Fictionland DVD Store(Movie Summary)

Ben Hur

Ben Hur Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic historical drama film set in ancient Rome, directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Hugh Griffith and Haya Harareet. It won a record 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, an accomplishment that was not equalled until Titanic in 1997 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003. A remake of the 1925 silent film with the same name, Ben Hur was adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay is credited to Karl Tunberg but includes contributions from Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The motion picture was the most expensive ever made at the time, and its sets were the largest yet built for a film. The picture contains a nine-minute chariot race which has become one of the most famous sequences in cinema. The score composed by Miklós Rózsa was highly influential on cinema for more than 15 years, and is the longest ever composed for a motion picture.

Plot

In AD 26, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a wealthy prince and merchant in Jerusalem. His childhood friend, the Roman citizen Messala (Stephen Boyd), is now a tribune. After several years away from Jerusalem, Messala returns as the new commander of the Roman garrison. Messala believes in the glory of Rome and its imperial power, while Ben-Hur is devoted to his faith and the freedom of the Jewish people. Messala asks Ben-Hur for the names of Jews who criticize the Romans. Ben-Hur refuses. Ben-Hur lives with his mother, Miriam (Martha Scott), and sister, Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell). Their loyal slave Simonides (Sam Jaffe) is preparing for an arranged marriage for his daughter, Esther (Haya Harareet). Ben-Hur gives Esther her freedom as a wedding present, and the audience is shown that Ben-Hur and Esther are in love even though her marriage to another man is imminent. During the parade for the new governor of Judea, Valerius Gratus, a tile falls from the roof of Ben-Hur's house. Gratus is thrown from his horse and nearly killed. Although Messala knows this was an accident, he condemns Ben-Hur to the galleys and imprisons Miriam and Tirzah. By punishing a known friend and prominent citizen, he hopes to intimidate the Jewish populace. Ben-Hur swears to take revenge. Dying of thirst when his slave gang arrives at Nazareth, Ben-Hur collapses. But a local carpenter (whom the audience realizes is Jesus) gives him water. After three years as a galley slave, Ben-Hur is assigned to the flagship of the Roman Consul Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), who has been charged with destroying a fleet of Macedonian pirates. Arrius admires Ben-Hur's self-discipline and offers to train him as a gladiator or charioteer. Ben-Hur declines the offer, declaring that God will aid him in his quest for vengeance. The Roman fleet encounters the Macedonians. Arrius orders all the rowers except Ben-Hur to be chained to their benches. Arrius' galley is rammed and sunk, but Ben-Hur unchains the other rowers, and saves Arrius' life. Arrius believes the battle ended in defeat, but Ben-Hur prevents him from committing suicide. Ben-Hur and Arrius are rescued, and Arrius is credited with the Roman fleet's victory. The consul successfully petitions Emperor Tiberius (George Relph) to free Ben-Hur, and adopts him as his son. Several years pass off-screen. Now wealthy, Ben-Hur learns Roman ways and becomes a champion charioteer, but longs for his family and homeland. Ben-Hur returns to Judea. Along the way, he meets Balthasar (Finlay Currie) and an Arab sheik, Ilderim (Hugh Griffith). The sheik has heard of Ben-Hur's prowess as a charioteer, and asks him to drive his quadriga in a race before the new Judean governor Pontius Pilate (Frank Thring). Ben-Hur declines, even after he learns that champion charioteer Messala will also compete. Ben-Hur returns to his home in Jerusalem. He meets Esther, and learns her arranged marriage did not occur and that she is still in love with him. He visits Messala and demands his mother and sister's freedom. The Romans discover that Miriam and Tirzah contracted leprosy in prison, and expel them from the city. The women beg Esther to conceal their condition from Ben-Hur, so she tells him that his mother and sister died. It is then that he changes his mind and decides to seek vengeance on Messala by competing against him in the chariot race. During the chariot race, Messala drives a chariot with blades on the hubs to tear apart competing vehicles. In the violent and grueling race, Messala attempts to destroy Ben-Hur's chariot but destroys his own instead. Messala is mortally injured, while Ben-Hur wins the race. Before dying, Messala tells Ben-Hur that "the race is not over" and that he can find his family "in the Valley of the Lepers, if you can recognize them." Ben-Hur visits the nearby leper colony, where (hidden from their view) he sees his mother and sister. Esther hears Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount, and tells Ben-Hur about the message of peace and forgiveness she heard. Blaming Roman rule for his family's fate, Ben-Hur rejects his patrimony and Roman citizenship. Learning that Tirzah is dying, Ben-Hur and Esther take her and Miriam to see Jesus, but the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate has begun. Jesus begins his march to Calvary and stumbles before Ben-Hur. Recognizing Jesus from their earlier meeting, Ben-Hur attempts to give him water but guards separate them. Ben-Hur witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus. Miriam and Tirzah are miraculously healed. Ben-Hur tells Esther that he heard Jesus talk of forgiveness while on the cross, and says "I felt His voice take the sword out of my hand."

CAST

Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius
Haya Harareet as Esther
Stephen Boyd as Messala
Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim
Martha Scott as Miriam
Cathy O'Donnell as Tirzah
Arly Jover as Mercury: Frost's lover.
Sam Jaffe as Simonides
Finlay Currie as Balthasar / Narrator
Frank Thring as Pontius Pilate
Terence Longdon as Drusus
George Relph as Tiberius Caesar
André Morell as Sextus

Blade

Blade Blade is a 1998 American vampire superhero action film starring Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson and Stephen Dorff, and is loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Blade.[1] Snipes plays Blade, a human-vampire hybrid who protects humans from vampires. The film was directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Despite mixed reviews, Blade grossed $70 million at the U.S. box office, and $131.2 million worldwide. It was followed by two sequels, Blade II and Blade: Trinity.

Plot

A pregnant woman is treated in the hospital after being bitten by a vampire, but the doctors mistake the wound for an animal bite. They try to revive her, but she dies after they deliver her baby boy. The boy inherits the superhuman strength, regenerative healing factor, blood lust, and enhanced senses of vampires, but does not suffer their weaknesses, such as garlic or sunlight. He grows up to be Blade, the vampire hunter. Several years later, Blade locates a vampire rave club and kills most of the attendees, including the vampire Quinn, who he pins to a wall and burns. When police and fire crews arrive, Blade escapes and the police take Quinn's body to the morgue. As Dr. Karen Jenson carries out an autopsy with a co-worker, Quinn returns to life and attacks. Blade rescues Jenson from Quinn but is unable to prevent him from escaping due to police intervention. Blade takes pity on Jenson who was bitten by Quinn and takes her to his base. There, Blade and his mentor/weapons technician Abraham Whistler attempt to prevent Jenson from turning into a vampire. At a meeting of the vampire Shadow Council, the vampire elder, Dragonetti, discusses Blade's recent intensified attacks, and berates Deacon Frost for his recklessness in running the raves. The established vampire leadership believes that vampires should try to co-exist with humans rather than risk a full scale war. However, the renegade faction led by Frost believes that vampires should rule the humans outright and harvest them like cattle. When Jenson decides to go home, Blade warns her that, due to Quinn's bite, she may still become a vampire. At her apartment, she is attacked by a "familiar" - a human who serves vampires in the hopes of someday becoming one - and is rescued by Blade. After the attack they follow the familiar to a vampire library. Blade and Jenson come across an obese vampire named Pearl, who reveals Frost's research into vampire mythology and his plan to turn himself into an invulnerable vampire blood-god named La Magra. As Blade and Jenson explore, they are ambushed by Quinn and his gang. They manage to escape, thanks to the timely intervention of Whistler. Jenson offers to use her medical knowledge to cure Blade's need for blood. Frost overthrows the vampire hierarchy, killing Dragonetti and taking the other members of the Shadow Council prisoner. When Blade leaves his hideout to obtain materials for Jenson's improved serum, Frost attacks. He abducts Jenson and has Whistler beaten and bitten, leaving him to turn into a vampire. When Blade returns, he gives Whistler a gun so he can kill himself. Blade fights his way into Frost's lair but is captured. He is taken to the Temple of Eternal Night, where Frost intends to use Blade's blood and the sacrifice of the twelve pure-blood vampire leaders to resurrect La Magra and become the god's incarnation. Frost then intends to use the powers of La Magra to conquer the human race. Frost throws Jenson into a pit, but she manages to escape. As the ritual begins, the trapped Blade is drained of blood, and the spirits of the Shadow Council are torn from their bodies to fuse with Frost, transforming him into La Magra. Jenson frees Blade and allows him to feed on her blood to renew his strength. Blade and Frost fight at the base of the temple, and Frost is killed. Jenson offers to continue working on a cure for Blade. He refuses, telling her that it would rob him of his Daywalker powers and render him unable to hunt vampires, so instead he asks her to make a better serum.

CAST

Wesley Snipes as Blade/Eric Brooks

A half-vampire "daywalker" who hunts vampires.

N'Bushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson

A hematologist who is bitten by a vampire. She stays with Blade to remain safe while she finds a cure for herself.

Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler

Blade's mentor and weaponsmith.

Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost

An upstart vampire who emerges as Blade's primary enemy who wants to conquer the human race.

Donal Logue as Quinn: A cocky minion of Frost's.
Udo Kier as Gitano Dragonetti

A vampire elder.

Sanaa Lathan as Vanessa Brooks

Blade's mother, who has become a vampire.

Arly Jover as Mercury

Frost's lover.

Kevin Patrick Walls as Officer Krieger

A "familiar", or human servant, of Frost's.

Tim Guinee as Dr. Curtis Webb

Karen's ex-boyfriend who later becomes a decomposing vampire.

Traci Lords as Racquel

A seductive vampire who leads a man to the blood rave.

Blade 2

Blade 2 Blade II is a 2002 American vampire superhero action film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Blade. It is the sequel of the first film and the second part of the Blade film series. It was written by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the previous film. Guillermo del Toro assumed director duties, and Wesley Snipes returned as the lead character and producer. The film follows the Dhampir Blade in his continuing effort to protect humans from vampires.

