Gunn chose to have Ronan kill "The Other", Thanos' vizier, saying, "I thought that was interesting, because we’ve had the Other, who’s obviously very powerful even in comparison to Loki, and then we see Ronan wipe his ass with him. So that I liked, but even that was sort of difficult, because it played as funnier when I first wrote it, and the humor didn’t work so much."[104]

text: Pre-production[edit]

text: In September 2012, Gunn confirmed that he had signed on to direct the film and rewrite the script.[105] By the end of November, Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Jim Sturgess, and Eddie Redmayne signed deals to test for the role of Peter Quill, as did Lee Pace,[106] which he confirmed a week later in early December.[48] Other actors who were considered for the role included Thor: The Dark World's Zachary Levi,[107] Joseph Gordon-Levitt,[108] Michael Rosenbaum,[109] and John Gallagher Jr.[110] Chris Pratt was cast in the role in February 2013, as part of a multi-film deal that he signed with Marvel.[15][111]

text: In January 2013, filming was scheduled to take place at Shepperton Studios in London, United Kingdom,[112] and Marvel Studios announced that the film would be released in 3D.[113] Victoria Alonso, an executive producer on the film, said that filming would begin in June. She also said that both Rocket Raccoon and Groot would be created through a combination of CGI and motion capture, going on to say that "You can't do any motion capture with a raccoon – they won't let you put the suit on. But we will do rotomation, probably, for some of the behavior... we definitely will have performers to emulate what James Gunn will lead to be, the behavior and the performance. He's very clear on where he wants to take the characters."[114] In March 2013, Feige discussed Guardians of the Galaxy in relation to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, saying, "It's much more of a standalone film. It takes place in the same universe. And when we've been on the other side of that universe in other movies, you might see those characteristics in Guardians, but the Avengers are not involved with what's happening out there at this time." Feige also stated that 95% of the film would take place in space.[115] In mid-March, Dave Bautista was signed to play Drax the Destroyer.[116] Other actors who had been considered for the role included Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade and Jason Momoa.[116] By the following week, sculptor Brian Muir, who sculpted Darth Vader's mask for the Star Wars films, was revealed to be working on the film.[117]

text: In early April 2013, Zoe Saldana entered into negotiations to star as Gamora in the film, and it was confirmed she had been cast later that month.[68][118] Also in April, Michael Rooker joined the film's cast as Yondu,[50] and it was announced that Ophelia Lovibond had been cast in a supporting role.[68] By this point in time, Lee Pace was in final negotiations to play the villain of the film.[119] In May, Marvel offered John C. Reilly the role of Rhomann Dey.[120] At the same time, it was disclosed that filmmakers were looking at actors including Hugh Laurie, Alan Rickman, and Ken Watanabe, for another role, and that Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were providing finishing touches to the script.[120] A few days later, Glenn Close was cast as the head of the Nova Corps in the film,[59] followed shortly by the casting of Karen Gillan as the film's lead female villain.[121] By June 2013, Benicio del Toro was cast in the film, as part of a multi-film deal with Marvel Studios.[62] Later in the month, it was confirmed that Reilly had been cast as Rhomann Dey.[57]

text: Special effects makeup designer David White took head and body casts of actors, such as Bautista, to experiment with materials used to create the characters. White said, "James always pushed for practical and makeup effects. He wanted, like me, to see the real deal there on set." White was careful not to use "modern" creature designs to ensure they did not fall short in Gunn's uniquely envisioned world. White and his team created upwards of 1,000 prosthetic makeup applications and 2,000 molds of different colored aliens.[122] For the specific aesthetic look to the film, Gunn wanted to create "a colorful science-fiction world", and include elements of 1950s and 60s pulp movies, citing the Ravagers' spaceships, which he compared to muscle cars, as an example of the latter.[123] Science fiction artist Chris Foss inspired and helped design the final look of some of the spacecrafts that appear in the film.[124]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography began around July 6, 2013 in London, United Kingdom,[55] under the working title of Full Tilt.[8] Filming took place at Shepperton Studios and Longcross Studios.[112][125] Later in July, Gunn and the film's cast flew from London to attend San Diego Comic-Con International, where it was revealed that Pace would play Ronan the Accuser, Gillan would be Nebula, del Toro as The Collector, and that Djimon Hounsou had been cast as Korath.[55][58] Close was later revealed to play Nova Prime Irani Rael.[9][58] Also at San Diego Comic-Con, Feige stated that Thanos would be a part of the film as the "mastermind".[126] On August 11, 2013, filming began at London's Millennium Bridge,[127] which was selected as a double for Xandar.[24] In August 2013, Marvel announced that Bradley Cooper would voice Rocket.[38] On September 3, 2013, Gunn said that filming was "a little over half[way]" complete.[128] Also in September, Vin Diesel stated that he was voicing Groot.[28] However, Marvel did not confirm Diesel's involvement in the film at the time.[42][43][129] On October 12, 2013, Gunn announced on social media that filming had completed.[130]

