Diksha Sundriyal
Chris Pratt has seen a lot of ups and downs in his career. While he has become a household name now, after starring in two of the biggest blockbuster franchises, his life can be moderately put into ‘rags to riches’ story. The future seems bright for him as he has a plethora of movies lined up for a couple of years. All of those films are sure shots that will add more numbers to his bank account. For a long time, he worked mainly as a supporting actor, and in most of the good films that he appeared in, people don’t really remember his performance. From wrestling in school to working as a daytime stripper, from being homeless in Hawaii to cashing multi-million cheques, Pratt has come a very long way. Here is a look at the list of top 9 movies and TV shows of Chris Pratt:
9. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Alright, I don’t think you remember him in this film. In fact, it is difficult to remember anyone other than Jessica Chastain in this film. In our defense, the film did belong to her! Why I included it as one of Pratt’s best is because ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ was a big stepping stone in his career. Early in his career, he was typecast as a comedy actor and, to tell the truth, some of his best work is in the comedy genre, indeed. With this film, he took a step to break of that shell, with respect to both his talent and his physique.
8. Everwood (2002-2006)
In his first major role, Pratt played the role of Bright Abbott, who is haunted by the accident that landed his best friend in a coma. While the show failed to garner wider critical acclaim and lacked a sufficient audience, its failure became a stepping stone in Pratt’s successful career. He was one of the best things about an otherwise average show, and while it was criticized for a lot of things, Pratt wasn’t the one who contributed to it.
7. The Magnificent Seven (2016)
This movie wasn’t as magnificent as it was supposed to be, but that is due to its unoriginal story and predictable scenario. When a ruthless gang terrorizes the town of Rose Creek, its residents ask a warrant officer, Sam Chisolm, to rid them of it. Chisolm puts together a team that apprehends all the people involved with the gang and brings them to justice. If it wasn’t for the fine acting from its lead actors and some good action sequences, this film would have been a total disaster. Pratt played the role of Josh Faraday, a light-hearted heavy gambler who is one of the seven in Chisolm’s team.
6. Moneyball (2011)
With the success of ‘Parks and Recreation,’ Pratt gained a lot of exposure. But, this also acted as the thing that barred him from serious, better roles. ‘Moneyball’ helped him change that image. In this film, he portrayed the role of Scott Hatteberg. Taking a break from his generally comedic, immature, man-child characters, he played the role of a sportsman who struggles to continue the career that seems to be quickly slipping away from him. Pratt was initially let go of Hatteberg’s role because he was considered too fat to portray a sportsperson. So, he lost a lot of weight to please the casting team. Like Hatteberg was at a crossroads with trying a new and different position in the game of baseball, Pratt too underwent a metamorphosis as he tested new territories of his acting skills.
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5. Passengers (2016)
It may not have been the best movie of the year, but ‘Passengers’ was another case where Pratt tried to diversify his filmography. Human passengers are in hibernation in a spaceship that is headed towards another planet. A malfunction causes one of the hibernation pods to open up a lot earlier than it was supposed to. For a year, the man from the pod lives on the ship while other passengers hibernate. But he can’t bear the loneliness for too long, and he intentionally opens up a pod in which there is a girl he has grown to like. ‘Passengers’ was a different take on the space-stories, and it was highly dependent on the acting and the chemistry of his lead characters. Pratt’s portrayal of Jim Preston might not have been award-worthy, but it was justified with his charming acting and a deep insight into Preston’s psychology.
4. The Lego Movie (2014)
Voicing an animated character hasn’t really worked wonders for anyone. But Chris Pratt is a different kind, in this regard. He voiced the character of Emmett Brickowski, a regular construction worker with nothing special about him. Pratt’s innate humor and quirky dialogue delivery provided an everyman appeal to Emmett’s character. While the movie was funny, what made it so lovable was the unexpected and relatable message that it delivered. The movie received critical acclaim and is well on its way to becoming another successful franchise in Pratt’s pocket.
3. Jurassic World (2015)
A revival of the beloved ‘Jurassic Park’ series, this film had a genetically modified dinosaur running wild over an island converted into a theme park. Chris Pratt played the role of Owen Grady, a Navy veteran who now trains raptors in Jurassic World. ‘Jurassic Park’ had created a whole new world with its groundbreaking techniques of movie-making and an originality that turned it into a classic. To live up to that legacy was a humungous task, and ‘Jurassic World’ did a good job at that. It took about a decade of production hell for the film to become substantial. While it would have seemed bitter then, to the creators, it actually worked for the better and breathed life into a franchise.
2. Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)
As ‘Parks and Recreation’ created a niche for itself, bit by bit, season by season; Chris Pratt began carving out a place for himself in Hollywood. If he is here to stay, then it is because of the foundation created due to this show. A fresh take on politics and a comedy that created new standards saw Pratt playing the role of Andy Dwyer, who falls into an abandoned construction pit and kick-starts the events in the series. Dwyer’s role was supposed to be temporary and would have soon exited the show. But Pratt won over the producers with his performance and his incredible comic timing. They decided to keep him for the rest of the show and he was promoted to a series regular.
1. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
The marvel of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is something that cannot be denied by anyone. Recently completing its ten-year anniversary, the patience required (something that DC Universe lacks!) to create one of the most successful movie franchises in the world is unfathomable. With ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, MCU had a very difficult task at hand. To create a movie based on relatively unknown characters, taking a completely different turn from the other movies in line, and to find a way to be able to bring it all together in the end; it could have been a massive failure. But right casting, and it all worked like magic.
Chris Pratt owned the character of Peter Quill, and fans got the ‘Star Lord’ that they truly deserved. It was a huge gamble for the MCU, but a bunch of misfits and Groot worked wonders. One of the reasons for our enthusiasm for the upcoming ‘Avengers: Infinity Wars’ is because we’ll finally get to see the Guardians joining the team. And if that isn’t the display of love for the characters, then what is?
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