Plot

The film begins at a blood bank. A homeless man walks into the clinic and sits by another homeless man (Luke Goss) with a scar running down his chin. A nurse takes the latter man into a room with several people waiting where he is to be drained of blood, but kills his captors and reveals himself to be a new breed of vampire. Two years have passed since the climax of the first film, and Blade (Wesley Snipes) has been trying to find Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), who survived his suicide attempt. He has been sweeping across Russia and eastern Europe, searching for his old friend and mentor, enlisting the aid of a young man, Scud (Norman Reedus), to design him a new line of gadgetry and weaponry. In the first scene, Blade fights his way through a large gang of vampires, leaving one of their vampires, Rush (Santiago Segura), alive. Blade tells Rush he will be back for him. Blade finds Whistler locked in a tank by a gang of vampires who were keeping him alive for purposes of torture. Blade rescues Whistler and brings him to Prague. Meanwhile, a crisis has arisen in the vampire community. What appears to be a more developed strain of vampirism (dubbed the "Reaper virus") is sweeping through their ranks, giving its carriers new characteristics. The original carrier of the strain is Jared Nomak (the homeless man from the beginning of the film). Stronger than common vampires, the Reapers have three-way jaws, leech-like suckers and hearts encased in a thick layer of bone, making them invulnerable to any weapon barring sunlight. They also have a "ravenous" hunger, requiring more feeding than vampires, and even their dead victims become Reapers. The reapers also appear to be immune to silver and garlic. In order to combat the virus, the vampire elder (overlord) Eli Damaskinos (Thomas Kretschmann) sends his minions, Asad (Danny John-Jules) and Damaskinos' daughter Nyssa (Leonor Varela) to find and strike an uneasy truce with Blade. Upon meeting Eli Damaskinos and his familiar Karl Kounen (Karel Roden), Blade learns of the vampire community's plight. They concede to him that the Reapers are the greater evil and once they finish the vampire population, they will descend on humankind. To this end, Blade teams up with the Bloodpack, a group of vampire warriors and assassins who were originally assembled to kill him. The group consists of Rheinhardt (Ron Perlman), Chupa (Matt Schulze), Snowman (Donnie Yen), Verlaine (Marit Velle Kile), Lighthammer (Daz Crawford) and Priest (Tony Curran). Blade plants an explosive on the back of Rheinhardt's head to keep him under control. The group starts at a vampire nightclub, while Whistler acts as a sniper to guard Scud in the teams' transport. The mission goes wrong when the group finds the Reapers are immune to silver, physically much stronger than normal vampires, and resistant to normally crippling injuries even for vampires. Priest is fed on by one of the Reapers, while Blade fights Nomak. Nomak is immune even to Blade's anti-coagulant spikes, and Nomak leaves only because of the sunlight. While Blade and the Blood Pack are fighting in the club, Scud is attacked by several Reapers while Whistler goes missing. Scud is able to drive off or kill the Reapers using UV lights on the transport. Whistler returns after the battle to show them a dying Reaper at a sewer entrance, showing the location of the Reaper Nest. Nyssa autopsies the dying Reaper while Scud and Whistler make UltraViolet weapons for the team. The team reequips and goes down into the sewers. Lighthammer succumbs to infection he received at the club and kills Snowman. He chases down Verlaine who kills them both when she opens a sewer hatch to the sunlight. Chupa and Rheinhardt decide to kill Whistler for Priests' death, but Chupa is killed when Whistler sprays him with a Reaper pheromone. Asad and Nyssa walk into a nest and Asad is pull underwater and killed. Nyssa is saved by Blade, who uses a cluster-UV device, while Nyssa and Rheinhardt escape the blast. After a battle Blade is apprehended by Damaskinos' forces, along with Whistler and Scud. It is revealed that, in his efforts to create a new race of vampires (immune to sunlight and silver), Damaskinos (using his own son) turned Nomak into the first reaper. Scud is also revealed to be one of Damaskinos' "familiars". Blade however, is aware of Scud's status and kills him with a bomb (that Scud had assumed was a dud). With the reapers gone, Damaskinos planned to dissect Blade to create more daywalkers. However, Whistler escapes and rescues Blade. Blade fights his way through Damaskinos' henchmen, which ends with Rheinhardt being killed. Meanwhile, Nomak has entered Damaskinos' stronghold seeking revenge on his father. Just before he can escape to his helicopter, Damaskinos is betrayed by Nyssa (who has become disillusioned with her father's extreme methods) and is killed by Nomak after trying to negotiate with him. In order to "complete the circle", Nomak bites Nyssa, drinking her blood. When Nomak attempts to leave, He is then confronted by Blade. After a brutal fight, Blade finds the weak spot in Nomak's physical defenses and jams his sword beneath his arm, bypassing the bone shield around his heart. Nomak then pushes it through, killing himself. With Nomak dead, Blade then carries Nyssa (who was infected with the Reaper virus by Nomak's bite) outside for the sunrise to honor her last wish to see the sunlight, and die as a vampire. When the sun rises she disintegrates in his arms. In the film's last scene, Blade disposes of Rush in a strip club booth, stating "Now you didn't think I'd forget about you" and stabbing him in the head through the glass.

CAST

Wesley Snipes as Blade

A half-vampire "daywalker" who hunts vampires. Wesley Snipes stated that while such a character is not going to have much emotional depth, he then stated: "there's some acting involved in creating the character and making him believable and palatable."

Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler

Blade's human mentor and weaponsmith.

Ron Perlman as Reinhardt

A member of the Bloodpack, who bears a particular grudge against Blade.

Leonor Varela as Nyssa Damaskinos

An unapologetic, natural-born vampire and daughter to Damaskinos.

Norman Reedus as Josh / Scud

A young, chain smoking weaponsmith who aids Blade in Whistler's absence.

Thomas Kretschmann as Eli Damaskinos

An ancient vampire who is obsessed with creating a superior race of vampires as his legacy.

Luke Goss as Jared Nomak

Patient zero and carrier of the Reaper virus. He bears a grudge against his father, Eli Damaskinos for creating him.

Matt Schulze as Chupa

A pugnacious member of the Bloodpack who bears a particular grudge against Whistler.

Danny John-Jules as Asad

A "well-mannered" member of the Bloodpack.

Donnie Yen as Snowman

A mute swordsman and member of the Bloodpack.

Karel Roden as Karel Kounen

A "familiar", Damaskinos's human agent and lawyer.

Marit Velle Kile as Verlaine

A red-haired member of the Bloodpack and the lover of Lighthammer. The script originally said that she was the twin sister of Racquel from the first movie. Traci Lords was interested in playing the role before it was changed.

Daz Crawford as Lighthammer

A hulking, hammer-wielding member of the Bloodpack with Maori facial tattoos.

Tony Curran as Priest

A Scottish-accented member of the Bloodpack.

Santiago Segura as Rush

A vampire flunky in Prague.

Blade Trinity

Blade Trinity Blade: Trinity (also known as Blade III or Blade III: Trinity) is a 2004 American vampire superhero action film, written and directed by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the screenplays to the first two Blade films. It is the third and final film in the Blade trilogy, following on from Blade and Blade II and it is based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, played by Wesley Snipes. The story continues in Blade: The Series. Blade: Trinity was Wesley Snipes' last theatrical release until 2009's Brooklyn's Finest.

Plot

The film begins with an opening narration about Dracula, told by Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds): The film starts with a group of vampires, looking for "Drake", a.k.a. Dracula (Dominic Purcell). They subsequently find and wake him in a Syrian ziggurat tomb, although not before he kills one of their own number. Being unaware of the existence of vampires, the world considers Blade (Wesley Snipes) to be a serial killer. The vampires capitalize on this misconception and succeed in framing Blade for the killing of a familiar posing as a vampire. During the ensuing manhunt, the FBI locate and attack the hideout. During the siege, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) is mortally wounded and perishes after setting the hideout self-destruct. With his mentor gone, Blade allows himself to be captured. The police prepare to hand Blade over to a group of supposed federal agents, who are, unknown to them, vampires. But he is rescued by Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds) and Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel). The two head a group of vampire hunters called the Nightstalkers, formed by Blade's mentor to assist him. King and Abigail reveal that the vampire Danica Talos (Parker Posey), who turned King into a vampire in the past, (but now cured), has located Drake. Talos hopes that by resurrecting him, Drake will help save the vampire race by producing more daywalkers, and eliminate Blade. In his first confrontation with Blade, Drake shows an affinity for Blade, as they are both "honorable warriors". Ironically, while Drake is delivering his speech about honor, he is hiding behind a baby he has taken hostage; however, he appears to consider humans as unworthy of any consideration unless they first prove themselves. During the chaos, King is incapacitated by Drake. Blade eventually learns of a bioweapon the Nightstalkers had created called Daystar, an airborne virus capable of killing every single vampire in the world. However, there are two catches. The first is that they need Drake's blood and it must be infused with the virus. As he is the first vampire, his DNA is still pure, which, infused with Daystar, will make it work to its maximum efficiency. The second: the virus could possibly kill Blade, since he is half-vampire. Blade and Abigail learn of the vampire "final solution", which involves a warehouse where hundreds of homeless humans are being kept "alive" in a chemically-induced coma, (brain dead), trapped in body bags. This keeps in line with vampires needing live food sources if the vampire race were to take over the world. Blade has all of them put out of their misery, shutting down their life support. The two return to find the Nightstalkers have been all but wiped out. The only exception is King, who has been kidnapped by Drake, and a young girl named Zoe (Haili Page), the daughter of one of the Nightstalkers. Blade and Abigail go to the Talos building to save their friends. Meanwhile, King is chained and tortured by Jarko Grimwood (Triple H) and Asher Talos (Callum Keith Rennie) for information about Daystar. When this fails to get any information from him, Talos threatens that she will bite King and leave him to feed on Zoe. Drake tries to convince the young Zoe to become a vampire so that she won't have to die. He tells her that there is no God, heaven or angels, Zoe simply states to Drake "My friends are coming to kill you". Blade and Abigail eventually enter the building, and the fighting begins after they freed King. Abigail kills Asher and King kills Grimwood while Blade engages Drake in a sword battle. In the end, Blade impales Drake with the Daystar arrow, and releases it into the air, killing all the nearby vampires, including Talos. He then honors Abigail and her fighting skills by making her a full-fledged "blade." As Drake dies, he praises Blade for fighting with honor and tells him that through Blade, the vampire race will survive. Dying, he offers Blade a "parting gift"; he also warns him that the thirst will eventually win. From here there are multiple endings: Theatrical ending: As Blade fought honorably, Drake gives him a "parting gift" by transforming his body into a replica of Blade's just before he dies. The FBI captures the body of who they think is Blade and thus call off their manhunt for Blade. In the morgue Blade's body reverts into that of Drake's. Hannibal's voiceover tells the viewer that Blade is still out doing what he does, having rejected Drake's hopes of him prolonging the vampire race, and that the war will never end. Unrated ending: The body captured by the FBI is Blade, but he's not really dead. He sits up abruptly in the morgue, attacks the FBI agents, and appears ready to bite a nurse on the neck. The ending is ambiguous as to whether Blade is actually Drake surviving The Daystar Virus or the real Blade retaining his humanity or giving in to his vampire thirst, or becoming the new vampire messiah as Drake predicted. This is the ending seen on the director's cut of the film, and commentary on the DVD indicates it was the ending director Goyer intended. Werewolf ending: The Daystar virus circles the globe and wipes out all vampires. Blade walks off into the sunset, his long battle finally over. The final shot is of the Nightstalkers battling a new enemy... werewolves. This version of the ending was used in the novelization of the film and is included on the DVD as an extra;[citation needed], it was rejected for use in the film itself early on in production, due to similarities to the vampires versus werewolves in the Underworld series, the discontinuity with the back story, and for simply being too silly in Goyer's opinion.