text: Director of photography Ben Davis used Arri Alexa XT cameras for the film, saying, "I’m traditionally a photochemical fan, but going with the digital format was the right way for this movie... the Alexa [provided] the right look for this particular film." During the opening scenes in the 1980s, Davis chose JDC Cooke Xtal (Crystal) Express anamorphic prime lenses because they "had more anamorphic artifacts and aberrations, which [he] felt added something." Davis used spherical Panavision Primos for the rest of the film. Additionally, Davis worked closely with production designer Charles Wood in order to achieve the correct lighting looks for each scene.[125] Dealing with two fully CGI characters forced Davis to shoot scenes multiple times, usually once with the references for the characters and once without them in the shot.[131]

text: Gunn revealed that his brother, Sean Gunn, took on multiple roles during the filming process, such as standing in for Rocket, which he noted was beneficial for the other actors, including Saldana, Pratt, and Bautista, who responded positively to Sean and his on-set performances.[30] Special effects makeup designer David White made two life-size versions of Rocket and a bust of Groot as aids for visual effects, with White saying, "it gives [the filmmakers] a good indication of where visual effects needs to pick up and whether Rocket can actually reach certain things or use certain devices."[31] These busts were also used to see how the on-set lighting would affect the characters, to assist with the visual effects lighting process.[31]

text: In January 2015, Disney revealed that the film came in "slightly over the agreed budget" at $232.3 million, with Disney receiving a rebate of $36.4 million from the British government.[2] It was previously estimated to have had a $170 million budget.[132]

text: Post-production[edit]

text: In November 2013, Gunn stated that he attempted to use as many practical effects as possible while filming to aid the use of CGI and motion capture during post-production, saying, "Our sets are enormous. We have a prison that is 350,000 pounds of steel. Anybody who knows me knows I love the mix of practical and CGI effects... I can't wait for people to see it, because it's astonishingly beautiful."[133] After the release of Thor: The Dark World, Feige stated that the Infinity Stones would be a focus in the film, as well as going forward into the Phase Three slate of films within the MCU.[134] In a separate interview for The Dark World in November, Feige added that a third, unknown Infinity Stone would be seen in the film,[135] referred to as the "Power Stone" by the Collector.[136][137] The mid-credits scene in The Dark World revealed Lovibond's role as the Collector's aide, later named Carina.[69] In December 2013, Marvel confirmed that Diesel would voice Groot.[138]

text: A few weeks of additional filming, involving the film's main cast and crew, occurred in March 2014 at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.[139][140][141] In April 2014, Gunn described Thanos as the "head of the snake" in the film, and confirmed he would appear via performance capture.[11] In May 2014, Gunn stated that the film features an "enormous" amount of smaller and minor characters from the Marvel Universe, adding that he felt the film had the most characters overall of any Marvel Studios film to date.[142] Costume supervisor Dan Grace added to this by saying, "We really, really get the feeling of the scale and scope of the galaxy. We visit five planets, we see a hundred different races." The film introduces the alien race Sakaaran, who act as Ronan's mercenaries, as a replacement to the Badoon, as the Badoon film rights belonged to 20th Century Fox.[45]

text: By the end of May, Josh Brolin was revealed as the voice of Thanos,[64][65] with Feige confirming in July that Brolin also provided the performance capture for the character.[66] Thanos communicates via hologram for much of the film, though he does appear in a scene with Ronan and Nebula.[136] In June 2014, Feige added that Thanos and his followers are "the biggest piece of connective tissue that will eventually lead us back into Avengers films in the future."[143] On casting Brolin, Feige said,

