My 12 Favorite Movie Scenes of All Time

Before we get started, it should be noted this is clearly not a ranking of the best movie scenes of all time. I wouldn't even attempt to address something as vast as every scene in the entire universe of motion picture--something I having a casual, passing knowledge of but an enthusiastic interest in. If it wasn't clear enough from the title, these are my favorite movie scenes I've ever seen: perhaps the most memorable I've seen, perhaps the funniest, or perhaps the most entertaining or touching or inspirational.  

Looking back after making the list, I noticed I seem to have an affinity for long, stylistic takes and good usage of music, especially good music intros, and, of course, Robin Williams as an actor. Just a heads up for y'all at home. But also, many of these scenes, especially the music intro scenes, were moments when watching the movie for the first time where I thought, "Well alright, this is going to be a good movie." So here you go:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 -- Yondu Arrow Killing Scene

As a character, Yondu is pretty complex and interesting; I was really excited when he got his own character arc in Guardians 2. Before this scene in the movie, he hits a low point in pretty much every way possible. But this is the moment where everything finally starts to change for him as a result of him getting his fin back. 

Marvel used this moment to show what an engaging miscreant Yondu is in all of his unrelenting, casual vengeance, while he executes dozens (hundreds?) of crew members who had a part in doing him wrong.  Not only does this scene show off Yondu's character as a ruthless ravager, but it does so while taking full advantage of slow-mo shots and general badassery as the bodies of his enemies fall all around him--all while a somehow fitting and ironically upbeat 1960's song blares throughout the spaceship. Man, if there's one trope in this movie I never got sick of, it's the use of music that the characters actually hear in the movie the same as we're hearing it in the theater, which magnifies the effect that we're actually experiencing something with the characters rather than just watching a movie with a good soundtrack.  

This scene is just incredibly well shot. The dozens of detailed and emotive slow motion deaths and the shower of bodies falling all around from the rafters is grisly, yet satisfying on behalf of Yondu and his vengeance. Of course, Yondu goes on to have two other incredible moments later in the film: the self sacrifice/Mary Poppins bit, and a touching space funeral scene that I almost also included in this list.

2. Good Will Hunting -- "You're just a kid"

For a man with one of the most prolific, renowned, and cherished acting careers of all time, Robin Williams's park bench scene might be his best scene of all time. At the very least, this scene is my favorite scene Robin Williams ever did. In an incredibly long one-shot monologue, his character, Sean Maguire, finally rips Will, the arrogant genius main character, a new one and calls him out on all his issues.

Armed with just the writing and Robin's performance, this scene kept me emotionally invested in his character's point for five straight minutes. In one long take, his character not only provides a deep conflict resolution opportunity for the two characters, but also reminds us that we as people are meant to experience life more than we are to be just being accumulators of knowledge. He stimulates our minds into exploring what the purposes of our own lives are, while sharing the purpose his own character has found as he symbolically opens up about his own tragic past to Matt Damon's closed off character. He makes us wish to be better as people and to be more open to others by addressing the problems of living a guarded life. And he does all this in one sitting, one take, and with no distractions from his performance. What a perfect scene.

Above all, though, my favorite point he makes is that our fellow people are by far more interesting, more important, and more worth caring about than anything else in the world. Nearly anything else, we can "read in some f***ing book." I've said it before, but I strongly believe it: our interactions with our fellow people are the most important things in this world. Maybe I subconsciously got that idea from this movie.

3. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World -- Amp vs Amp

In all honesty, my favorite scene from Scott Pilgrim is probably the opening credits scene where we get our first taste of Sex Bob-Omb and the stunning yet meaningful visual effects in this film. But for the sake of diversity and not wanting to put 10 different music intro scenes on this list, I went with a more visually important and entertaining fight scene later in the movie in which Sex Bob-Omb battles against the Katayanagi twins. You know, the scene where Edgar Wright literally redifines the meaning of the phrase "Battle of the Bands" in an amp vs amp showdown?  

In this scene, we finally see some development and determination from Scott as a character in his determination to date Ramona as he slams angrily on his bass guitar with new purpose. As a result, we get to watch a huge grunge rock behemoth metaphorically (right?) take on a pair of electric keyboard dragons. Without the perfectly fitting grunge music, or the comic book-like effects, or the monsters battling, or even simply the constant wind effects on the band members' faces, this scene would feel incomplete. Instead, it all comes together beautifully in what I consider by far the best of the 6 evil ex boss battles in this movie.

4. Superbad -- Intro/Opening Credits

My love for this scene is a lot less profound than many of the others on this list. I just love it because it's vibin'. What an excellent way to kick off a movie and tell the audience via a creative intro, "Yo, you're gonna love this movie." Although Superbad isn't one of my favorite movies of all time or anything, I do recall that for the first 45 minutes or so the first time I watched it, I was convinced it just might be a perfect movie until it kinda lost me in the second half. 

5. Big Fish -- "The story of my life"

Okay, I hate most Tim Burton films, but I ADORE Big Fish. Something really sets it apart from his other work. For me, it might simply be the fact that I am generally enthralled by simply listening to stories, and this movie is made up entirely of stories. Or it might be the optimistic, surreal, fantastical, enamoring, alluring love story Tim managed to put together with Ewan McGregor as his lead. Who knows?