CAST

Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks / Blade
Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler
Jessica Biel as Abigail Whistler
Ryan Reynolds as Hannibal King
Dominic Purcell as Dracula / Drake
Parker Posey as Danica Talos
Callum Keith Rennie as Asher Talos
Triple H as Jarko Grimwood
Natasha Lyonne as Sommerfield
Haili Page as Zoey Sommerfield
John Michael Higgins as Dr. Edgar Vance
Mark Berry as Police Chief Martin Vreede
Patton Oswalt as Hedges
James Remar as FBI Agent Ray Cumberland
Michael Rawlins as FBI Agent Wilson Hale
Eric Bogosian as Bentley Tittle
Ron Selmour as Dex
Christopher Heyerdahl as Caulder

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Joe Johnston, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, and Stanley Tucci. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures. Predominantly set during World War II, the film tells the story of Steve Rogers, a sickly man from Brooklyn who is transformed into super-soldier Captain America to aid in the war effort. Rogers must stop the Red Skull – Adolf Hitler's ruthless head of weaponry, and the leader of an organization that intends to use a device called a "Tesseract"[a] as an energy-source for world domination. Captain America: The First Avenger began as a concept in 1997 and was scheduled for distribution by Artisan Entertainment. However, a lawsuit, not settled until September 2003, disrupted the project. In 2005, Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch, and planned to finance and release it through Paramount Pictures. Directors Jon Favreau and Louis Leterrier were interested in directing the project before Johnston was approached in 2008. The principal characters were cast between March and June 2010. Production of Captain America: The First Avenger began in June 2010, and filming took place in London, Manchester, Caerwent and Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and Los Angeles in the United States. The film was converted to 3D in post-production. Captain America: The First Avenger premiered in Hollywood on July 19, 2011, and was released in the United States on July 22, 2011. The film became a critical and commercial success, grossing a total of $368.6 million worldwide. The Blu-ray and DVD were released on October 25, 2011. A sequel titled Captain America: The Winter Soldier is set for release in 2014.

Plot

In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover a circular object with a red, white and blue motif. In March 1942, Nazi officer Johann Schmidt and his men invade Tønsberg, Norway, to steal a mysterious Tesseract[a] possessing untold powers. Meanwhile, in New York City, Steve Rogers is rejected for World War II military duty because of various health and physical issues. While attending an exhibition of future technologies with his friend Bucky Barnes, Rogers again attempts to enlist. Overhearing Rogers' conversation with Barnes about wanting to help in the war, Dr. Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist. He is recruited in the Scientific Strategic Reserve as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Col. Chester Phillips, and British agent Peggy Carter. Phillips is unconvinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure, but relents after seeing Rogers commit an act of self-sacrificing bravery. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Schmidt underwent an imperfect version of the procedure and suffered side-effects. Back in Europe, Schmidt and Dr. Arnim Zola successfully harness the energies of the Tesseract, intending to use the power to fuel Zola's inventions. Schmidt, having discovered Erskine's location, dispatches an assassin to kill him. In America, Erskine subjects Rogers to the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with a special serum and dosing him with "vita-rays". After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, one of the attendees kills Erskine, revealing himself to be Schmidt's assassin, Heinz Kruger. Rogers pursues and captures Kruger, but the assassin commits suicide by cyanide capsule before he can be interrogated. With Erskine dead and the super-soldier formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt has Rogers tour the nation in a colorful costume as "Captain America" to promote war bonds, rather than allow scientists to study him and attempt to rediscover Erskine's formula. In 1943, while on tour in Italy performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes' unit was lost in a battle against Schmidt's forces. Refusing to believe that Barnes is dead, Rogers has Carter and Howard Stark fly him behind enemy lines to mount a solo rescue attempt. Rogers infiltrates the fortress of Schmidt's HYDRA organization, freeing Barnes and the other captured soldiers. Rogers confronts Schmidt, who reveals his face to be a mask, removing it to display the red, skull-like face that earned him the sobriquet "the Red Skull." Schmidt escapes and Rogers returns to base with the freed soldiers. Rogers recruits Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, James Montgomery Falsworth, and Jacques Dernier to attack the other known HYDRA bases. Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, in particular a circular shield made of vibranium, a rare, near-indestructible metal. Rogers and his team successfully sabotage various HYDRA operations. The team later assaults a train carrying Zola. Zola is captured, but Barnes falls from the train to his apparent death.[b] Using information extracted from Zola, the final HYDRA stronghold is located and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on American cities. Rogers clambers aboard Schmidt's aircraft as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract's container is damaged. Schmidt physically handles the Tesseract, causing him to dissolve in a bright light. The Tesseract falls to the floor, burning through the plane and falling to Earth. Seeing no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating its weapons, Rogers crashes it in the Arctic. Stark later recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor, but is unable to locate Rogers or the aircraft. Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Deducing from an anachronistic radio broadcast that something is wrong, he flees outside into what is revealed to be present-day Times Square, where Nick Fury tells him he has been "asleep" for nearly 70 years. In a post-credits scene, Fury approaches Rogers, proposing a mission with worldwide ramifications.

CAST

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America.

A frail, sickly young man who is enhanced to the peak of human ability by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort. Evans, who previously worked with Marvel as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four film series, said he declined the part three times before signing a six-picture deal with Marvel, explaining that, "At the time, I remember telling a buddy of mine, 'If the movie bombs, I'm f—-ed [sic]. If the movie hits, I'm f—-ed!' I was just scared. I realized my whole decision-making process was fear-based, and you never want to make a decision out of fear. I can't believe I was almost too chicken to play Captain America". He ultimately agreed to the role, saying, "I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now, and it's a fun character. ... I think the story of Steve Rogers is great. He's a great guy. Even if it [were] just a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn't necessarily about the comic itself." Regarding the extent of the character's abilities Evans remarked, "He would crush the Olympics. Any Olympic sport he's gonna dominate. He can jump higher, run faster, lift stronger weight, but he can be injured. He could roll an ankle and be out for the season. He's not perfect, he's not untouchable. So a lot of the effects, if I'm going to punch someone they're not going to put them on a cable and fly them back 50 feet, but he's going to go down, probably not getting back up, which I think humanizes it. It makes it something that, again, I think everyone can relate to a little bit more, which I really like." Theater actor Leander Deeny was the body double in some shots for Steve Rogers' pre-transformation physique.

Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter.

An officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve and the love interest of Captain America. Regarding her preparation for the role, she said, "I'm training at the moment six days a week to make her a bit more military and make it convincing that I could kick butt." About the character, Atwell stated, "I likened her character to that famous Ginger Rogers quote. She can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels. She's an English soldier through and through, although she always looks fabulous. She might stand there with a machine-gun shooting Nazis, but she's obviously gone to the loo beforehand and applied a bit of lipstick. She doesn't need to be rescued. That's exciting to me – her strength". "I think she's quite stubborn, a slightly frustrated woman who struggles with being a woman in that time. But more importantly she's a modern woman and she sees something in Captain America that she relates to, and becomes kindred spirits. He treats her very differently to how she's been treated by lots of men, in this kind of dominated world she lives in. So she's very much a fighter."

Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull.

Captain America's nemesis and Adolf Hitler's head of advanced weaponry, whose own plan for world domination involves a magical object known as the Tesseract. In the film, Red Skull is the commander of the terrorist organization Hydra. Weaving stated that he patterned Red Skull's accent on those of Werner Herzog and Klaus Maria Brandauer. About the character, Weaving remarked, "I think the major difference between Skull and Cap, they've both had the serum, and the serum seems to augment certain qualities that each of them have. Cap is much more in tune with other people I think. Schmidt is in tune with himself, and his own needs, and his own ego, so I suppose it augments that. From that point of view, they're quite opposite."

Sebastian Stan as Sergeant James "Bucky" Barnes.

Steve Rogers' best friend. Stan has signed on for "five or six pictures". He revealed that he didn't know anything about the comic books, but watched a lot of documentaries and films about World War II in preparation for the role, calling Band of Brothers "very helpful". About the role, Stan stated, "Steve Rogers and Bucky are both orphans and kind of like brothers. They kind of grow up together and look after each other. It's a very human, relatable thing.... I also wanted to look out for how their relationship changes once Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. There's always a competition and they're always one-upping each other. I paid attention to how Bucky is affected by Steve's change and suddenly Steve is this leader".

Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark.