text: We reached out to him and it was one of those things that does not happen all the time but when it does it’s very nice, where he was totally intrigued. He was a fan of what we did, he met with Jeremy Latcham in a hotel in London and learned about the characters a little bit. I spoke to him on the phone a few times. We ran it by James who loved it, ran it by Joss [Whedon] who loved it because Thanos is in this universe because of Avengers. Then we shot him and recorded for it.[66]

text: On July 7, 2014, Gunn announced on social media that he had completed work on the film.[144] In August, regarding the post-credit scene, Gunn revealed that the scene did not involve Howard the Duck when it was originally filmed, rather he was added during post-production,[145] a decision made by "some combination of [Gunn] and the editor Fred Raskin".[146] As the decision to add the character was made late in the post-production process, he had to be designed that day, before being handed off to Sony Pictures Imageworks to animate.[146] Also in August, regarding the pre-credit scene of Groot dancing, Gunn stated that he himself danced to provide motion reference for the animators, and that the decision was made to place the scene before the credits, rather than during or after them, because of positive responses from a test audience, which made Marvel and Gunn feel that they did not want "people walking out and missing this thing".[147] Marvel used design firm Sarofsky once again for the film's title sequences, after liking their work for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Sarofsky developed a custom typeface based on the font used in the teaser posters for the opening credits, which was tinted orange to offer a better contrast to the film's blue and grey imagery. One of the typography solutions offered before the final product wound up being repurposed as the locator cards seen throughout the film.[148]

text: Visual effects[edit]

text: The film featured 2,750 visual effects shots,[150] which make up approximately 90% of the film.[149] The visual effects were created by: Moving Picture Company (MPC), who worked on creating Groot, as well as Morag, Xandar, the Dark Aster and the final battle on Xandar;[149] Framestore, who worked on creating Rocket, extending the Kyln prison set and constructing Knowhere;[149][151] Luma Pictures, who worked on Thanos;[149] Method Studios, who worked on creating the Orb opening and revealing its powers, as well as the holographic displays at the Nova Corps command center;[149] Lola VFX; Cantina Creative; Sony Pictures Imageworks, who worked on Howard the Duck and creating the Dark Aster shots with MPC;[146][149] CoSA VFX; Secret Lab; Rise Visual Effects Studios; and Technicolor VFX.[152][153] Pre- and post-visualizations were done by Proof and The Third Floor, with Proof also contributing to the creation of Rocket and Groot.[149]

text: Producer Nik Korda noted how helpful it was to have Sean Gunn and Krystian Godlewski portray Rocket and Groot on set, as it provided references for lighting and on-set performances to the animators.[31] When creating Groot, MPC realized early on that his eyes would be essential in maintaining the character's human qualities, as his face couldn't move in the way that humans' do. MPC visual effects supervisor Nicolas Aithadi explained that, "When you look at humans what makes the eyes interesting is the imperfections – trying to make these two irises not aimed at the same place – trying to make them strange and look more human."[149] Textures for Groot came from a number of sources, including inspiration from a botanical garden in London, and the character was modeled as individual branches, rigged individually, to simulate a muscle system for the character.[149]

text: One of the major challenges for Framestore in creating Rocket was his fur. Framestore's Rachel Williams explained that, since "raccoon fur is made up from a layer of short fine hair and a layer of longer thicker hairs", these layers were separated and animated individually, removing the need to use "guide hairs" to control the movements of thick sections of fur.[149] Framestore and MPC worked closely sharing assets, to ensure shots of Rocket at MPC would match the Rocket created by Framestore, and vice versa for when Groot was needed by the other studio.[149]

text: In order to give Thanos "the performance and the weight that he deserved", Luma Pictures created a new facial animation system to re-create Josh Brolin as a fully CG character, using his "eyes, some of his cheek, how his muscles move when he talks". The character's large jaw, and the deep groves that run down his face, had "to be carefully planned out with the movement of his face."[149]

text: Music[edit]

