20 Opening Movie Scenes That Are Totally Flawless
4. The World's Youngest Person - Children Of Men (2006)
Children of Men may be one of the best films of the 2000s, but it's also without question one of the bleakest and most shocking, something it wants - and succeeds - to show off from the very first scene.
The setting is simple: A rundown, grimy London populated by exclusively sad faces and an air of hopelessness. We follow Clive Owen's reluctant hero as he goes to a coffee shop, learns on the news that the world's youngest person has died, and then is blindsided when the coffee shop is blown up as he leaves.
Set in a world where no one has become pregnant in nearly 20 years, the scene captures the despair, disorder and discontent of everyone's daily lives.
Better than that, though, is the fact that the film only gets better after the thrilling cold open, and ends just as strong as it started.