This weekend marks the premiere of Chris Pratt‘s new movie, Mercy, a sci-fi action thriller co-starring Rebecca Ferguson.
Pratt has made quite a name for himself as a leading man in Hollywood after breaking out in the sitcom Parks and Recreation and landing the lead role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
But even before Guardians, Pratt had been cultivating an eclectic career. Overall, his oeuvre includes Oscar dramas, comedy voice work and thrilling adventure flicks.
So, this week, Watch With Us has picked and ranked our five favorite Chris Pratt movies.
5. ‘Jurassic World’ (2015)
Over two decades after the failure of the original Jurassic Park in 1993, Jurassic World has since emerged as a successful theme park and luxury resort housing resurrected species of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. But in the midst of this success, the park’s owners want its scientists to think even bigger; generate even more success. When their new terrifying hybrid creature, the Indominus rex, uses its big brain to escape its enclosure, all hell breaks loose, and deja vu sets in for the doomed Jurassic World.
While the ensuing sequels have offered increasingly diminished returns, the first installment of the Jurassic World reboot series served as a fitting return to a classic franchise with top-notch dinosaur effects, thrilling adventure and a charismatic lead performance from Pratt as Velociraptor expert Owen Grady. The supporting cast includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio and Jake Johnson.
4. ‘The Lego Movie’ (2014)
Emmet (Pratt) is an ordinary Lego figurine, happy to live his ordinary existence as a construction worker in Bricksburg. However, one day he is mistakenly believed to be “the Special “: a being who holds the key to saving the world from an evil tyrant known as The Man Upstairs. Emmet is recruited by a woman named Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), the leader of a group of strangers whose mission it is to stop The Man Upstairs — but Emmet is hilariously underprepared for such a task.
The inventive, hilarious The Lego Movie is a delight for both kids and adults alike, with inventive animation direction courtesy of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who also wrote the screenplay together. The Lego Movie ends memorably, blending gorgeous animation with constant gags, terrific voice acting and a narrative that will surprise you with its emotion. The rest of the talented cast includes Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman and Will Ferrell.
3. ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (2012)
This multi-Oscar-nominated political action thriller dramatizes the international manhunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an effort which up the time and focus of two presidential administrations over the span of a decade. Led by dedicated (but fictional) CIA intelligence analyst Maya (Jessica Chastain), the United States Navy SEALs ultimately locate and kill bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.
Among a star-studded cast, Pratt portrays Justin Lenihan, a DEVGRU operator of the US Navy. In addition to Pratt, Zero Dark Thirty features performances from James Gandolfini, Jeremy Strong, Édgar Ramírez and Kyle Chandler. But its exceptional cast is just one part of what makes Zero Dark Thirty such a compelling movie. It is a superbly directed, highly detailed account that skewers the price of humanity paid for political retribution.
2. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (2015)
The second film in the Guardians of the Galaxy series follows the eponymous ragtag gang as they are attacked when Rocket (Bradley Cooper) steals batteries they were hired to guard. Saved by an anonymous source, their savior turns out to be Peter Quill’s (Pratt) long-lost alien father, Ego (Kurt Russell). Happy to finally connect with his biological father, Peter’s familial reunion is interrupted when the gang learns the sinister truth behind Peter’s own conception.
Underneath the galactic action, big-budget special effects and smarmy humor of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a genuinely moving and well-written character drama about family and finding oneself. That’s what makes Vol. 2 the best of the Guardians films, and one of the best MCU films overall. Its emotionally resonant script and excellent character development allow it to flourish on its own rather than yet another sequel in the MCU’s extended universe garbage, and Pratt, Russell, Zoe Saldaña and Karen Gillan gives surprsingly multi-layered performances.
1. ‘Moneyball’ (2011)
In the early 2000s, the Oakland Athletics baseball team struggles to remain competitive against other teams, due to a tightened budget and owners unwilling to take any risks. General manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) has to do something to turn his team around with only a fraction of the spending budget of his rivals. So, he turns to an unlikely source: undervalued, overlooked talent analyzed through a process known as sabermetrics. To do this, Beane teams up with Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), an economics graduate from Yale, and together they scout players in a way that triggers ire and skepticism from the old guard, but may lead the Oakland A’s to victory.
The true story of Beane’s time managing for the Oakland Athletics is told in this absorbing sports bio-drama carried by a whip-smart script co-written by Aaron Sorkin. If you thought statistics and baseball sound like a boring premise for a movie, Moneyball is here to prove you wrong. Featuring a perfectly-cast Pratt — still green in his career — as drafted player Scott Hatteberg, Moneyball is overall a performance tour de force from top to bottom; a true underdog story that indulges clichés with intelligence, maturity and humor.