text: In August 2013, Gunn revealed that Tyler Bates would be composing the film's score. Gunn stated that Bates would write some of the score first so that he can film to the music, as opposed to scoring to the film.[154] In February 2014, Gunn revealed that the film would incorporate songs from the 1960s and 1970s, such as "Hooked on a Feeling", on a mixtape in Quill's Walkman, which acts as a way for him to stay connected to the Earth, home, and family he lost.[155] In May 2014, Gunn added that using the songs from the 60s and 70s were "cultural reference points", saying, "It’s striking the balance throughout the whole movie, through something that is very unique, but also something that is easily accessible to people at the same time. The music and the Earth stuff is one of those touchstones that we have to remind us that, yeah, [Quill] is a real person from planet Earth who’s just like you and me. Except that he’s in this big outer space adventure."[142]

text: When choosing the songs, Gunn revealed he "started the process by reading the Billboard charts for all of the top hits of the '70s", downloading "a few hundred" songs that were "semi-familiar — ones you recognize but might not be able to name off the top of your head" and creating a playlist for all the songs that would fit the film tonally. He added that he "would listen to the playlist on my speakers around the house — sometimes I would be inspired to create a scene around a song, and other times I had a scene that needed music and I would listen through the playlist, visualizing various songs, figuring out which would work the best."[156] Most of the songs were played on set to help "the actors and the camera operators find the perfect groove for the shot", with David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" the only song chosen and added during post-production. Gunn also said that the opening scenes were designed with "Hooked on a Feeling" in mind; however once Gunn discovered "Come and Get Your Love", the song used in the sequence, Gunn felt it was a "better fit."[156]

text: Three albums were released by Hollywood Records on July 29, 2014: The film's score, Guardians of the Galaxy (Original Score), which features the music composed by Bates for the film;[157] Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), which comprises the twelve songs from Quill's mixtape; and a deluxe edition featuring both albums.[158] By August 2014, the album which mirrored Quill's mixtape had reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first soundtrack album in history consisting entirely of previously released songs to top the chart.[159] Hollywood Records also released a cassette version of the Awesome Mix Vol. 1 soundtrack on November 28, 2014, as an exclusive to Record Store Day participants. The cassette, which is the first cassette Disney Music Group has released since 2003, comes with a digital download version of the album.[160]

text: Release[edit]

text: The world premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy was held on July 21, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.[161][162] The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2014,[142] and in the United States on August 1,[93] in 3D and IMAX 3D.[113][163] The film was released in 4,080 theaters in the United States, making it the widest August release, breaking the five year record held by G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (4,007 theatres). The breakdown of venues was: 354 IMAX screens, 3,200 3D screens, 350 large format screens and 240 D-Box screens.[164] In its sixth weekend, Guardians of the Galaxy was playing in 69 territories, its most.[165]

text: In June 2014, Gunn stated that the film had always been planned as a 3D film, and "Unlike many directors, I've been actively involved with converting every shot to 3D, making sure it works perfectly for the story and the film, making sure it's spectacular and immersive without being silly, distracting, or overly showy." Gunn also revealed that the IMAX 3D version would include shifting aspect ratios, to make the viewing experience "even fuller and more encompassing. I've personally chosen all the places where the changes occur... The changing aspect ratios in this case are actually a part of the storytelling."[166] In July 2014, Gunn revealed that there were multiple scenes he had cut from the film, and he was investigating how to release them, either in an extended cut of the film, or as bonus features on the film's home media release.[66]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: At Disney's D23 Expo in August 2013, Feige presented footage first revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2013.[167] The first trailer for the film debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on February 18, 2014, with a special introduction by Chris Pratt.[10] The Los Angeles Times said the trailer delivered "some spirited alien action, with exploding spaceships and muscled bad guys, not to mention a few purely comedic moments," while spotlighting "a number of the offbeat characters."[168] Total Film noted the similarity of the trailer's opening clip to the 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which Gunn stated was a big influence for Guardians,[169] and made note of the "edgy" humor used throughout.[170] Total Film also noted the similarity of the trailer to the one debuted at Comic-Con and D23, with a few new shots featuring Nebula and the Collector.[171][172] Social media response to the trailer was strong, with 88,000 mentions across Twitter, Facebook and various blogs in a 12-hour period. Those numbers were comparable to trailers for other superhero films like Man of Steel and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and noteworthy for the late night time period in which it premiered.[173] The trailer received 22.8 million views in the 24 hours after it debuted.[174] After the debut of the trailer, Blue Swede's version of "Hooked on a Feeling", which was prominently used throughout the trailer, went up 700% in sales the following day.[175] The line from Serafinowicz's character, "What a bunch of A-holes.", was only intended to be featured in the trailers, but due to its positive reception, was included in the final cut of the film.[176] Gunn noted that a different teaser was almost released "that was very cheesy [and] sold the movie as something different than what it was", as it tested better than the version that was ultimately released. Gunn credited the marketing teams at Marvel and Disney for having faith in the latter version, despite how it tested, over choosing the version that would have mis-marketed the film.[177]

