2014 was a great year for sci-fi and fantasy, and there were so many awesome moments that I couldn't list them all. It took great deliberations with several luckily won $25 movie cards and multiple Redbox coupons to see many of these movies, but I have made a list of what I think were standout moments in film and TV for sci-fi and fantasy moments.
This list is in random order, although there is a #1 moment, and that of course will be all the way at the bottom. Please be advised that there are many sci-fi/fantasy movies and shows from 2014 that I either did not get a chance to see, or I did see and just didn't find anything too special about. Also, MAJOR spoilers ahead!
Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The elevator attack
Hailed as one of, if not the, best Avengers superhero film to date, Captain Steve Rogers finds himself in the middle of a coup burgeoning from the very heart of S.H.I.E.L.D. when internal Hydra agents emerge and take over the entire establishment. In their first move, they try to take out Steve when he refuses to surrender the information Nick Fury gave him with the info on Hydra. This particular scene has a beautiful buildup in suspense as Steve begins to notice fishy behavior in the men that have accompanied Agents Caws on the elevator, and then slowly fills with more men that almost surely toes the maximum limit. Then, in an excellently choreographed scene in a tiny glass elevator, all the agents turn on and try to take out Steve, which he of course able to foil, but not before he offers one of the best movie lines of the entire year: "Before we get started, does anybody want to get off?"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Fitz's tears
Piggybacking on the last moment, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the latest show in the Marvel and Whedonverse, got off to a rough start, but flew true when Hydra emerged. There were so many awesome moments, especially in the first half of season two with Skye's origins being revealed, but I went with a rare moment rather than spectacular or shocking. This particular episode, working the very day following the ending of The Winter Soldier, showed how the recently resurrected Agent Coulson and his team attempt to keep the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents alive to repel Hydra. In this episode, Coulson, Melinda May, and Leo Fitz are cornered by many Hydra agents with no foreseeable escape routes. They are offered the chance to join Hydra and live, which Coulson and May staunchly turn down. Then the camera pans to Fitz. Fitz is a scientist and not a field agent with the weapons and combat training that the rest of the team has. With tears in his eyes, he refuses Hydra as well, knowing full well doing so seals his doom. What makes this moment one of the best is that is that Fitz has the most honest and most human reaction to the situation. He is a good man who will stick to his convictions, but also won't lie about his internal struggle and wanting to live. He represents what any normal person would likely do, and it's about time someone showed a more realistic character in a fantasy based show. The full episode is below, so jump to the 34 minute mark to see Fitz' best moment.
Divergent - Tris' sky ride
I haven't read these books yet, but this particular scene stands out as showing the kind of life that Tris is in for. Though she follows the young adult fictional heroine flaw of not being completely likable, she is able to show her determination for becoming an acceptable member of the Dauntless by adapting and not giving up. She has leaped from a moving train and off a building, fought her way to be accepted, and is now being initiated by taking a zip line over the city. It is a beautiful and mesmerizing scene as the sails across the skyline, and through ruins and abandoned buildings. Though the city is obviously computer generated, it still looks real enough to feel like we are taking this ride with Tris.
Big Hero 6 - The villain's introduction
Disney's latest film was a great movie, but one particular scene stood out among the rest. Hiro, a teenage prodigy, created specialized nanites for construction purposes that were seemingly destroyed when an explosion took out a college building with a respected professor and Hiro's older brother, Tadashi. Tadashi's medical robot, Baymax, is programmed to to help his patients in whatever way possible until they are satisfied, and believes that the one nanite that Hiro kept is trying to reach the others. Hiro follows Baymax and the nanite until it reaches a factory that is creating more of them, and we meet the villain: Yokai. A dark, menacing figure wearing a kabuki mask riding on massive waves of these nanites emerges, and he is scary. The fact that we don't see his face and that he mercilessly tries to kill Hiro and his friends right away shows that this guy is a force to be reckoned with. Very few Disney villains have been introduced with a strong sense of darkness, giving you the impression that he's going to be an interesting one to watch. The video below features some stills of his introduction, but the clip itself is as of yet unavailable.
Edge of Tomorrow - You can't beat Cage in a fistfight
This Halo meets Groundhog Day film didn't get the numbers in the theaters it deserved, but it certainly did get good reviews. Tom Cruise's Cage has been experiencing the same 2 days over and over when he is killed on the battlefield against aliens called Mimics when he comes into contact with one Mimic leader's blood. There are many awesome and funny sequences in this film, but the one that lands on this list is one when Cage is confronted by two other members of his squad. Skinner and Kimmel are ticked off because Cage sneaked away, resulting in their doing hundreds of push-ups for their sergeant, and call him out for a lesson. Cage tries to talk them out of it, then closes his eyes and puts his hands behind his back, dodging every punch Skinner throws at him and weirding Kimmel out. It makes you wonder how many times Cage had to experience that do avoid those blows with such grace! This clip is currently unavailable on YouTube, so please enjoy the movie trailer and then see the movie for yourself if you haven't yet.
