Biography
Hawkeye is a 2009 American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the third installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film stars Jeremy Renner, Samuel Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, Emily VanCamp, Linda Cardellini, Josh Duhamel, Kevin Spacey, Frank Grillo and Paul Walker. In the film, Clint Barton, codename Hawkeye, along with SHIELD, recruit a team to help them steal $100 million from a corrupt businessman while being pursued for death by Masked Terrorist Brock Rumlow and Bounty Hunter Taskmaster.
While developing Hawkeye, Marvel Studios deliberately departed from the superhero 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. Hawkeye is considered the transitional film in the series, featuring only one car race and giving more attention to action set pieces such as brawls, gun fights, and the central heist. The production mounted a comprehensive marketing campaign, with the film being advertised through social media, virtual games, cinema chains, automobile manufacturers, and at NASCAR races.
Jeremy Renner, along with Linda Cardellini were confirmed for the film along with Samuel Jackson, Cobie Smulders and Clark Gregg, who returns to play their roles of Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Phil Coulson. Paul Walker was confirmed in February 2010, and principal photography began that July and lasted until that October, with filming locations including Atlanta, Puerto Rico, and Rio de Janeiro. Brian Tyler, the composer of the previous two installments, returned to compose the score. The film is notable for primarily featuring practical stuntwork as opposed to computer-generated placements seen in other entries in the franchise.
Hawkeye premiered at the Cinépolis Lagoon in Rio de Janeiro on April 15, 2009, and was theatrically released worldwide on April 29, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews, with praise for Lin's direction, the action sequences, and the performances of Renner, Cardellini, Jackson, Smulders, Gregg, VanCamp and Walker. Hawkeye grossed $626 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2009, the then-highest-grossing film in the franchise, and set records related to Marvel's highest-grossing opening weekend in several international markets. A sequel, Hawkeye 2, was released in the United States on May 24, 2013.