Movies are full of stunning shots. Excellent, mind-bending, description defying, epic shots. A single gorgeous shot can elevate otherwise flawed filmmaking into the realms of at least memorability, if not outright legend. I won't claim to have seen every great shot in the history of cinema, but I have seen many of them, and I've compiled a short list of five of my favorites. From guns and cannons to bows and...
Oh, wait, did you think I was talking about, like, framed camera shots? Weirdo. Why on Earth would you think that?
But weirdly one of my favorites is, in point of fact, from a movie that let me down so hard I still haven't forgiven it going on fifteen years later; The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. At the beginning of this movie, right after beating up a bar full of armor-plated machine-gun-armed Germans (and punching a rhino horn through a steel plate that had deflected multiple bullets just seconds before?), Sean Connery's old, crotchety, disinterested Sean Conn... I mean Alan Quartermaine steps outside and sights down the barrel of a decidedly unsophisticated rifle when compared to all the snipers I mentioned earlier. Annoying British Man #3 standing next to him whines about how it's too far, and Quartermaine lowers his rifle in what seems to be agreement. And then this happens.
Sure, with a modern scoped rifle this shot would probably be cake. But there's something about the way the movie builds toward that moment, and then the way Connery sells it, that is incredibly satisfying. Absolutely everything after this point in the movie is insanely downhill.
But which Robin Hood shot really is the best? We could go for Hollywood's best efforts at realism in the final shot from 2010's Robin Hood, the BBC's best efforts at excitement in Robin's final shot from the third season of 2006's Robin Hood, or Disney's physics-defying arrow redirection in 1958's... Robin Hood. Seriously? We can't come up with a different name for even one of these? What do you mean they're making another movie titled Robin Hood??
But no, in the interest of rewarding an attempt at retitling this garbage myth, we're going to take a shot from 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. We could go for the blind hand shot, the arrow split, or the snapped hangman's noose, but for my money this shot, which comes with no fanfare during the final conflict of the movie, is the... money shot.
Is that shot possible? No idea. Why did he rip the fletching off those arrows before shooting? Also no idea. But did he just make that look like a perfectly reasonable thing a human could do with a bow? Heck yes.
But let's be honest, this spot was never going to be going to anything that didn't have the words Star Trek in the title as long as I was writing the list. And while there's serious temptation to go with the blind torpedo up Khan's butt from The Wrath of Khan or the "to be, or not to be" torpedo from The Undiscovered Country, I'm actually going to give this to Deanna freaking Troy from Star Trek: Nemesis. Using her previously established psychic connection with Shinzon's 2nd to her benefit this time, Deanna managed to home the Enterprise in on the Scimitar, with this spectacular moment as the result.
To be perfectly clear, the Scimitar was completely undetectable by the Enterprise until this moment when Deanna Troy gives them just enough of an edge to level the playing field. Is this Deanna Troy's defining moment, where she finally proved her worth on this crew? Yes. Was this the last time we saw this crew? ...also yes.
Actually, for my pick I want to go all the way back to the origin of gunpowder artillery, ancient China. Specifically, I'm talking about Disney's Mulan, which was probably not where you thought I was going with this, was it? But seriously, when faced with the onslaught of an entire Hun army, Mulan is given this one opportunity to shoot their general in the face with an explosive rocket. But recognizing that would still leave an entire army of Huns ready to plough through the center of the empire, she elects the more... strategic approach.
Eddie Murphy plays the moment for laughs, but make no mistake. That shot was genius and skill wrapped up in a sheet of cinematic gold.
And while the long-range finale shot from the remake of True Grit was certainly a contender for this spot, I'm going to have to fall back on what I love with Silverado. Along with re-birthing the spirit of the classic westerns and also having the beautiful audacity to cast John Cleese as a sheriff in the old west, Silverado gives us this beautiful moment when a bestockinged Jake gets to exact revenge on the two thugs who beat him up earlier in the movie, all while showing off his ability with that dual rig he's been wearing the whole time.
Huh. Just realized that Kevin Costner is on this list twice. That's uh... that's weird.
I mean... right?
Oh, wait, did you think I was talking about, like, framed camera shots? Weirdo. Why on Earth would you think that?
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
No list of excellent shots would be complete without the bad-a marksman who makes a long shot look as easy as crapping your pants (it's a perfectly fine analogy, fight me). Most of those shots are made by bespoke snipers, and there are a wealth of them. From the showdown at the end of Shooter to the bell tower shootout from Saving Private Ryan, from the aptly named American Sniper to the entirety of Enemy at the Gates (which has a sequence of five shots within a two minute stretch that could almost make up this list all on their own), there is no shortage of amazing long-range skill to be found in Hollywood.But weirdly one of my favorites is, in point of fact, from a movie that let me down so hard I still haven't forgiven it going on fifteen years later; The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. At the beginning of this movie, right after beating up a bar full of armor-plated machine-gun-armed Germans (and punching a rhino horn through a steel plate that had deflected multiple bullets just seconds before?), Sean Connery's old, crotchety, disinterested Sean Conn... I mean Alan Quartermaine steps outside and sights down the barrel of a decidedly unsophisticated rifle when compared to all the snipers I mentioned earlier. Annoying British Man #3 standing next to him whines about how it's too far, and Quartermaine lowers his rifle in what seems to be agreement. And then this happens.