This movie can be hard to interpret as it's layered with a lot of symbolism in the flashback storytelling. But one of my favorite ideas from the end of the movie is the dual theme of forgiveness and being there for your loved ones. The old man (Edward) wasn't there for his son (Will) the way he should have been. But as his father is on his death bed, Will forgives his him for all of his shortcomings and ultimately decides to be there in his time of need--not just physically, but emotionally, and in such an important way. In this scene, Will finally accepts his father for who he is after struggling with it all movie, and in doing so he provides his father with the words he needs to hear on his death bed. This scene tells us that forgiveness and kindness towards people who need it is far more important than past wrongdoings or any grudge we might hold against others. Combine that with a fanfare reprise of dozens of fantastic characters in a scene that blurs your vision on what in this movie is reality and what is fiction, and you've got something special.

6. Kingsmen -- Church Fight scene*

*Content warning: inappropriate slurs and incredibly graphic violence

A big part of how much I enjoy movies has to do with the expectation I have/have created going in. When I was going to see Kingsmen for the first time on the big screen, literally all I knew about it was that it was "a British spy movie" and that "it wasn't bad." Although all that is basically true, it turns out that Kingsmen is also so much more than that--as you can see from the clip above.  

What an absolute massacre. Although violence usually makes me uncomfortable and excessive gore makes me a little squeamish, I was absolutely floored--in a great way--while watching this violence unfold. Watching an impressively long take of Collin Firth absolutely decimating an entire church full of people in an all-out brawl on a huge screen while legendary rock "Freebird" solos blare in surround sound is not a feeling I'll soon forget. And that's all I have to say about that.

7. Baby Driver -- Coffee Run/Opening Credits

Another overly long take (160 seconds) with an incredible usage of great music selection that's played within the movie--and another Edgar Wright scene. So what else is new?

What I loved most about this scene is simply how much Ansel Elgort was just feeling the same music we were while watching in the theater. Watching Baby prance around the streets of Atlanta, lost in his own world, interacting with but not caring about the world around him--well, I feel like that while jamming to music just all too often. With a lot of the lyrics plastered on walls and trees and lamp posts, and movements and sound effects syncing up to the music? It's almost cheesy, but to me it feels way too fun and relatable for me to anything but love this scene. Not to mention, every time I watch it, I find something new that I like about it that I had missed previously; it's just kinda magic that way.

8. La La Land -- Griffith Observatory Scene

It's pure bliss; it's pure fiction; it's pure impossibility. It's overly romantic and idealistic. It's completely beautiful.

This scene is basically our first real chance to fall in love with the music from La La Land and with Mia and Sebastian as a couple. Although the love story is cute and nice, I've always more liked what this movie says about potential and dream chasing. I know plenty of people who hate it for what I like about it, but I left the debate as to whether it's a good movie back in 2016 when I decided I personally really enjoy it. Here at the iconic Griffith Observatory, the stars and musical motifs (yes, I know this is a musical, but it's also about jazz) hit their stride and show off in a stunning, dance-among-the-stars fantasy and it speaks to my soul.

9. A Knight's Tale -- Chaucer's Introduction

I once memorized this monologue for a party back in my Jr. High days because I liked it so much, and I am generally not good at memorizing things. I think that'll suffice.

10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- Opening Monologue

It's hard to remember that when we all watched this scene for the first time, we didn't have any idea who Ferris Bueller was as a character or that he's actually faking being sick to get out of school--until he sits up and iconically drops the line: "They bought it." Two minutes in and things are already starting to shape up into a great movie--starting with a character establishing monologue while Ferris casually goes about his day getting ready for his day off and describing his systematic method of faking sick, all while dropping quotable nuggets of wisdom along the way. He also does a bang up job of casually reminding us of what it's like to live life as a teenager without responsibility and with a desire to stick it to the man at every turn--not to mention the narrow scope of teenage self-importance. All this in just under about 160 seconds.

11. Nacho Libre -- Nacho fights Ramses

I watched Nacho Libre for the first time as an adult the other day and I was floored by how I missed the meaning of this scene as a teenager.

To be fair, I don't actually care much about this scene or the fight until the moment Ramses has his foot on Nacho's neck (2:27 in the video) and Sister Encarnación walks in with the orphans to finally support him in living his dream. The next two minutes is where the entire plot of the movie actually ends up mattering and the film ceases to just be about a guy working to live out his dream as a luchador. This moment is where the movie really becomes about finding strength in doing things for others and the importance of helping others in need. See, his whole career, Nacho has a strong desire to wrestle, but he is such a stinky warrior. But once he decides that he'll wrestle for the kids, and not for the fancy lotions and fame for himself, his magical eagle powers activate and he's somehow able to beat the best wrestler in the region (or maybe the whole world???). And, of course, it's not to be forgotten that the sister finally supports him in his cause and brings the orphans along to the wrestling match.

Yeah, of course the idea is corny as heck and the concept isn't new or profound, but with these real and characters that you inevitably grow attached to throughout the course of the film--and the lovable man that is Jack Black as a Mexican wrestler--I absolutely adore this scene. Add in the concept of the greater powers of fate and/or God allowing all these things to happen the way they do for the bettering of the world and the lives of poor Mexican orphans, and you've got a potentially happy tear-jerking end to a fun movie.

12. Dead Poet's Society -- "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute"

Both as a mathematician and as a teacher, I value this scene now more than ever. But the first time I saw it was in my 11th grade English class as I was in the process of considering what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. What is the purpose of life? How should I spend my time here on earth? Why am I even stuck here at school for 8 hours a day anyways? I didn't have the real answers to these questions, but I did find this scene stimulating potential answers and forming ideas in my brain while the film offered me a sobering and inspiring perspective on the matters at hand.

It's easy to say that this movie is just about an unrealistic, eccentric teacher with some generic, overly idealistic methods, armed with trite phrases. But don't forget, likely the reason "carpe diem" is a household phrase might very well be because of Dead Poet's Society's Academy Award winning screenplay and Robin Williams's inspiring role in bringing it to life.