Marvel have always been very astute when it comes to choosing directors and actors for their projects, and James Gunn's space opera was no exception. Chris Pratt's charismatic performance instantly established him as a genuine movie star, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper added warmth and emotion to the entirely CGI characters of Groot and Rocket, while the biggest surprise was pro wrestler Dave Bautista's turn as Drax, who provided the real heart of the team as well as getting several killer lines. Out of the Guardians, only Zoe Saldana's Gamora failed to make a lasting impression but the actress did her best with the character. While many of the supporting cast were relegated to bit-part roles, the roster was nonetheless jam-packed with talent. Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Djimon Hounsou and Karen Gillian's villains may have been underdeveloped but the actors did what was asked of them, with John C. Reilly and Benicio del Toro playing small yet important parts in the narrative. Michael Rooker's Yondu provided several memorable moments, while the strange sight of seeing six-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close in a comic book movie set in space nonetheless allowed the actress to deliver real gravitas to the reams of exposition she had to deliver.
Runner Up - Fury
David Ayer's movie is a brutal and harrowing look at the life of a tank crew during the final stretch of World War II and in aiming for the utmost realism, the writer/director worked his cast into the ground. The actors went through a rigorous boot camp, were encouraged to physically and verbally provoke one another even lived together in the titular Sherman tank for days on end. Such punishing preparation saw the five main characters share a familiarity and bond that shines through in the final product, with Logan Lerman in particular a revelation as the team's newest recruit. Brad Pitt continues to prove himself as a great dramatic actor, the underrated duo of Jon Bernthal and Michael Pena do great work with the least developed characters, while Shia LaBeouf (a fantastic actor with the right material) went full Method and pulled a tooth out, opened a cut on his face and didn't wash during the entire shoot in the name of realism.
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