Sure, with a modern scoped rifle this shot would probably be cake. But there's something about the way the movie builds toward that moment, and then the way Connery sells it, that is incredibly satisfying. Absolutely everything after this point in the movie is insanely downhill.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
No list of amazing shots would be complete without an archer. We could talk about Legolas and his arrows seemingly guided by the finger of God (otherwise known as Peter Jackson in that universe), we could mention Oliver Queen from the CW's Arrow, the Hungry Mockingjay on Fire Katniss Everdeen, or the world's most underrated Avenger (fight me), Hawkeye. They all have made some amazing, high-profile shots, but I don't think you can really look any further for this entry than the Hollywood archery hall-of-fame founder, Sir Robin of Loxley.But which Robin Hood shot really is the best? We could go for Hollywood's best efforts at realism in the final shot from 2010's Robin Hood, the BBC's best efforts at excitement in Robin's final shot from the third season of 2006's Robin Hood, or Disney's physics-defying arrow redirection in 1958's... Robin Hood. Seriously? We can't come up with a different name for even one of these? What do you mean they're making another movie titled Robin Hood??
But no, in the interest of rewarding an attempt at retitling this garbage myth, we're going to take a shot from 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. We could go for the blind hand shot, the arrow split, or the snapped hangman's noose, but for my money this shot, which comes with no fanfare during the final conflict of the movie, is the... money shot.
Is that shot possible? No idea. Why did he rip the fletching off those arrows before shooting? Also no idea. But did he just make that look like a perfectly reasonable thing a human could do with a bow? Heck yes.
Star Trek: Nemesis
Sci-fi isn't as prone to amazing gun fights as some other genres, but that doesn't mean there aren't some pretty astounding shots. From Han Solo shooting first to Mal Reynolds shooting first to, like, a bunch of the movie Aliens, sci-fi can get down and personal just the same as any western. But if you turn your eye to the sky you'll see the place where sci-fi can bring something new to the party; ship-to-ship firefights. And in terms of single shots there are a lot more options than you might think. The Death Star blasting Alderaan to bits, Luke's last proton torpedoes slipping into that exhaust vent, Admiral Holdo using a battleship as a projectile... and some that aren't even from Star Wars.But let's be honest, this spot was never going to be going to anything that didn't have the words Star Trek in the title as long as I was writing the list. And while there's serious temptation to go with the blind torpedo up Khan's butt from The Wrath of Khan or the "to be, or not to be" torpedo from The Undiscovered Country, I'm actually going to give this to Deanna freaking Troy from Star Trek: Nemesis. Using her previously established psychic connection with Shinzon's 2nd to her benefit this time, Deanna managed to home the Enterprise in on the Scimitar, with this spectacular moment as the result.
To be perfectly clear, the Scimitar was completely undetectable by the Enterprise until this moment when Deanna Troy gives them just enough of an edge to level the playing field. Is this Deanna Troy's defining moment, where she finally proved her worth on this crew? Yes. Was this the last time we saw this crew? ...also yes.
Mulan
But guns and bows aren't the only things launching projectiles on the big screens. What about the literal big guns? Cannons, artillery, siege weapons, and the like. Well, sure, there's plenty of those. Is there an individual shot from Pirates of the Caribbean or Master and Commander that really shines? No, but there are a couple of broadsides that do. Or maybe we want to look a bit further forward, like the cannon that shoots Wolverine in the chest at the beginning of X-Men Origins: Wolverine or the artillery at play in dozens of war movies?Actually, for my pick I want to go all the way back to the origin of gunpowder artillery, ancient China. Specifically, I'm talking about Disney's Mulan, which was probably not where you thought I was going with this, was it? But seriously, when faced with the onslaught of an entire Hun army, Mulan is given this one opportunity to shoot their general in the face with an explosive rocket. But recognizing that would still leave an entire army of Huns ready to plough through the center of the empire, she elects the more... strategic approach.
Eddie Murphy plays the moment for laughs, but make no mistake. That shot was genius and skill wrapped up in a sheet of cinematic gold.
Silverado
Yes, yes, I hear you now, "We're at number five and you haven't even mentioned westerns!" Well, that's not entirely fair, considering I did mention them in passing up when I was talking about sci-fi. But never fear, no list of amazing shots in cinema would be complete without a western, and in particular the beauty that is the showdown. The genre is absolutely lousy with candidates for this spot, considering basically every western has a showdown in it, and while it's hard to argue with classics like The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, or more modern takes like Tombstone, I prefer the display of marksmanship over simply the art of the quick-draw.And while the long-range finale shot from the remake of True Grit was certainly a contender for this spot, I'm going to have to fall back on what I love with Silverado. Along with re-birthing the spirit of the classic westerns and also having the beautiful audacity to cast John Cleese as a sheriff in the old west, Silverado gives us this beautiful moment when a bestockinged Jake gets to exact revenge on the two thugs who beat him up earlier in the movie, all while showing off his ability with that dual rig he's been wearing the whole time.
Huh. Just realized that Kevin Costner is on this list twice. That's uh... that's weird.
The Dark Tower
Bonus round! Not because I feel like I'm failing to represent a genre here (is this... fantasy? A western? Sci-fi? I'm confused), but mostly because I feel like any list talking about the greatest shots in cinema that doesn't at least mention Idris Elba's shot from the heart (pun absolutely intended) in The Dark Tower is just... failing. You all saw this in the trailers, but here, to refresh your memory.I mean... right?
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