10 Awesome Opening Scenes In Otherwise Terrible Action Movies

9. Royce’s Fall - Predators

X Men Origins Wolverine Opening
20th Century Studios

Like with Indiana Jones, the Predator series has also experienced long periods of inactivity.

The creatures had been involved in the ill-fated Alien vs. Predator crossover series, but hadn't appeared in their own standalone movie since 1990. That was, until 2010's Predators came along.

A bunch of human soldiers wake up on an alien planet, where they are hunted for sport by the malicious extra-terrestrials. Think of it as the Hunger Games, only with more decapitation.

This Battle Royale-style premise could have made for an interesting movie, but sadly it didn't come together for Predators. The characters are one-dimensional and bland, and the same "against all odds" feeling from the first Predator movie just isn't there. Also, who thought casting Adrien Brody as an action hero was a good idea?

Speaking of Brody, he's the main focus of the excellent opening scene.

His character, Royce, wakes up to find himself in a freefall. As he gets closer to the ground, he frantically scrambles around for his parachute, deploying it just in time.

The scene only lasts about a minute or so, but it's got more excitement in it than the other 106 minutes of the entire movie.

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.