text: In March 2014, the Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "T.A.H.I.T.I." introduced the Kree race to the MCU, which began a storyline that recurs throughout the series and involves finding a hidden Kree city.[178][179] Also in March, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled, Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which included a sneak peek of Guardians of the Galaxy.[180] Starting in April 2014, a two-part comic was released, titled Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Prelude. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with art by Wellington Alves, the first issue focused on the background of Nebula and her bond with Thanos; the second issue featured the adventures of Rocket and Groot before they join forces with the other Guardians.[181] In June 2014, Mike Pasciullo, senior VP of Marvel Studios, described the marketing approach for Guardians of the Galaxy by saying that Marvel had "built a robust marketing program for the theatrical release that carefully integrates traditional advertising, social media, digital marketing, strategic promotional partnerships, organic entertainment integrations [and] publicity."[182]

text: In July 2014, Marvel launched a viral marketing campaign for the film called "Galaxy Getaways", a fictional travel website that allows users to book passage to some of the planets depicted in the film, including Xandar, Morag, and Knowhere.[183] Beginning July 4, 2014, a sneak peek of the film was presented at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Magic Eye and ABC Sound Studio theaters, respectively.[184] Approximately 14 minutes of the film was screened on July 7, 2014, in IMAX 3D in the United States, and 3D theaters and IMAX 3D in Canada, along with two trailers.[185][186] The screening was met with positive reviews, praising the humor, the 3D and IMAX conversion, and Cooper's portrayal of Rocket.[186][187][188][189] However, it was criticized for beginning partway through the film, not allowing viewers to easily acclimate to the film's tone,[187][190] and for how the general audience might respond to a film within the MCU without established characters making appearances.[190]

text: On July 12, 2014, Gunn and the actors from the film promoted Guardians of the Galaxy at the Lido 8 Cineplex in Singapore.[191] On July 17, 2014, Disney Interactive released an action RPG video game titled Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon for iOS, Android and Windows devices.[192] The game's original story was written by Dan Abnett, and was meant to complement the film.[193] On July 21, Pratt, Saldana, Bautista, Diesel and Cooper appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote the film and debut some additional exclusive content.[162] On July 29, Pratt and Saldana rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange as part of the film's marketing strategy.[194]

text: On August 14, Marvel released the scene of Groot dancing,[195] which was shortly followed by an announcement from Funko that they were releasing a toy "Dancing Groot". The Hollywood Reporter noted that the quick release of the scene from Marvel two weeks after the film's theatrical release, along with the rush announcement from Funko, indicated the popularity of both the character and the scene.[196] The scene also produced the word "grooting", coined by Michael Rooker, in which a person dances similar to Groot, with the word entering the social media lexicon.[197] Also in August, Marvel held a special screening of the film at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where Pratt dressed as Star-Lord to entertain the patients.[198]

text: Merchandise[edit]