The father of Tony Stark, who worked on various government projects dating back to the World War II era. Rogers, unsatisfied with his USO-issued Captain America costume, turns to Stark to design a sensible ensemble made of sophisticated fabrics. About the role, Cooper stated, "It's an opportunity where you can see his future because I know the guy who becomes my son and I see myself as an older version in Iron Man 2 which is great for an actor to have those tools. All I know of him is that he's a fantastic engineer and inventor and a very slick Howard Hughes type that's into aviation and women!"

Neal McDonough as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan.

A member of Steve Rogers' squad of commandos. McDonough said he grew Dugan's trademark mustache and wore the character's signature bowler hat. About his role in film he remarked, "Oh, I'm going to see a lot of action. [I'm] the go-to guy, so I'm very happy with that".

Derek Luke as Gabe Jones.

A member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Luke said he was cast without a script or much of a description of the character. As to why he took the part, "I just believed that Marvel was doing some really great work, great messages in films. The good versus evil and I was just like, 'How can I be down?'"

Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine.

The scientist who created the Super Soldier Serum. Tucci said that what drew him to the role was the opportunity to do a German accent, which was something he always wanted to try.

Kenneth Choi as Jim Morita.

A Japanese-American member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Choi said he was the last actor to audition for the part and that he read sides from Saving Private Ryan. About his preparation for the role, Choi said, "[I] did a lot of WWII research especially in regards to the 'Nisei' soldiers, or Japanese-American soldiers. I wanted to get as much true, real-life information for a guy like Jim Morita fighting in WWII. I felt that if I had built a factual basis for him, I could then let go and permit the character to exist in the Marvel Universe, which allows for a lot of imaginative circumstances."

Bruno Ricci as Jacques Dernier.

A French member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Ricci auditioned for and got the part while filming the French series The Hawk.

Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips.

In the early comics, Phillips recruited Steve Rogers to join Project Rebirth, the secret experiment that created the super-soldier known as Captain America. The character was updated for the film. Jones described his character as "the one you've seen in a thousand movies: the gruff, skeptical officer overseeing a team of talented, slightly sarcastic, specially talented soldiers".

J. J. Feild as James Montgomery Falsworth.

A British member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Feild called his part in the film "a very physical job. I play one of the Captain's sidekicks so I've been running around shooting things and blowing things up and trying to look cool for about a year."

Additionally, Toby Jones was cast as Arnim Zola, a biochemist for the Nazi party. Richard Armitage portrays Heinz Kruger, the Red Skull's top assassin. Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, the director of the super-spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as a general.

Demolition Man

Demolition Man is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Marco Brambilla, and starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, and Denis Leary co-star. The film tells the story of two men – one, an evil crime lord; the other, a risk-taking police officer — who are cryogenically frozen in the year 1996 and reawakened in 2032. Following a massive earthquake in 2010 that destroyed much of Los Angeles, it merged with San Diego to form a planned city called San Angeles in which all crime has seemingly been eliminated from mainstream society. The film uses the tagline: "The Future isn't big enough for the both of them." Some aspects of the film allude to Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel, Brave New World.

Plot

In 1996, LAPD Sgt. John Spartan leads a raid to rescue a busload of hostages taken by the psychopathic criminal Simon Phoenix. After a scan of the area shows no sign of the hostages' presence, Spartan enters Phoenix's stronghold and captures him, but Phoenix sets off explosive gasoline to destroy the building. The hostages' bodies are found in the rubble, leading the LAPD to arrest Spartan as well. Both men are sentenced to lengthy terms in "CryoPrison," where they are kept in cryogenic storage and exposed to subconscious rehabilitation techniques. In 2032, Phoenix is thawed for a parole hearing, and uses knowledge he gained while frozen to escape from CryoPrison and start a crime spree. By this time, the Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara regions have merged into the pacifist utopia of San Angeles, under the guidance of Dr. Raymond Cocteau. All of humanity's vices have been outlawed, and the police have become incapable of dealing with criminals such as Phoenix. However, Lt. Lenina Huxley suggests that Spartan - the police officer who originally caught Phoenix - be revived and reinstated to the force to stop him again. Spartan has trouble adapting to life in this peaceful setting, while most of Huxley's fellow officers especially Head Chief George Earle, find him brutish and uncivilized. When Phoenix breaks into a museum's weapon exhibit to arm himself, he briefly comes face to face with Cocteau, who reminds him of a job he needs to do: kill Edgar Friendly, leader of the "Scrap" resistance fighters who live in the underground ruins of old Los Angeles. Spartan first encounters the Scraps when they raid a dinner party given by Cocteau. After Spartan and Huxley check prison records, they determine that Cocteau set up Phoenix's rehabilitation program to turn him into an even more dangerous criminal and assassin, with the goal of eliminating Friendly, and go to the ruins to meet with Friendly and warn him. Meanwhile Phoenix meets with Cocteau, realizing what he has done, and has him release other prisoners to assist him. During a car chase through San Angeles, Phoenix admits to Spartan that the hostages he took in 1996 were already dead before the building exploded, so Spartan spent 36 years in prison for a crime he never committed. Phoenix escapes and Spartan arms himself with help from the Scraps as they emerge in force to get food. Realizing that he cannot kill Cocteau himself because of his rehabilitation, Phoenix instead has one of his men do it and begins thawing the CryoPrison's most dangerous convicts. Spartan enters the facility and fights Phoenix, eventually freezing him solid. He escapes just before the machinery overloads and explodes, destroying the prison. With Cocteau dead and the prison destroyed, the police and Scraps find themselves at odds over how to run their society. Spartan suggests that they find a way to compromise between order and personal freedom, then kisses Huxley and departs with her.

CAST

Sylvester Stallone as Detective Sergeant John Spartan.
Wesley Snipes as Simon Phoenix.
Sandra Bullock as Lieutenant Lenina Huxley.
Nigel Hawthorne as Doctor Raymond Cocteau.
Benjamin Bratt as Officer Alfredo Garcia.
Denis Leary as Edgar Friendly.
Rob Schneider as Erwin (uncredited).
Jack Black as Wasteland Scrap.
Bill Cobbs as Zachary Lamb (old).
Bob Gunton as Chief George Earle.
Paul Perri as Squad Leader.
Pat Skipper as Helicopter Pilot.
Glenn Shadix as Associate Bob.
Trent Walker as Boggle Guard.
Troy Evans as Tough Cop.
Grand L. Bush as Zachary Lamb (young).
Steve Kahan as Captain Healy.
Paul Bollen as T.F.R. Officer.
Mark Colson as Assistant Warden William Smithers (young).
Andre Gregory as Warden William Smithers (old).
Jesse Ventura as Cryocon Ally named Adam.
Brandy Ledford as "wrong number" video phone girl.

Jack Black played one of the "Wasteland Scraps" in the underground scene, who flinches when Spartan shoves the gun out of his face and says "And Cocteau's an asshole!" Rob Schneider played Erwin, one of the operators in the San Angeles Police control room; he would also play opposite Stallone in the 1995 movie Judge Dredd. Sandra Bullock replaced original actress Lori Petty in the role of Lenina Huxley after a few days filming. Her character's name is a reference to Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World, and Lenina Crowne, a character in Brave New World. Originally Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal were offered lead roles in the movie. The role of Simon Phoenix was also offered to Jackie Chan. According to the scripts (before the final draft) the film starts out in 1998 and goes over to 2032 as John Spartan and Simon Phoenix were frozen for 44 years. In that draft, a cryocon was named Ignatious and was changed to Howie, while Howie was written out and replaced with a thug already released. Adam (played by Jesse Ventura) was Charlie and dies in the underground battle. In a cut out scene John Spartan fights the member of Simon Phoenix's gang played by Jesse "The Body" Ventura at the cryo-prison before one final battle with Simon Phoenix.

Fast Five

Fast Five (alternatively known as Fast & Furious 5 or Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist) is a 2011 American action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. It is the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious film series. It was released first in Australia on April 20, 2011, and then in the United States on April 29, 2011. Fast Five follows Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) as they plan a heist to steal $100 million from corrupt businessman Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) while being pursued for arrest by U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). When developing Fast Five, Universal Studios deliberately departed from the street racing theme prevalent in previous films in the series, to transform the franchise into a heist action series involving cars. By doing so, they hoped to attract wider audiences that might otherwise be put off by a heavy emphasis on cars and car culture. Fast Five is considered the transitional film in the series, featuring only one car race and giving more attention to action set pieces such as gun fights, brawls and the heist of $100 million. The production mounted a comprehensive marketing campaign, marketing the film through social media, virtual games, cinema chains, automobile manufacturers and at NASCAR races. Fast Five achieved financial success, breaking box office records for the highest-grossing April opening weekend and the second highest spring opening weekend, and surpassing Fast & Furious (2009) to become the highest-grossing film in the franchise. Fast Five has grossed over $625 million worldwide, making it number 59 on the all-time worldwide list of highest-grossing films, in unadjusted dollars, and the seventh highest-grossing film of 2011. The film was praised by critics, who liked the combination of comedy and "action sequences that toy idly with the laws of physics"; some labeled the film the best of the series.Johnson was singled out for his performance, critics calling him "the best thing, by far, in Fast Five"and remarking that scenes shared by Johnson and Diesel were often the "best moments". Despite the positive response, many were critical of the film's running time, considering it too long, and others criticized the treatment of women, stating "[Females] cameo strikingly in buttock form. Others actually have first names." South American reviewers were critical of the film's portrayal of Rio de Janeiro as a haven for drug trafficking and corruption, labeling it a "stereotype".A sequel began production in July 2012.

Plot

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 escape 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 one of them, 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. 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 details of Reyes' criminal empire, including the locations of US$100 million in cash. Following the murder of the DEA agents aboard the train, blamed on Dom and his team, DSS 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, and 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 Reyes' money to start a new life. The trio organizes a team to perform the heist, recruiting Han Seoul-Oh, Roman Pearce, Tej Parker, Gisele Yashar, Leo and Santos. Vince later joins the team after saving Mia from being captured by Reyes' men, earning Dom's trust once more. 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 against Reyes' men 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 breaks into the police station where Reyes' money is kept and tear the vault from the building using their cars, dragging it through the city with police in pursuit. Believing they cannot outrun the police, 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 to kill Zizi, while Reyes is badly injured by Dom's assault. Hobbs arrives on the scene and kills Reyes. Hobbs refuses to let Dom and Brian go free but, unwilling to arrest them, agrees to give them a 24-hour head start to escape. The gang splits Reyes' money, leaving Vince's share to his family, before the members go their separate ways. 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. In a post-credits scene, Hobbs is given a file by Monica Fuentes concerning the hijack of a military convoy in Berlin. In the file, Hobbs discovers a recent photo of Dom's former girlfriend Letty Ortiz, who had been presumed dead.

