With great movies comes great movie moments. The year of 2019 delivered some great movies with many great moments to pick from. Sine we’re still pretty fresh out the gate from 2019, I’ve decided to narrow down the top ten movie moments of 2019. The movie moments that I picked for this list will include scenes that either stood out to me, had a long-lasting impact, or were just beyond awesome. Just keep in mind that I have not seen every single movie that came out in 2019, but I did see most of them. For those who didn’t get a chance to keep up with some particular movies from 2019 might want to hold back because spoilers are imminent.
Without further ado, let’s dive right into the top ten movie moments of 2019. In the words of a certain evil clown, “Time to float.”
10. Sadie Gets Her Revenge (A Vigilante)
If there’s one movie that people might have missed from last year, it’s A Vigilante. In this film, Olivia Wilde plays Sadie, a survivor of domestic abuse and a chip on her shoulder. She spends some time throughout the film beating up dirtbag husbands and even a neglectful mother. By the end of the film, her own former abusive husband tracks her down and tries to kill her. Sadie, however, has transformed herself into a stronger person and finally gets her revenge on her psychotic ex-husband, killing him and dumping his body in the snow. This despicable ex-husband is so violent that his name is never spoken, making his death very satisfying to watch. Many revenge movies try to have this kind of effect, but the final scene in this movie crushes it like no other.
9. Billy Finds His Mother (Shazam!)
In the past, the DC Cinematic Universe was often criticized for being too dark. Their earlier movies did have an issue with balancing the light and dark tones, but their most recent movie rectified this problem. In the awesome Shazam!, Billy Batson is a young orphan searching for his mother, hoping to be a family again. It takes him some time, but Billy eventually finds her, only to discover the heartbreaking truth: his mother lost him in a carnival and abandoned him after seeing him with the police. The most crushing part of this scene is when Billy hands her the compass she gave him years ago and she just says, “What’s this?” Once Billy discovers who is really family is, he finally decides to take his role as Shazam seriously. Shazam! was overall a fun, lighthearted movie, but this scene just struck us like a knife to the heart.
8. The Adult Losers Club Kills Pennywise (It Chapter Two)
Pennywise is one clown that doesn’t make people laugh. In fact, he did the exact opposite to the Losers Club in 1989, then again in 2016. In the first It, we saw the Losers Club as children take on the supernatural clown, making it suffer its first defeat. It Chapter Two saw Pennywise’s return to torment them and he succeeds for most of the movie. In the final battle, however, the now adult Losers Club conquer their fears and stand up to Pennywise. This causes him to literally shrink down to the size of an infant, wailing in pain as his heart is crushed by the Losers. This scene was not only fun to watch, but an empowering moment for six fearful people to conquer their fears. They may call themselves Losers, but they showed how friendship and courage can overcome literally anything.
7. Schofield Completes His Mission (1917)
One of the last great movies that was released in 2019 was 1917. This one continuous shot movie followed two British soldiers basically trying to get from point A to point B. After one of them (Blake) is killed, the other (Schofield) continues the mission alone. He encounters many obstacles along the way, but he eventually reaches point B. The last scene of this movie delivers a brief, but emotional moment between Schofield and Blake’s brother. Not many words are said, but the emotions are all in the faces. Schofield is thanked by Blake’s brother, then sits by a tree, observing a photo of his wife and children. This is the kind of moment in a movie where we get to see the hero finally rest after going through the toughest journey. It’s something that is shown often, but doesn’t hit nearly as hard as this scene did.
6. Miles Finishes The Race (Ford vs. Ferrari)
Good racing movies are hard to come by these days, but Ford vs. Ferrari literally bring it home. The final race breaks some cliches as Christian Bale’s Ken Miles crosses the finishes line. Despite being the first to cross it, he is not declared the winner due to a technicality. This decision does not upset him though, since the thrill of the race is what he wanted most. What made this scene stand out is the character of Miles: he’s a talented racer, but he also has a problem with authority. For the final lap, he was ordered to slow down so Ford can have a three-car photo finish. He is initially against this, but ultimately decides to slow down and comply. This is a crucial kind of moment for any movie, because it shows the true meaning of character development.
