Every so often in the movies, there are moments when the main character is challenged in a way that proves to be daunting and nearly overwhelming as the villain or perhaps another character, or characters, in the movie manage to challenge and/or wound the protagonist in a meaningful way. This action is sometimes quickly followed by what could be called the ‘my turn’ moment, when the protagonist stiffens up just a bit, takes a deep breath, gathers themself, etc., and fires back with an equal if not greater force that puts the other character on their heels. In some instances this becomes the defining moment for the protagonist as they gain the upper hand and remind the other character that they’re not a pushover and have more grit than the character realized and that the fight is far from over. There are many such moments in cinema, but a lot of the time the best ones are those that come after long pauses or harrowing moments in which the antagonist comes to realize that they might have underestimated the protagonist. Here are some of the best ‘my turn’ moments in movies.
10. Aliens
The terror of the first movie was enough to shock a lot of fans that weren’t ready to see what had been dragged out of whatever nightmare that had produced it, but the second Alien movie was even more chilling as there were more xenomorphs and on top of that, they now had a queen. This nightmarish figure was just about to take out Newt when Ripley intervened and showed off her skills with the loader, proving to once again be one of the toughest women in cinematic history as she took on a creature that could have diced her up if not for this suit. The fight was kind of slow by today’s standards, but it got the point across: don’t mess with Ellen Ripley.
9. Balls of Fury
There were several moments in this movie in which an opponent was given more than they’d bargained for, but this moment when Randy Daytona had to go up against ‘The Hammer’ was hilarious since one kind of assumed that someone that had been a professional ping pong player might have wiped the floor with a pudgy asthmatic that was playing for hometown pride. Of course, that didn’t happen so the moment was a little anticlimactic once all was said and done, but it was definitely worthy of this list since it inspired at least a bit of hope that a washed-up individual might regain a little glory.
8. Battleship
Despite the lack of realism in this movie, and no, I’m not talking about the aliens, the miraculous revival of a ship that had become a floating museum was pure awesome no matter how unlikely it would be. But the best part came during the battle when the captain ordered the ship into a maneuver that forced it to go sliding through the waves as it prepared to broadside the alien ship. While it’s a maneuver that likely wouldn’t go this smoothly the visual was still pretty cool since the general idea was that those that had been hit the hardest by the aliens were fixing to deliver a little payback to the aggressors.
7. Aquaman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7fH6wpBSG0
It’s fair to state that Aquaman was given a bit of an upgrade when this movie came out, but it was still a cool look and something that people enjoyed since Jason Momoa came out looking tough until he had to go up against villains that were closer to being on his level. But during the fight against the pirates in the first part of the movie, one of the most amusing scenes came along when one of them tried to bring Arthur down with a single punch, only to realize that the blow barely even rocked the hero. The pause before the hit that would send the pirate to the deck was amusing since it drove the point home that Arthur, who even smirked at this, was well beyond his opponents.
6. Braveheart
This stands out as one of the more prolonged moments that come before the retribution that William Wallace would take against the English. As fictitious as this movie managed to get, there were still a lot of great moments when the audience no doubt held their breath in anticipation of what was to come. The fact that Wallace rode into the village, apparently ready to surrender himself, had many people on pins and needles. But when the fighting began it was obvious that he’d been waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and had found it once the soldiers approached him.
5. Kung Fu Hustle
The main character in this movie was kind of a joke up until his final fight scene when he was revealed as a master and could take down the Axe Gang rather easily. When he faced off against the Beast it was even more apparent that he was someone that was not to be messed with as their brief stare down made it clear that he wasn’t impressed and had plans of paying the Beast back for every hit he’d taken to that point. Out of all the fights in this movie, no matter how goofy they managed to get, this is one of the best without fail since the over-the-top choreography was a lot of fun to watch.
4. The Matrix
Throughout the entire first movie of The Matrix saga, Neo and the rest of those that followed Morpheus had no other option but to run from agents since they were too powerful and couldn’t be defeated given that they could be anyone and thus could outlast their opponents with ease. But when Neo managed to stand up after being shot in the chest several times, it was a moment of vindication that a lot of people in theaters couldn’t help but feel as it pumped a person up. Even better was the moment in which Neo first stopped the incoming bullets, and then handled Agent Smith with ease.
3. Captain Marvel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Cw540eImU
Captain Marvel was a well-intentioned action movie that, had it stuck with the idea that Carol was powerful, that she was re-learning her place in the world and figuring out that she was more powerful than she’d been led to believe, would have easily escaped the accusations that it had such a strong feminist lean. But putting that aside, the defining moment that earned the movie a spot on this list came when Carol faced off against the Supreme Intelligence after coming to grips with the idea that no matter how much people tried to keep her down, she had the power to get back up and move forward.
2. V for Vendetta
This movie was one of those stories that need people to pay attention since there’s a lot to it that people need to pay attention to enjoy it. But once that’s all said and done, this scene in which V withstands a hailstorm of bullets is insane but great since after weathering the barrage he whispers ‘My turn’ and proceeds to dismantle a group of highly-trained soldiers with his knives and expert fighting skills as he ends the life of the last antagonist by breaking his neck. This kind of scene in a movie is why a lot of folks love action flicks. While it was definitely over the top it was acted out in a manner that was great enough to let people forget about such a thing.
1. Avengers
This scene was too much fun to leave out since, even though it’s two heroes tussling against one another, the moment in which Thor’s lightning ended up powering up Tony’s suit was classic since Robert Downey Jr. nailed the part of Stark so well from the first movie onward that just about every moment was worthy of being called great. Plus, it’s not often that Thor was subjected to an attack that was augmented by the same power he wields so effortlessly. The ‘my turn’ moment is a lot of fun to watch since it adds kind of an amusing note to many movies.
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