10 Movies That Peaked In Their Opening Scene

10. X2: X-Men United

The Movie

Make no mistake, X2 is a great movie in its own right, doing what every great superhero sequel must - upping the scale yet never at the expense of its characters or a compelling story.

Though the genre has changed so much in the 15+ years since X2's release, it remains a high-point for the genre, back when so few comic book movies dared to take themselves truly seriously - and actually get away with it.

The Opening Scene

The film hits an immediate high in its first five minutes, as Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) breaches the Oval Office and attempts to assassinate the President of the United States.

The blue-skinned mutant uses his teleportation abilities to dismantle the POTUS' security detail in effortless fashion, but before he can stab the President, he's struck by a bullet and takes his exit.

Given how heavily the sequence relies on visual effects, it's shocking how well it's aged - a testament to Bryan Singer's kinetic direction (and inspired use of Mozart's Dies Irae never hurt anybody).

Though the rest of the film never sinks below being very good, it also never reaches this level of surging momentum ever again.