But nothing was ever going to beat the bank heist sequence from The Dark Knight, an unapologetic homage to the brilliant heist from Michael Mann's Heat. Here, a number of men in clown masks rob a bank in Gotham owned by the mob, with a comment made that The Joker himself, despite orchestrating the heist, has decided not to participate himself, which doesn't sit well with the robbers. As the robbery begins, the robbers all start killing each other to take a bigger share of the pie, before the manager of the bank (played superbly by William Fichtner) brandishes a shotgun and takes the guys on, explaining that stealing from a mob bank isn't so smart. They wound the bank manager, and at this point, there are 3 robbers left: one is hit by the school bus that crashes into the bank to steal the money, and then one clown shoots the other in the face once the cash is loaded up. The wounded manager then pipes up, challenging the final robber, who removes his mask, revealing himself to be The Joker, uttering the immortal phrase, "Whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you...stranger." The scene ends on a riveting note as The Joker leaves a grenade in the manager's mouth, attached to the back door of the school bus, pulling the pin as he drives away. Of course, it turns out to be a gas grenade, and The Joker's school bus effortlessly blends into the group of school buses conveniently turning the corner at that exact second. Yes, it's ridiculous and a little contrived in all, but it's superbly constructed and helped elevate the comic book movie to new heights entirely. What more could you possibly want from an opening scene in any movie, let alone just a comic book flick? Are there any great opening scenes we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