CAST

Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto.

A professional criminal, street racer and fugitive. Diesel was reportedly paid $15 million to star in and produce the film.

Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner.

A former FBI agent turned criminal. He is in a relationship with Mia Toretto. Walker did many of his own stunts for the film, training with parkour professional Paul Darnell to improve his movement.

Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs.

A Diplomatic Security Service agent. According to producer Vin Diesel, the role of Hobbs was originally developed with Tommy Lee Jones in mind. However, when reading feedback on his Facebook page, Diesel noted a fan stating a desire to see Diesel and Johnson in a film together. Diesel and Lin then redesigned the role for Johnson. Johnson wanted to work with Universal Studios, citing their support for him during his transition from wrestling to acting. He described the role as a former bounty hunter turned US Marshal and as "the government’s version of the best bounty hunter on the planet". He undertook an extensive daily workout regime to enlarge his physique, wanting his character to appear as a "hunter" and to be formidable enough to present a credible threat to the protagonists.

Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto.

Dominic's sister and the girlfriend of Brian O'Conner..

Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce.

Brian's childhood friend. Gibson's involvement was confirmed on June 30, 2010. Gibson was committed to Transformers: Dark of the Moon at the time he signed on to Fast Five. He was forced to fly between Puerto Rico and Atlanta to accommodate both films.

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Tej Parker.

Brian's and Roman's friend from Miami. Ludacris confirmed his involvement in the film on July 12, 2010, when he stated he had arrived in Puerto Rico to begin filming.

Matt Schulze as Vince.

Dominic's childhood friend. Schulze had appeared in the first film, and it was confirmed on July 16, 2010, that he would be returning.

Sung Kang as Han Seoul-Oh.

A street racer and Dominic's business partner in the Dominican Republic.

Gal Gadot as Gisele Yashar.

A former Mossad agent and love interest of Han. Although Gadot had prior experience handling motorbikes, she was required to learn how to ride the larger, more powerful Ducati Streetfighter for the film.

Joaquim de Almeida as Hernan Reyes.

A ruthless drug lord posing as a legitimate business man. It was confirmed on July 16, 2010, that Almeida would play antagonist Hernan Reyes. Having previously played several antagonists, he hesitated to take this role, but accepted it after speaking with Lin and hearing his take on the character.

Elsa Pataky as Elena Neves.

A Rio police officer who works with Hobbs' team and becomes Dominic's love interest. It was confirmed on July 16, 2010, that Pataky would take this role. She underwent several days of tactical training with a police/military technical advisor and was required to learn how to handle her gun in a variety of situations to portray Elena believably.

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. 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 former girlfriend, who is presumed dead following the events of Fast & Furious. Eva Mendes appears in an uncredited cameo as agent Monica Fuentes, reprising her role from 2 Fast 2 Furious.

The Avengers

Marvel's The Avengers (classified as Marvel Avengers Assemble in the UK and Ireland) or simply The Avengers is a 2012 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is scripted and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to form a team that must stop Thor's adoptive brother Loki from subjugating Earth. Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, in August and New York City in September. The film was converted to 3D in post-production. The Avengers premiered on April 11, 2012, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. The film received positive reviews from most film critics and set or tied numerous box office records, including the biggest opening weekend in North America and the fastest film to gross $1 billion worldwide. With a worldwide total gross of over $1.5 billion, The Avengers ranks as the third highest-grossing film of all time. The film is scheduled to be released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 25, 2012. A sequel to be written and directed by Whedon is scheduled for release on May 1, 2015.

Plot

The Asgardian Loki encounters the Other, the leader of an extraterrestrial race known as the Chitauri. In exchange for retrieving the Tesseract, a powerful energy source of unknown potential, the Other promises Loki a Chitauri army with which he can subjugate the Earth. Nick Fury, director of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and his lieutenant Agent Maria Hill arrive at a remote research facility during an evacuation, where physicist Dr. Erik Selvig is leading a research team experimenting on the Tesseract. Agent Phil Coulson explains that the object has begun radiating an unusual form of energy. The Tesseract suddenly activates and opens a portal, allowing Loki to reach Earth. Loki takes the Tesseract and uses his scepter to enslave Selvig and several agents, including Clint Barton, to aid him in his getaway. In response to the attack, Fury reactivates the "Avengers Initiative". Agent Natasha Romanoff is sent to Calcutta to recruit Dr. Bruce Banner to trace the Tesseract through its gamma radiation emissions. Coulson visits Tony Stark to have him review Selvig's research, and Fury approaches Steve Rogers with an assignment to retrieve the Tesseract. While Barton steals iridium needed to stabilize the Tesseract's power, Loki causes a distraction in Stuttgart leading to a confrontation with Rogers, Stark, and Romanoff that ends with Loki's surrender. While Loki is being escorted to S.H.I.E.L.D., Thor, his adoptive brother, arrives and frees him hoping to convince him to abandon his plan and return to Asgard. After a confrontation with Stark and Rogers, Thor agrees to take Loki to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying aircraft carrier, the Helicarrier. There Loki is imprisoned while scientists Banner and Stark attempt to locate the Tesseract. The Avengers become divided, both over how to approach Loki and the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. plans to harness the Tesseract to develop weapons as a deterrent against hostile extra-terrestrials. As the group argues, Barton and Loki's other possessed agents attack the Helicarrier, disabling its engines in flight and causing Banner to transform into the Hulk. Stark and Rogers try to restart the damaged engines, and Thor attempts to stop the Hulk's rampage. Romanoff fights Barton, and knocks him unconscious, breaking Loki's mind control. Loki escapes after killing Coulson and ejecting Thor from the airship, while the Hulk falls to the ground after attacking a S.H.I.E.L.D. fighter jet. Fury uses Coulson's death to motivate the Avengers into working as a team. Stark and Rogers realize that simply defeating them will not be enough for Loki; he needs to overpower them publicly to validate himself as ruler of Earth. Loki uses the Tesseract, in conjunction with a device Selvig built, to open a portal above Stark Tower to the Chitauri fleet in space, launching his invasion. The Avengers rally in defense of New York City, the location of the portal, but quickly realize they will be overwhelmed as wave after wave of Chitauri descend upon Earth. Rogers, Stark, and Thor evacuate civilians with assistance from Barton, while Banner transforms back into the Hulk and goes after Loki, eventually beating him into submission. Romanoff makes her way to the portal, where Selvig, freed of Loki’s control, reveals that Loki's scepter can be used to close the portal. Meanwhile, Fury's superiors attempt to end the invasion by launching a nuclear missile at Manhattan. Stark intercepts the missile and takes it through the portal toward the Chitauri fleet. The missile detonates, destroying the invaders' lead ship which disables their forces on Earth. Stark's suit runs out of power and he falls back through the portal, but the Hulk saves him from crashing to the ground. Romanoff deactivates the portal to prevent further invasion. In the aftermath, Thor returns Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard. Fury notes that the Avengers will return when they are needed. In the first of two post-credits scenes, the Other confers with his master about the attack on Earth and humanity's resistance; in the second, the Avengers eat in silence at a shawarma restaurant.

CAST

Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man.

A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist with a mechanical suit of armor of his own invention. Downey was cast as part of his four-picture deal with Marvel Studios, which includes Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. Downey said that he initially pushed Whedon to make Stark the lead: "Well, I said, 'I need to be in the opening sequence. I don't know what you're thinking, but Tony needs to drive this thing.' He was like, 'Okay, let's try that.' We tried it and it didn't work, because this is a different sort of thing, the story and the idea and the theme is the theme, and everybody is just an arm of the octopus." About the character's evolution from previous films, Downey said, "In Iron Man, which was an origin story, he was his own epiphany and redemption of sorts. Iron Man 2 is all about not being an island, dealing with legacy issues and making space for others. . . In The Avengers, he's throwing it down with the others".

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America.

A World War II veteran who was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum. Evans was cast as part of a deal to star in three Marvel films, in addition to The Avengers. Evans said that Steve Rogers is much darker in The Avengers: "It's just about him trying to come to terms with the modern world. You've got to imagine, it's enough of a shock to accept the fact that you're in a completely different time, but everybody you know is dead. Everybody you cared about. . . He was a soldier, obviously, everybody he went to battle with, all of his brothers in arms, they're all dead. He's just lonely. I think in the beginning it's a fish-out-of-water scene, and it's tough. It's a tough pill for him to swallow. Then comes trying to find a balance with the modern world. "Regarding the dynamic between Captain America and Tony Stark, Evans said, "I think there's certainly a dichotomy—this kind of friction between myself and Tony Stark, they're polar opposites. One guy is flash and spotlight and smooth, and the other guy is selfless and in the shadows and kind of quiet and they have to get along. They explore that, and it's pretty fun".

Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner / Hulk.

A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or excited. Ruffalo was cast after negotiations between Marvel and Edward Norton broke down. About replacing Norton, Ruffalo said, "I'm a friend of Ed's, and yeah, that wasn't a great way for all that to go down. But the way I see it is that Ed has bequeathed this part to me. I look at it as my generation's Hamlet." About the character, he said, "He's a guy struggling with two sides of himself—the dark and the light—and everything he does in his life is filtered through issues of control. I grew up on the Bill Bixby TV series, which I thought was a really nuanced and real human way to look at the Hulk. I like that the part has those qualities". Regarding the Hulk's place on the team, Ruffalo said, "He's like the teammate none of them are sure they want on their team. He's a loose cannon. It's like, 'Just throw a grenade in the middle of the group and let's hope it turns out well!" This is the first production in which the actor playing Banner also plays the Hulk. Ruffalo told New York magazine, "I'm really excited. No one's ever played the Hulk exactly; they've always done CGI. They're going to do the Avatar stop-action, stop-motion capture. So I'll actually play the Hulk. That'll be fun". The 3D model used to create the Hulk's body was modelled after Long Island bodybuilder and male stripper Steve Romm, while the Hulk's face was modelled after Ruffalo. To create the Hulk's voice, Ruffalo's voice was blended with those of Lou Ferrigno and others, however, the Hulk's only speaking line ("Puny god.") was provided solely by Ruffalo.

Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

The crown prince of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. Hemsworth was cast as part of a multiple movie deal. He had previously worked with Joss Whedon on The Cabin in the Woods. Hemsworth said that he was able to maintain the strength he built up for Thor by increasing his food intake, consisting of chicken breasts, fish, steak and eggs every day. When asked exactly how much, Hemsworth said, "My body weight in protein pretty much!" He remarked that Thor's motivation "is much more of a personal one, in the sense that it's his brother that is stirring things up. Whereas everyone else, it's some bad guy who they've gotta take down. It's a different approach for me, or for Thor. He's constantly having to battle the greater good and what he should do vs. it's his little brother there. . . I've been frustrated with my brothers at times, or family, but I'm the only one who is allowed to be angry at them. There's a bit of that."

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow.

A highly trained spy working for S.H.I.E.L.D. About the character and her relationship with Hawkeye, Johansson said, "Our characters have a long history. They've fought together for a long time in a lot of battles in many different countries. We're the two members of this avenging group who are skilled warriors — we have no superpowers. Black Widow is definitely one of the team, though. She's not in the cast simply to be a romantic foil or eye candy. She's there to fight, so I never felt like I was the only girl. We all have our various skills and it feels equal". Regarding her training, Johansson said, "Even though Iron Man 2 was 'one-for-them,' I'd never done anything like that before. I'd never been physically driven in something, or a part of something so big. For The Avengers, I've spent so many months training with our stunt team, and fighting all the other actors, it's crazy. I do nothing but fight—all the time."

Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye.

An agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. and a master archer known in the comics as the "World's Greatest Marksman." Renner said it was a very physical role and that he trained physically and practiced archery as much as possible in preparation. About the role, Renner said, "When I saw Iron Man, I thought that was a really kick-ass approach to superheroes. Then they told me about this Hawkeye character, and I liked how he wasn't really a superhero; he's just a guy with a high skill set. I could connect to that." Regarding Hawkeye's sniper mentality, Renner said, "It's a lonely game. He's an outcast. His only connection is to Scarlett's character, Natasha. It's like a left hand/right hand thing. They coexist, and you need them both, especially when it comes to a physical mission." Renner said Hawkeye is not insecure about his humanity. "Quite the opposite, he's the only one who can really take down the Hulk with his [tranquilizer-tipped] arrows. He knows his limitations. But when it comes down to it, there has to be a sense of confidence in any superhero."

Tom Hiddleston as Loki.

Thor's adoptive brother and nemesis, based on the deity of the same name. About his character's evolution from the film Thor, Hiddleston said, "I think the Loki we see in The Avengers is further advanced. You have to ask yourself the question: how pleasant an experience is it disappearing into a wormhole that has been created by some kind of super nuclear explosion of his own making? So I think by the time Loki shows up in The Avengers, he's seen a few things." About Loki's motivations, Hiddleston said, "At the beginning of The Avengers, he comes to Earth to subjugate it and his idea is to rule the human race as their king. And like all the delusional autocrats of human history, he thinks this is a great idea because if everyone is busy worshipping him, there will be no wars so he will create some kind of world peace by ruling them as a tyrant. But he is also kind of deluded in the fact that he thinks unlimited power will give him self-respect, so I haven't let go of the fact that he is still motivated by this terrible jealousy and kind of spiritual desolation".

Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson.

An agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. who oversees many of the division's field operations. Gregg was cast as part of a multi-picture deal with Marvel. Gregg said his role was expanded in The Avengers: "[What] Agent Coulson had become in terms of the import of this particular story, and how important his job is in bringing the Avengers together, it kind of felt a little surreal, like somebody was playing a prank and that wasn't the real script. But it wasn't, it was the real thing, I got to show up and do that stuff, and it felt like such an amazing payoff to what the journey had been and the fact I had been doing it for five years." Gregg said Whedon provided insight into his character's backstory, particularly about Coulson being a fan of Captain America.

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill.

An agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. who works closely with Jackson's Nick Fury. Smulders, whom Joss Whedon once considered for his unproduced live-action Wonder Woman film, was selected from a short list of potential actresses including Morena Baccarin. Smulders' deal would integrate her into nine films. Regarding her preparation, Smulders said, "I hired this amazing black-ops trainer to teach me how to hold a gun, take me to a shooting range, how to hit, how to hold myself, how to walk and basically how to look. I don't do a ton of fighting in the movie, which is why I wasn't offered a trainer, but I wanted to look like I had the ability to." On relating to the character, Smulders said, "I can relate to her being a mom and being a businesswoman and trying to work full-time and raising a family and having a career. We're asked to do a lot of things these days. I feel she is just all about her job and keeping things going."

Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Erik Selvig.

An astrophysicist and a friend of Thor under Loki's control, who is studying the Tesseract's power. Regarding Loki's control over Selvig, Skarsgård said, "Well with the scene we did in Thor, it was like Loki, one way or the other, entered Erik's mind. And in Avengers, you will see more clarity in how Loki is using Erik's mind." About his role, he said, "[My character] is of importance but the size of the role is not big."

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who was revealed in previous films to be coordinating the "Avengers Initiative". Jackson was brought to the project with a deal containing an option to play the character in up to nine Marvel films. Jackson said he does more in The Avengers than in any of the previous films: "You don't have to wait until the end of the movie to see me". About the role, Jackson said, "It's always good to play somebody [who] is a positive in society as opposed to somebody who is a negative. . . I tried to make him as honest to the story and as honest to what real-life would seem." Jackson compared the character to Ordell in Jackie Brown, calling him "a nice guy to hang out with. You just don't want to cross him".

Gwyneth Paltrow and Maximiliano Hernández reprise their roles from previous films as Pepper Potts and Jasper Sitwell, respectively. Paul Bettany returns to voice Jarvis. Frequent Whedon collaborator Alexis Denisof portrays the Other, and Damion Poitier portrays his master, Thanos (unnamed in the film) in a post-credit scene. Powers Boothe and Jenny Agutter appear as members of the World Security Council. Avengers co-creator Stan Lee has a cameo appearance in a news report. Harry Dean Stanton cameos as a security guard, and Polish film director Jerzy Skolimowski appears as Georgi Luchkov, Romanoff's interrogator.

The Expendables

The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America. The film is about a group of elite mercenaries tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator whom they soon discover to be a mere puppet controlled by a ruthless ex-CIA officer. It pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the 1980s and early 1990s, and stars an array of action veterans from those decades, including Stallone, Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Gary Daniels, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Schwarzenegger in a cameo role), as well as more recent stars such as Randy Couture, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, and Steve Austin.

Plot

The Expendables, bikers and elite New Orleans based mercenaries, deploy to the Gulf of Aden to save hostages on a vessel from Somali pirates. The team consists of leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), former SAS soldier and blades specialist Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), martial artist Yin Yang (Jet Li), sniper Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) and demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture). Jensen instigates a firefight, causing casualties for the pirates. Jensen then tries to hang a pirate, but Yang physically stops him when Ross and the team discourage it. Ross then reluctantly discharges Jensen from the team due to his psychological problems and drug use. Later, Christmas is upset to discover his girlfriend Lacy (Charisma Carpenter) has left him for another man, because she did not see Christmas often or know his line of work. Ross and rival mercenary leader Trench Mauser (Arnold Schwarzenegger) visit a man called "Mr. Church" (Bruce Willis) for a mission, naming himself after their meeting venue. A busy Trench passes the contract to Ross, which is to overthrow dictator General Garza (David Zayas) in Vilena, a South American island in the Gulf of Mexico. Ross and Christmas fly to Vilena for initial undercover reconnaissance and meet their contact, Sandra (Gisele Itié), but are discovered. Ex-CIA officer James Munroe (Eric Roberts), with his henchmen Paine (Steve Austin) and The Brit (Gary Daniels), deride and keep Garza in power as a figurehead for their own profiteering operations, while Sandra is revealed to be Garza's daughter. Ross aborts and causes casualties among the army as they escape, but Sandra refuses to leave Vilena and let her people suffer. Meanwhile, a vengeful Jensen approaches Munroe to help and Garza is angered further when Sandra is captured by Munroe, who has her waterboarded for information. Lacy has been physically abused by her new man, so Christmas beats him and his friends, then takes her home, having revealed his work. Ross and the group discover that Mr. Church is a CIA operative and the real target is Munroe, as the CIA could not afford a mission to kill one of their own directly. Ross meets Expendables mission coordinator Tool (Mickey Rourke) to express his feelings. Tool makes an emotional confession about letting a woman commit suicide during the Bosnian War, instead of finding redemption by saving her. Ross is then motivated to go back for Sandra alone, but Yang accompanies him. Jensen and hired men pursue them on the road, ending in an abandoned warehouse, where Yang and Jensen fight a second time. Jensen attempts to impale Yang on a pipe, but Ross shoots him. A wounded Jensen makes amends and gives the layout of Garza's palace. Ross boards the plane with Yang and finds the rest of team, ready to aid him. The team infiltrate Garza's compound. Thinking Munroe hired the Expendables to kill him, Garza has his soldiers' faces painted, preparing them for a fight. Christmas, Yang, Caesar, and Toll plant explosives throughout the site but Ross, while saving Sandra, is captured by the Brit and Paine. The team save him and kill the Brit, but are pinned down by Garza's men as Paine wrestles Ross. Caesar fights back with his automatic shotgun so Paine escapes. Garza finally stands up to Munroe, ordering him out and returning his money. Instead, as Garza rallies his men against the Expendables and Munroe that he believes to be the same, Munroe kills him and takes off with Paine and Sandra. Garza's men open fire in rage against the team, who fight their way through, detonating the explosives, demolishing the palace and destroying the compound. Toll kills Paine by burning him alive while Ross and Caesar manage to destroy a helicopter before Munroe can escape. Ross and Christmas catch up to Munroe, killing him and saving Sandra. Later, Ross gifts the mission payment to Sandra to restore Vilena. The team travels back home and celebrate at Tool's tattoo parlor, with the recovering and reformed Jensen. Christmas and Tool have a game of knife throwing and Christmas recites a limerick about Tool, then throws a bullseye.