5. Cliff Booth vs. The Manson Family (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)
Quentin Tarantino has altered the course of history with some of his movies before. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is no different and it does so in a gruesome way. Instead of going to Sharon Tate’s house, the Manson Family raids the house of Rick Dalton. Unfortunately for them, Rick has his stuntman, Cliff Booth, and his pitbull over. The Manson Family tries to kill them all, but Cliff and his dog brutalize them in typical Tarantino fashion. It ends with Rick Dalton using his flamethrower to finish off the last Manson Family member, stopping the Tate Murders from ever happening. Tarantino once again delivers a scene that should have happened in real life, but it was still a blast to watch. Between Brad Pitt going full tough guy, to Leo using a flamethrower, this scene just proves that Tarantino’s violence is fun to watch.
4. John Wick Plays With Knives (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum)
John Wick made an art out of killing, but the first big action scene in Parabellum really stretched it. When John was ambushed by assassins, he found himself in a room filled with knives. He and the assassins used these to their advantage, but John managed to kill them all. By throwing multiple knives into one guy and slowly forcing one into another guy’s eye, John reminded us why he’s the Baba Yaga. Sure, John Wick is shown killing guys all the time, but this scene amps up the violence and creativity to the extreme.
3. Avengers Assemble (Avengers: Endgame)
Well, there it was, Cap finally said it. After waiting a little over a decade for the words to be spoken, Captain America rallies the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with two words. The Avengers are successful in rebuilding the infinity gauntlet, but Thanos from the past has followed them. Facing the Mad Titan and his huge army, all is seemingly lost until the resurrected heroes pop out of portals. This leads to a beautiful shot of all the MCU heroes coming together and then charging into battle after Cap says, “Avengers Assemble.” What comes next is a battle that is too awesome to comprehend at first viewing. Marvel spent a lot of time teasing us, but the wait was well worth it.
2. Joker Murders Murray Franklin (Joker)
Making a origin story Joker movie was a risky move, but it actually worked. In Todd Phillips’ movie, Joker is not a nameless criminal, but a failed comedian named Arthur Fleck. After being mocked by his childhood idol, Murray Franklin, Arthur gets invited on the show and arrives in full make-up. Although Franklin intended to exploit him further, Arthur expected this and revealed he was the one who killed the Wall Street guys. This scene is vital to Arthur’s development, as he fully embraces becoming The Joker and accepts his place in society. After a powerful speech about the haves vs. the have-nots and revealing how society abandoned him, he shoots and kills Murray.
What made this scene so powerful is how Arthur learns to live with his illness (the laugh) and sees the funny side in everything. As he becomes The Joker, he accuses the rich and civilized of being so hilariously hypocritical, he actually finds it funny. By the very end of the film, he basically becomes the Rat King of the forgotten poor people of Gotham. Arthur may have been mentally ill, but it’s society that brought him down.
1. The Death of Iron Man (Avengers: Endgame)
The final moment on the list is here, and it’s one that filled buckets with tears. After securing the infinity gauntlet from Thanos, Tony Stark/Iron Man, snaps his fingers, destroying him and his entire army. Unfortunately, it also causes his death, but he’s surrounded by his wife and fellow Avengers in his final moments. What comes next is a quiet, but emotional funeral for Iron Man, and every hero from the MCU is attending. This is a death that hit fans like a freight train, since this character has been around since 2008. Tony Stark came a long way from where he began, debuting as a selfish playboy, but slowly developed as a selfless hero. His final sacrifice was the nail in the coffin that clinched his growth as a character. On top of that, he had the witty sense of humor that was brilliantly portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.
Iron Man’s death was tough digest and it’s hard to imagine an MCU without him. If anything, his death signifies the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. If Marvel can deliver this kind of impact, just imagine what they’ll deliver next.
Final Thoughts
I know, I included two moments from Avengers: Endgame, but both of those moments were just too hard to choose from. These are the movie moments that struck me like a bolt of lighting and will stick with me forever. For those who didn’t keep up with 2019’s movies, I implore you to take the time to watch them. What are your thoughts?
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