text: In June 2012, Marvel filed eleven trademark applications for Guardians of the Galaxy, covering a variety of consumer products, from video games to cosmetics.[199] Disney Consumer Products partnered with Mad Engine, C-Life, New Era, Hasbro, Disguise, Rubies, Sideshow Collectibles, Lego, KIDdesigns, iHome, Funko, Freeze, Fast Forward, and Innovative Designs to produce merchandise for the film, with releases starting in June 2014.[182][200][201][202] Mad Engine and C-Life were partnered as the core apparel outfitters, producing a line of T-shirts and fleece jackets, while New Era produced headwear and hats.[200] Hasbro produced toys for the film; Disguise and Rubies produced the costumes; and Sideshow Collectibles was given charge of the collectibles.[182][200] Lego announced three toy sets based on scenes from the film,[201] while iHome created character speakers, Funko made vinyl bobble heads, Freeze crafted 1980s-inspired apparel, and backpacks and stationery were made by Fast Forward and Innovative Designs.[182] Despite first films in a potential new franchise usually being off-limits to licensees, Marvel used Iron Man's success as evidence of unknown characters becoming hits with audiences to attract partnerships. Licensees embraced Rocket as the film's potential breakout character, with Drax and Gamora being used for older demographics; Star-Lord’s obsession with 1980s nostalgia, including his "Awesome Mix Vo. 1" cassette, has also served as a basis for tie-in products.[182] In August 2014, Funko announced a toy based on "Dancing Groot",[196] while in October 2014, Marvel and KID designs announced a replica of dancing Groot, for release in December 2014.[203]

text: In December 2014, Disney made a second marketing push, to coincide with the film's home media release with additional merchandise. Merchandise partners included: KID designs with its replica dancing Groot; Funko’s Fabrikations line with a plush Rocket; Mattel’s Hot Wheels character cars; C-Life, Hybrid-Jem Sportswear, Freeze, MZ Berger, Accutime, AME and Her Universe with apparel; ThinkGeek with jewelry and watches; American Greetings with cards; Jay Franco with homegoods; and Vandor with drinkware. Additional partners included Mad Engine, Just Play and Dragon Models. Paul Gitter, senior vice president of Marvel licensing at Disney Consumer Products said, "The demand for Guardians of the Galaxy merchandise has been truly out of this world. Our merchandising and retail partners are doing a tremendous job of providing creative and innovative ways for fans to continue interacting with these popular characters and showcase their fandom year round."[204]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Guardians of the Galaxy was released for digital download by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on November 18, 2014 and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD on November 24, 2014, in the United Kingdom and on December 9 in the United States.[205][206] The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, a blooper reel, and an exclusive preview of Avengers: Age of Ultron.[206] As of October 4, 2015[update], the film has earned over $118 million in sales in the US.[207]

text: The film was also included in the 13-disc box set, titled "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection", which includes all of the Phase Two films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on December 8, 2015.[208]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Guardians of the Galaxy earned $333.2 million in North America and an estimated $440.2 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $773.3 million.[3] The film became the third highest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, behind The Avengers and Iron Man 3.[209] It was the third highest-grossing 2014 film (behind Transformers: Age of Extinction and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) and the highest-grossing superhero film of 2014.[2][210] It had a worldwide opening weekend of $160.7 million.[211] Deadline.com calculated the net profit for the film to be $204.2 million, when factoring together "production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs, with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV," placing it fifth on their list of 2014's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[212]

text: North America[edit]

text: Guardians of the Galaxy earned $11.2 million on its Thursday night pre-opening, surpassing Captain America: The Winter Soldier's gross ($10.2 million) for the biggest Thursday evening start for a movie in 2014.[213] IMAX accounted for 17% of the total gross ($1.9 million), which was the biggest August pre-release in IMAX format.[164] On its opening day, the film earned $37.8 million, including the Thursday night earnings.[214] Guardians of the Galaxy was the number one movie during its opening weekend and grossed $94.3 million, setting an August weekend record.[215] During the opening weekend, IMAX earnings amounted to $11.7 million and 3-D showings accounted for 45% of ticket sales. The film's success was partially attributed to its appeal to both genders: the opening weekend audience was 44% female, which is the biggest proportion ever for a MCU film; 55% of the opening-weekend audience was over the age of 25.[215]

text: Although the film fell to second place in its second and third weekends, behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,[216][217] the film was number one in its fourth, fifth and sixth weekend.[218][219][220] By doing so, it became the first film in 2014 to top the domestic box office in non-consecutive weeks,[218] the first film of the summer (May–August) to be the number one film in three weekends[221] and the first MCU film to be the top film for four weeks, surpassing Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers, both of which were number one for three weeks, and tied The Dark Knight for the most weeks at number one among comic book-based films.[222] Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst of BoxOffice.com felt Guardians success was "unconventional" and was "shattering expectations".[219] The film remained in the top 10 for ten weekends.[223]