CAST

THE EXPENDABLES

Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross.
Jason Statham as Lee Christmas.
Jet Li as Yin Yang.
Dolph Lundgren as Gunnar Jensen.
Randy Couture as Toll Road.
Terry Crews as Hale Caesar.
Mickey Rourke as Tool.

OTHERS

Eric Roberts as James Munroe.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin as Dan Paine.
David Zayas as General Garza.
Giselle Itié as Sandra Garza.
Gary Daniels as The Brit.
Charisma Carpenter as Lacy.
Amin Joseph as Pirate Leader.
Senyo Amoaku as Tall Pirate.
Lauren Jones as Cheyenne.

Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger appear in uncredited cameos as Mr. Church and Trench, respectively, although Willis was credited on the poster. The film features Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira as Garza's bodyguard and Lateef Crowder Dos Santos in stunts.

Iron Man

Iron Man is a 2008 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is the first installment to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his personal assistant Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard plays military liaison James Rhodes, and Jeff Bridges plays Stark Industries executive Obadiah Stane. The film was in development since 1990 at Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and New Line Cinema, before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006. Marvel put the project in production as its first self-financed film, with Paramount Pictures as its distributor. Favreau signed on as director, aiming for a naturalistic feel, and he chose to shoot the film primarily in California, rejecting the East Coast setting of the comics to differentiate the film from numerous superhero films set in New York City-esque environments. During filming, the actors were free to create their own dialogue because pre-production was focused on the story and action. Rubber and metal versions of the armors, created by Stan Winston's company, were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character. Hasbro and Sega sold merchandise, and product placement deals were made with Audi, Burger King, LG and 7-Eleven. Reviews were very positive, particularly praising Downey's performance. The American Film Institute selected the film as one of the ten best of the year. Downey, Favreau, and Paltrow returned for the sequel Iron Man 2, released on May 7, 2010. Iron Man shares the same universe with other films that have been independently produced by Marvel Studios. Downey made a cameo appearance as Stark in The Incredible Hulk and starred as the character again in the 2012 crossover film The Avengers. Downey will reprise the role for a fifth time in another sequel, Iron Man 3, which is set for release on May 3, 2013.

Plot

Playboy and genius Tony Stark, who has inherited the defense contractor Stark Industries from his father, is in war-torn Afghanistan with his friend and military liaison, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to demonstrate the new "Jericho" missile. Stark is critically wounded in an ambush and imprisoned in a cave by the terrorist group the Ten Rings. An electromagnet grafted into Stark's chest by fellow captive Yinsen keeps the shrapnel that wounded him from reaching his heart and killing him. Ten Rings leader Raza offers Stark freedom in exchange for building a Jericho missile for the group, but Tony and Yinsen agree Raza will not keep his word. Stark and Yinsen secretly build a powerful electric generator called an arc reactor, to power Stark's electromagnet, and then begin to build a suit of armor to escape. The Ten Rings attack the workshop when they discover what Stark is doing. Yinsen sacrifices himself to divert them while Stark's suit powers up. The armored Stark battles his way out of the cave to find the dying Yinsen, then an enraged Stark burns the terrorist's munitions and flies away, only to crash in the desert, destroying the suit. After being rescued by Rhodes, Stark returns home and announces that his company will no longer manufacture weapons. Obadiah Stane, his father's old partner and the company's manager, advises Stark that this may ruin Stark Industries and his father's legacy. In his home workshop, Stark builds an improved version of his suit, as well as a more powerful arc reactor for his chest. At Stark first public appearance after his return, reporter Christine Everhart informs him that Stark Industries weapons, including the Jericho, were recently delivered to the Ten Rings and are being used to attack Yinsen's home village. Stark also learns that Stane is trying to replace him as head of the company. Enraged, Stark dons his new armor and flies to Afghanistan, where he saves Yinsen's village and delivers a devastating blow to the Ten Rings. While flying home, Stark is shot at by two F-22 Raptor fighter jets. He phones Rhodes and reveals his secret identity in an attempt to end the attack. Meanwhile, the Ten Rings gather the pieces of Stark's prototype suit and meet with Stane, who subdues Raza and has the rest of the group eliminated. He has a new suit reverse engineered from the wreckage. Seeking to find any other weapons delivered to the Ten Rings, Stark sends assistant Virginia "Pepper" Potts to hack into the company computer system from Stane's office. She discovers Stane has been supplying the terrorists and hired the Ten Rings to kill Stark, but the group reneged. Potts later meets with agent Phil Coulson of the "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division", a counter-terrorism agency, to inform him of Stane's activities. Stane's scientists cannot duplicate Stark's arc reactor, so Stane ambushes Stark at home, using a sonic device to paralyze him and take his arc reactor. Left to die, Stark manages to crawl to his lab and plug in his original reactor. Potts and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents attempt to arrest Stane, but he dons his suit and attacks them. Stark fights Stane, but is overmatched without his new reactor to run his suit at full capacity. Stark lures Stane atop the Stark Industries building and instructs Potts to overload the large arc reactor there. This unleashes a massive electrical surge that knocks Stane unconscious, causing him and his armor to fall into the exploding reactor, killing him. The next day, the press has dubbed the armored hero "Iron Man". Agent Coulson gives Stark a cover story to explain the events of the night and Stane's death. At a press conference, Stark begins giving the cover story, but then announces that he is Iron Man, prompting the reporters to ask more questions. In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury visits Stark at home, and, noting that Iron Man is not "the only superhero in the world", says he wants to discuss the "Avengers Initiative".

CAST

Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man.

An industrialist, genius inventor, and consummate playboy, he is CEO of Stark Industries, a chief weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military. The son of a Manhattan Project engineer, Howard Stark, he is an engineering prodigy, having built a circuit board at four years old and an engine at six, as well as graduating from MIT summa cum laude at the age of 17. He takes charge of Stark Industries at the age of 21 from Stane, who had been in control of the company since Howard's death. Favreau had planned to cast a newcomer in the role, but ultimately chose Downey (a fan of the comic) because he felt the actor's past made him an appropriate choice for the part. "The best and worst moments of Robert's life have been in the public eye," the director explained. "He had to find an inner balance to overcome obstacles that went far beyond his career. That's Tony Stark. Robert brings a depth that goes beyond a comic book character who is having trouble in high school, or can't get the girl." Favreau also felt Downey could make Stark a "likable asshole", but also depict an authentic emotional journey once he won over the audience. Downey had an office next to Favreau during pre-production, which allowed him greater involvement in the screenwriting process. He brought a deeper sense of humor to the film not present in previous drafts of the script. He explained, What I usually hate about these [superhero] movies [is] when suddenly the guy that you were digging turns into Dudley Do-Right, and then you're supposed to buy into all his 'Let's go do some good!' That Eliot Ness-in-a-cape-type thing. What was really important to me was to not have him change so much that he's unrecognizable. When someone used to be a schmuck and they're not anymore, hopefully they still have a sense of humor. To prepare, Downey spent five days a week weight training and practiced martial arts to get into shape, which he said benefited him because "it's hard not to have a personality meltdown [...] after about several hours in that suit. I'm calling up every therapeutic moment I can think of to just get through the day."

Terrence Howard as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes.

A friend of Stark's, and the liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Air Force in the department of acquisitions, specifically weapons development. Favreau cast Howard because he felt he could play War Machine in a sequel. Howard prepared for the role by visiting Nellis Air Force Base on March 16, 2007, where he ate with the pilots and observed HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and F-22 Raptors. While Rhodes is roguish in the comics after he met Stark, his earlier disciplinarian character forms a dynamic with Stark, and he is unsure whether or not Stark's actions are acceptable. "Rhodey is completely disgusted with the way Tony has lived his life, but at a certain point he realizes that perhaps there is a different way," Howard said. "Whose life is the right way; is it the strict military life, or the life of an independent?" Howard and his father are Iron Man fans, partly because Rhodes was one of the few black superheroes when he was a child. He was a Downey fan since he saw him in Weird Science, and they competed physically on set: "Robert and his competitive ass almost tore my shoulder trying to keep up with him. Because I'm 40 or 50 pounds heavier than him, so I'm in there lifting and I pushed up about 225 pounds [102 kg] and knocked it out 10 times. Robert wanted to go about 235 [106 kg], and he did it. So I'm going to push it up to about 245 [111 kg]. I took him out running and gave him some nice cramps. He couldn't walk after a couple of days."

Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane.

Stark's business second-in-command and eventual antagonist. Bridges read the comics as a boy and liked Favreau's modern, realistic approach. He shaved his head and grew a gray beard for the role, which was something he had wanted to do for some time. Bridges googled the Book of Obadiah, and he was surprised to learn retribution is a major theme in that particular book of the Bible, something which Stane represents. Many of Stane's scenes were cut out to focus more on Stark, but the writers felt Bridges's performance allowed the application of "less is more".

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts.

Stark's personal assistant and budding love interest. Paltrow asked Marvel to send her any comics that they would consider relevant to her understanding of the character, who she considered to be very smart, levelheaded, and grounded. She said she liked "the fact that there's a sexuality that's not blatant." Favreau wanted Potts' and Stark's relationship to be reminiscent of a 1940s comedy, something which Paltrow considered to be fun in a sexy, yet innocent way.

Shaun Toub as Yinsen.

Stark's fellow captive. In the comics, Yinsen is a Chinese physicist, but in the film, he comes from an Afghan village called Gulmira, which is one of the aspects of the modernization of the Iron Man mythos for the movie.

Faran Tahir as Raza.

The leader of the Ten Rings. Tahir is a fan of the comics, and wanted to bring humanity to the henchman. "I tried to find ways to show that although he may be the bad guy, there might be a moment or just a hint of vulnerability at times, where he hasn't made the right calculations or there's a certain amount of doubt. Jon was very receptive to that kind of layering."