X-Men: Days of Future Past - Quicksilver works his magic
Quicksilver, though popular in the X-Men universe, had yet to really be given a chance in the films, and this particular movie finally gave his younger self time in the spotlight, and then some. After having broken Magneto out of the freaking Petagon(!), a teenaged Quicksilver reunites with Wolverine and Xavier to finish the escape. They find themselves in the kitchen, cornered by 5 security guards with plastic guns pointed at them. Magento is about to command the knives to butcher them all, but Quicksilver beats him to it. At his top speed, he puts his goggles on, moves the guards into positions where they all take themselves out without shooting, moves the knives out of the way, samples the soup of the day, steals a hat, and deflects the bullets that were fired; all while Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" is playing. This isn't the first time a scene like this has been done, but few have been executed this smoothly with good pacing and comedic flare.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 - The war anthem
While a camera crew follows heroine Katniss Everdeen to capture her image of being the Mockingjay, they all take a lunch break by a river and Katniss spends some time with the mute cameraman, Pollux. Pollux motions to her, asking her to sing for him. Softly, she begins to sing a folk song called "The Hanging Tree." Though there's nothing special about how she sings it, it's the message of the ability to go beyond expectations that reach the masses. As she continues singing, the song becomes more powerful with the addition of music, and then her voice and image is replaced with a chorus of woodsmen and women singing as they march against the Capitol's elite forces in District 7. The execution of this song, as well as the instant inspiration it develops, demonstrates just how desperately Panem needs deliverance from their government, and how even a simple song can bring the motivation needed to take action. This is another moment with the clip being unavailable, but the song itself is below.
Arrow - Barry tries the salmon ladder
Arrow has had a knack this year for throwing curveballs at its viewers, such as Black Canary's death and the midseason cliffhanger of Oliver getting stabbed, but let's face it: many fans of Arrow look forward to the episodes when Oliver Queen mounts that bar for the salmon ladder. Well, when Barry Allen comes to town in a crossover episode, guess what he wants to try? You don't even see anything at first, all you can see is Caitlyn and Felicity discussing Oliver's ladder routines while crazy clanking is heard in the background. And then, we see what's causing that noise: The Flash is trying out the salmon ladder at his super speed. It's a very quick sequence, but impressive and with a fantastic ending line: "I don't see what's so hard about that."
Games of Thrones - Sansa rises to power
Let's face it, Joffrey's death broke the internet, and Tyrion's speech not getting actor Peter Dinkledge a well-deserved Emmy nomination were definitely standout moments this season. However, Sansa Stark's entry into the current game for the throne of Westeros wins the place on this list. When we first met Sansa, she was a naive girl who caused all the trouble she found herself in, even accidentally contributing to her father's untimely death. Now, after being accused of conspiring to kill Joffrey, she escapes from the Lannisters with the slippery Petyr Baelish, and she can exact her revenge. All this time, the Lannisters have kept her prisoner in the open, not thinking that she had the smarts to do anything against them. However, in this interview with actress Sophie Turner, she said that Sansa's superpower is "being polite." By staying under the radar, she has picked up more intelligence than the Lannisters considered. Now, as she allies herself with a man who loved her murdered mother, she changes her look; and even her walk has changed to show self-assurance and purpose. There is no more naivete, only a sense of powerful confidence emanating from her. Look out Lannisters, here comes Sansa!
Almost Human - a dark insight into future social networking
FOX did it again: they took a perfectly good sci-fi show, aired it out of order, and got it cancelled. This futuristic buddy-cop show pairing Karl Urban's gruff cop Kennex with Michael Ealy's android-made-to-be-human-like Dorian was fun with perfect chemistry between the two leads, but it wasn't given a decent chance from the network that cancelled Firefly. One way the show stood out was that it was full of dark ideas on what the future may hold, one of which makes this list. In episode 7, "Simon Says," an internet icon named Simon has his own channel on the internet and goes to the extreme of planting bombs on civilians and making them explode if they didn't do exactly as he says. The moments worth mentioning are when Simon is looking at the responses from viewers. He has millions of people tuning in to see what happens, and almost every one of them leaving a comment telling him to blow that person up and/or insulting the victims. Few, if any, try to plead for that innocent person's life. It's a very dark image of the future that we don't normally see, but also includes a message that we should all consider: is this what social media will turn us into one day? There aren't any clips of this episode, but the full episode is available online. Here is a preview for this episode.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Starlord's dance
If I could put a full film on this list, it would be this one. However, I'm only going based on awesome moments so I have to pick just one part. That being said, the only beef I had about the film was the opening sequence with Peter's mom dying, as it didn't quite set the right mood for the film and should have been used as a flashback. Then, when everything switches gears, the movie gets on track, and we get to the one moment I believe works as the best one for the list. With the credits rolling as a grown up Peter Quill, now known as Starlord, rocks out to "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone on his walkman as he dances, splashes in puddles, and kicks the local wildlife out of his way. This scene was where the actual movie should have begun, and finally does set the right mood: all action and laughs for the rest of the ride!