text: The film was the top grossing film of summer 2014 (ahead of Transformers: Age of Extinction),[224][225] first of 2014 to pass $300 million for its domestic gross,[226] and was the third highest-grossing domestic film of 2014 (behind American Sniper and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1).[227] The film was said to have "injected life" into an otherwise lower than normal summer box office.[219][225][228]

text: Outside North America[edit]

text: Guardians of the Galaxy was released in 42 international markets and grossed $66.4 million on its opening weekend. The biggest debuts came from Russia ($13 million), the United Kingdom ($10.8 million), Mexico ($6.5 million), Brazil ($6.5 million) and South Korea ($4.7 million).[211] The film topped the weekend box office two times, in its first and second weekends.[211][229] In its eleventh weekend, the film opened in China, earning $29.8 million, its largest, and became the third highest opening in the country for any Disney release, behind Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and was an all-time industry record opening in October.[230] The following weekend saw an additional $21.3 million from China, making China the highest grossing market with $69 million.[209] The film's three biggest markets in total earnings were: China ($96.5 million); the UK ($47.4 million); and Russia ($37.5 million).[231]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 91% approval rating with an average rating of 7.8/10 based on 288 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Guardians of the Galaxy is just as irreverent as fans of the frequently zany Marvel comic would expect—as well as funny, thrilling, full of heart, and packed with visual splendor."[232] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 76 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[233] CinemaScore audiences gave Guardians of the Galaxy an "A" grade rating on an A+ to F scale,[234] while earning an "A+" among under-18 and 25- to 34-year-old viewers.[235]

text: Scott Foundas of Variety said "James Gunn's presumptive franchise-starter is overlong, overstuffed and sometimes too eager to please, but the cheeky comic tone keeps things buoyant — as does Chris Pratt’s winning performance", and praised the film's look created by cinematographer Ben Davis, production designer Charles Wood, and special effects makeup designer David White.[152] Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter also praised the film's look, and felt "A well-matched ensemble rises to the challenge of launching a heroic origin film with distinctive style, abundant thrills and no shortage of humor."[236] The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin said, "A brand new summer family blockbuster this may be, but it plays by old, half-forgotten rules; trimming out the clutter and cross-referencing for snappy, streamlined, Saturday-cartoon fun".[237] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "Blessed with a loose, anarchic B-picture soul that encourages you to enjoy yourself even when you're not quite sure what's going on, the scruffy Guardians is irreverent in a way that can bring the first Star Wars to mind, in part because it has some of the most unconventional heroes this side of the Mos Eisley Cantina."[238] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "While Guardians takes you down one after another crazy narrative turn, it also pulls you into – and, for the most part, keeps you in – a fully realized other world."[239] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "Guardians of the Galaxy is a late summer treat — a mostly lighthearted and self-referential comic-book movie with loads of whiz-bang action, some laugh-out-loud moments and a couple of surprisingly beautiful and touching scenes as well," calling it "a refreshing confection of entertainment."[240] Jim Starlin, creator of Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, and Thanos, said it "might be Marvel's best movie yet".[241]

text: Jake Coyle of the Associated Press was more critical of the film, calling it "terribly overstuffed and many of the jokes get drowned out by the special effects... The pervasive movie references detract from the stab at freshness, and Guardians depends all too much on the whimsy of '70s anthems for an original beat." He also felt that Close, Reilly and del Toro were underused in the film.[242] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "In place of wit, Guardians offers a sort of generalized willingness to be amusing, an atmosphere of high spirits that feels like lots of people pumping air into a tire that has a hole in it. Everyone is clearly working, but nothing is really happening–and yet the effort is so evident that there's an impulse to reward it."[243] Kyle Smith of the New York Post also had a negative response to the film, comparing it to Howard the Duck and Green Lantern, and criticizing the dialogue, villains, soundtrack, lack of suspense, and the characters of Quill, Rocket, and Drax.[244] The film received mixed reviews in China, where viewers complained that the film's "poor subtitle translation not only spoiled the fun of watching it, but also made it difficult to understand its humor."[245]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award / Film Festival
Category
Recipient(s)
Result
Ref(s)