Paul Bettany voices JARVIS.

Stark's personal Artificial Intelligence computer program, which assists him in the construction and programming of the Iron Man suit. The name of the character is a reference to the comic book character Edwin Jarvis, Stark's butler. In Peter David's novelization of the film, Jarvis is revealed as an acronym for "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System". Bettany did the part as a favor to Favreau (having worked with him on Wimbledon) and said he did not know what film he was recording the lines for during his two-hour recording session.

Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart.

reporter for Vanity Fair. She is a minor character in the comics, where she works as a reporter for The Daily Bugle and has investigated Tony Stark.

Clark Gregg appears as Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Samuel L. Jackson appears as the agency's head, Nick Fury, following the credits. Jackson's face was used, with his permission, as the model for that of the version of Nick Fury in Marvel's Ultimate Marvel imprint.Other cameos include Iron Man co-creator Stan Lee (whom Stark mistakes for Hugh Hefner at a party), and director Jon Favreau as Stark's bodyguard and chauffeur, Happy Hogan. Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello, who provides additional guitar music for the film, has a brief cameo as a terrorist guard. Jim Cramer, star of CNBC's Mad Money appears as himself, commenting on the investment opportunities ("Sell, sell, sell") of Stark Industries. Rapper Ghostface Killah had had a cameo in a scene where Stark briefly stays in Dubai while returning to Afghanistan, but it was cut from the theatrical release for pacing reasons. Frontline's Will Lyman provides the voiceover backstory of Stark in the film's opening award ceremony.

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, the second piece in a planned trilogy[6], and is the third film released as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke. Set six months after the events of Iron Man, Tony Stark has revealed his identity as Iron Man and is resisting calls by the United States government to hand over the technology. Ivan Vanko, meanwhile, has developed the same technology and built weapons of his own. Following the successful release of Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel Studios announced and immediately set to work on producing a sequel. In July of that same same year Theroux was hired to write the script, and Favreau was signed to return and direct. Downey and Paltrow were to reprise their roles from Iron Man, while Cheadle was brought in to replace Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes. In the early months of 2009, Rourke, Rockwell and Johansson filled out the supporting cast, and the film went into production that summer. Like its predecessor the film was shot mostly in California, except for a key sequence in Monaco. Iron Man 2 premiered in Los Angeles, California, on April 26, 2010, and was released in 54 countries between April 28 and 30 before going into general release in the United States on May 7, 2010.[7] The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $623.9 million at the worldwide box office. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on September 28, 2010. The third installment of the Iron Man trilogy, Iron Man 3, is set for release on May 3, 2013.

Plot

In Russia, the news covers Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark's (Robert Downey, Jr.) disclosure of his identity as Iron Man. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), whose father Anton Vanko (Yevgeni Lazarev) has just died, sees this and begins building an arc reactor similar to Stark's. Six months later, Stark has used his armor to help maintain world peace. He re-institutes the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows to continue his father Howard's legacy. Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) demands that Stark turn over the Iron Man technology to the government. Stark refuses, claiming that foreign nations and business competitors are decades away from recreating his work, and that it is his property. The palladium core in the arc reactor that keeps Stark alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he has failed to find a substitute. Growing increasingly despondent and reckless due to his impending death, and choosing not to tell anyone about his condition, Stark appoints his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) CEO of Stark Industries, and replaces her with Stark employee Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson). Vanko attacks Stark while racing at the Circuit de Monaco, using an arc reactor of his own powering whip-like energy weapons. Stark defeats Vanko with the aid of his portable briefcase armor, and learns that Vanko is the son of his father's old partner, Anton Vanko, who had collaborated with Howard on the first arc reactor. Anton was deported to his native Soviet Union following attempts to profit from the technology and died in poverty, explaining Vanko's desire for revenge on the Stark family. Rival defense contractor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) fakes Vanko's death and recruits him to perfect a line of armored suits to upstage Stark. At what he believes is his final birthday party, Stark gets drunk while using the Iron Man armor, forcing his friend, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), to intervene. Rhodes dons Stark's Mark II armor and battles Stark. The battle ends when the combatants both fire repulsor beams at each other, creating a huge explosion. After fighting with Stark, Rhodes delivers the armor to the military. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D., approaches Stark, revealing Rushman as undercover agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder whom Fury knew personally. Fury gives him some of his father's old material; a hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proves to be a diagram of the structure of a new element. With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Bettany), Stark synthesizes it. Vanko reveals to Stark that he is still alive and seeking revenge so Stark uses the untested element, ending his palladium dependency. At the Expo, Hammer unveils Vanko's armored drones, led by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor. Stark arrives in his new armor to warn Rhodes, but Vanko seizes control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor and attacks Iron Man. Hammer is arrested while Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Romanoff attempt to capture Vanko. He escapes, but Romanoff returns control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes. After defeating his drones Stark and Rhodes confront Vanko himself, now in a new and powerful suit of armor. Neither can match Vanko, but Vanko is ultimately defeated when they fire repulsor rays at each other, causing a large explosion. With his suit too damaged to continue the fight Vanko activates his suit's self-destruct mechanism, along with that of his drones, apparently killing himself in the process. Stark saves Potts from the exploding drones' remains. Potts quits as CEO, and she and Stark kiss. At a debriefing, while news footage of the Hulk's rampage plays, Fury informs Stark that while Iron Man is a suitable candidate for the "Avengers Initiative", he himself is not. Stark agrees to serve as a consultant if Senator Stern acts as presenter at a ceremony planned for awarding Stark and Rhodes with medals for bravery, which Stern reluctantly does. In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) reports the discovery of a large hammer at the bottom of a crater in a New Mexico desert.

CAST

Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man.

A billionaire who escaped captivity with a suit of armor he created, he now struggles to keep his technology out of the government's hands. Downey and Favreau, who had been handed a script and worked from it on the first movie, conceived of the film's story themselves. On Stark being a hero, Downey said "It’s kind of heroic, but really kind of on his own behalf. So I think there’s probably a bit of an imposter complex and no sooner has he said, ‘I am Iron Man -’ that he’s now really wondering what that means. If you have all this cushion like he does and the public is on your side and you have immense wealth and power, I think he’s way too insulated to be okay." Downey put on 20 pounds of muscle to reprise the role. Six-year-old Davin Ransom portrays Tony Stark as a child.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts.

Stark's closest friend, budding love interest, and business partner; Pepper is promoted to CEO of Stark Industries.On her character's promotion, Paltrow opined "When we start Iron Man 2 Pepper and Tony are very much in the same vibe... as the movie progresses, Pepper is given more responsibility and she's promoted and it's nice to see her sort of grow up in that way. I think it really suits her, the job fits her really well." Paltrow expressed excitement to work with Johansson.

Don Cheadle as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes.

An officer in the United States Air Force and Tony Stark's close personal friend. Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard from the first film. Cheadle only had a few hours to accept the role and did not even know what storyline Rhodes would undergo. He commented that he is a comic book fan, but had not previously participated in comics-themed films due to the scarcity of black superheroes.Cheadle said he thought Iron Man was a robot before the first film came out. On how he approached his character, Cheadle stated "I go, what’s the common dominator here? And the common denominator was really his friendship with Tony, and that’s what we really tried to track in this one. How is their friendship impacted once Tony comes out and owns 'I am Iron Man?'" Cheadle said his suit was 50 pounds of metal, and that he couldn't touch his face while wearing it.

Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanoff.

An undercover spy for S.H.I.E.L.D. posing as Stark's new assistant. Johansson dyed her hair red before she landed the part, hoping that it would help convince Favreau that she was right for the part. She stated that she had "a bit of a freak-out moment" when she first saw the cat-suit. When asked about fighting in the costume, Johansson responded "a big part of me is like “can I move in this? Can I run in it? Can I like throw myself over things with this?” And I think just the prep, you just have to put in the hours. That’s what I realized is that just putting in the hours and doing the training and repetition and basically just befriending the stunt team and spending all day, every day, just over and over and over and over until you sell it."

Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer.

A rival weapons manufacturer. Sam Rockwell was considered for the role of Tony Stark in the first film, and he accepted the role of Hammer without reading the script. He had never heard of the character before he was contacted about the part, and was unaware Hammer is an old Englishman in the comics., Rockwell said, "I worked with Jon Favreau on this film called Made. And Justin Theroux, who wrote the script, is an old friend of mine, they sort of cooked up this idea and pitched it to Kevin Feige. What they did, they were maybe going to do one villain like they did with Jeff Bridges, but then they decided to split the villains. And really Mickey Rourke is the main villain, but I come to his aid." Rockwell described his character as "plucky comic relief, but he's got a little bit of an edge"

Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko.

A Russian physicist and ex-convict who builds his own arc reactor-based weapon to exact vengeance on the Stark family. The character is an amalgam of classic Iron Man villains Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo. Rourke visited Butyrka prison to research the role, and he suggested half of the character's dialogue be in Russian. He also suggested the addition of tattoos, gold teeth and a fondness for a pet cockatoo, paying for the teeth and bird with his own money. Rourke explained that he didn't want to play a "one-dimensional bad guy", and wanted to challenge the audience to see something redeemable in him. Not knowing anything about computers, Rourke described pretending to be tech-savvy as the hardest part of the role.

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Jackson signed a nine-film contract to play the character. On the subject of his character not seeing any action in the film, Jackson said "We still haven't moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He's still just kind of a talker."

Jon Favreau reprises his role as Happy Hogan,Tony Stark's bodyguard and chauffeur, while Clark Gregg and Leslie Bibb reprise their roles as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson and reporter Christine Everhart, respectively. John Slattery appears as Tony's father Howard Stark and Garry Shandling appears as United States Senator Stern, who wants Stark to give Iron Man's armor to the government. Paul Bettany again voices Stark's computer, JARVIS. Olivia Munn has a small role as Chess Roberts, a reporter covering the Stark expo, and Stan Lee appears as himself (but is mistaken for Larry King). Additionally, news anchor Christiane Amanpour and political commentator Bill O'Reilly play themselves in newscasts. Adam Goldstein appears as himself and the film is dedicated to his memory. Further cameos include Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison.Tanoai Reed from American Gladiators appears as a security guard.

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