2014
CinemaCon Awards
Breakthrough Performer of the Year
Chris Pratt
Won
[246]

Detroit Film Critics Society
Best Ensemble
Guardians of the Galaxy
Won
[247]

Hollywood Film Awards
Hollywood Blockbuster Award
Guardians of the Galaxy
Won
[248]

Young Hollywood Awards
Super Superhero
Chris Pratt
Nominated
[249]

2015
Critics' Choice Movie Awards
Best Action Movie
Guardians of the Galaxy
Won
[250]

Best Actor in an Action Movie
Chris Pratt
Nominated

Best Actress in an Action Movie
Zoe Saldana
Nominated

Best Makeup
David White
Won

Best Visual Effects
Stephane Ceretti
Nominated

Empire Awards
Best Female Newcomer
Karen Gillan
Won
[251]

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nominated

Grammy Awards
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1
Nominated
[252]

Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards
Best Contemporary Hair Styling in Feature Length Motion Picture
Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou
Nominated
[253]

Best Contemporary Make-Up in Feature Length Motion Picture
Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou
Won

Best Special Make-Up Effects in Feature Length Motion Picture
David White
Won

People's Choice Awards
Favorite Movie
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nominated
[254]

Favorite Action Movie
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nominated

Favorite Action Movie Actress
Zoe Saldana
Nominated

MTV Movie Awards
Movie of the Year
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nominated
[255]

Best Male Performance
Chris Pratt
Nominated

Best On-Screen Duo
Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel
Nominated

Best Shirtless Performance
Chris Pratt
Nominated

Best Musical Moment
Chris Pratt
Nominated

Best Comedic Performance
Chris Pratt
Nominated

Best On-Screen Transformation
Zoe Saldana
Nominated

Best Hero
Chris Pratt
Nominated

Satellite Awards
Best Visual Effects
Stephane Ceretti
Nominated
[256]

Phoenix Film Critics Society
Top 10 Films of the Year
Guardians of the Galaxy
Won
[257]

Best Ensemble Acting
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nominated

Best Live Action Family Film
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nominated

Best Visual Effects
Stephane Ceretti
Nominated

Houston Film Critics Society Awards
Best Picture
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nominated
[258]

Best Poster
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nominated

Art Directors Guild Awards
Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film
Charles Wood
Won
[259]

Writers Guild of America Awards
Best Adapted Screenplay
James Gunn and Nicole Perlman
Nominated
[260]

British Academy Film Awards
Best Special Visual Effects
Stephane Ceretti, Paul Corbould, Jonathan Fawkner, Nicolas Aithadi
Nominated
[261]

Best Makeup and Hair
Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White
Nominated

Academy Awards
Best Visual Effects
Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
Nominated
[262]

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White
Nominated

Saturn Awards
Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture
Guardians of the Galaxy
Won
[263]

Best Director
James Gunn
Won

Best Writing
James Gunn and Nicole Perlman
Nominated

Best Actor
Chris Pratt
Won

Best Editing
Fred Raskin, Craig Wood and Hughes Winborne
Nominated

Best Production Design
Charles Wood
Nominated

Best Costume
Alexandra Byrne
Nominated

Best Make-up
David White and Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou
Won

Best Special Effects
Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
Nominated

Hugo Awards (Science Fiction Achievement Awards)
Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
James Gunn (director, screenplay), Nicole Perlman (screenplay)
Won

tag: table

text: Sequels[edit]

text: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2[edit]

text: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was released on May 5, 2017, again written and directed by James Gunn.[264] Pratt, Saldana, Bautista, Diesel, Cooper, Rooker, Gillan, and Sean Gunn all reprise their roles in the film,[265] and are joined by Pom Klementieff as Mantis,[5][266] Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Chris Sullivan as Taserface, and Kurt Russell as Quill's father Ego.[5][265]

text: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3[edit]

text: In April 2017, Gunn announced he would return to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.[267] It is scheduled to be released in 2020.[268]