Earth to Echo - Echo disassembles and reassembles a big-rig
This cute E.T. styled found footage flick didn't do too well in the box office, but one of the sequences hinted at in most of its previews and trailers was a big-rig truck being shot to pieces and then put back together. The full scene, which obviously goes into more detail, shows how 13-year-old Alex is driving a car to break his friends and Echo, the alien with telekinetic powers, away from government officials who want to destroy Echo's means of getting home. Alex has no experience driving and is passing on the wrong side of the street as the big-rig is about to hit them head on. The CGI heavy scene shows how Echo blasts the truck apart, piece by piece, all of which are avoiding Alex's car or anything at all in the area. The pieces of the truck linger in the air as they pass, and the bemused truck driver, still harnessed to his seat, watches in shock as he passes the car safely, and the whole truck is put back together again in a matter of seconds before he brings it to a screeching stop. Though this movie is by itself okay, the truck scene is the best part and shows how Echo has the mindset to preserve life, and can do it by any means possible. The clip itself is not available, but the shortened version is below in the trailer.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Elrond. Just Elrond.
The first 20 minutes of this film were the best, and the two hours that followed was still good but just wasn't as cool. Galadriel and Gandalf are cornered by the still ghost-form Nazgul. They taunt her, but she tells them she's not alone. Then, all else dims as Elrond strides into the scene, sword in hand, and a presently-still-aligned-with-the-good-guys Sarumon steps in, offering assistance. The focus returns to Elrond, and Hugo Weaving delivers his introductory line with hints of V and Agent Smith: "You should have stayed dead!" We've seen him in all 3 LOTR movies and in An Unexpected Journey, but Lord have mercy, he epitomizes coolness right here. Unfortunately, that's pretty much all the time he gets in the movie but if any actor took advantage of all the screen time he got, it was him. And Christopher Lee makes a close second!
Snowpiercer - the blackout
I doubled checked the release date, it was supposed to come out in June 2013 but came out in January 2014 instead so it barely makes this list. The tail section of a train that holds the last of earth's survivors of the man-made ice age makes their move to take the engine of the train so they can better their treatment. They reach a hall before the engine room, and the soldiers blocking their way are all armed and wearing night vision goggles. Then, the train enters a tunnel and everything goes black. The tail section begins to panic until one of them yells for fire. Earlier in the film, a child recovered a book of matches; and from the very back, he lights a torch and runs forward, passing it to another passenger whose son was taken from him at the beginning of the film. It isn't just light they are bringing forth, it is the hope that they can succeed in their crusade to be treated equally with everyone else on the train. Of course, with the torch brought to the fighters, the soldiers lose their upper hand and it becomes anyone's game. This scene also stands out for the mercilessness of Mason (Tilda Swinton), who stands back with a pair of her own night vision binoculars, enjoying every bit of seeing people beneath her slaughtered. Again, the clip is unavailable, so here's the trailer.
Once Upon a Time - Neil breaks through for his family
Another series that broke the internet this year with its incorporation of Elsa from Frozen, Once Upon a Time is no stranger to crazy twists and is about as convoluted as they come. The series' most evil villain to date, Zelena, the Wicked Witch of Oz, has distorted Regina and Snow's curse to restore their people to Storybrooke so they can save Emma and Henry, whose memories have been changed (and that's just the beginning!). She has altered the curse to wipe everyone's memories of returning to the Enchanted Forest so they can't stop her; afterwards she brews a double portion of a potion that will retain and restore memories. She drinks one and gives the other to Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold, as both are under the impression that his son, Bae/Neil, was killed while resurrecting Rumple, and he wants to remember him. In reality, Neil isn't dead just yet; his consciousness has been absorbed into Rumple's body (is that convoluted enough yet?). Zelena leaves and Rumple is about to take the potion, but Neil manages to break free of his father's body just long enough to call a dove and pen out a message to his old friend Captain Hook to find Emma and give the memory restoration potion to her. Rumple is one of the most powerful fiends in this world, and for Neil to summon enough will to stop Rumple, even for a minute, is no small deal; there's no doubt that it was his love for Emma and Henry that gave him the strength he needed to save them. Although Neil died for real later on that season, this final act of heroism helped bring the eventual destruction to Zelena.
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland - Will ends Alice's suffering
This OUAT spin off was disappointing and lasted only one season, despite its having a good amount of potential. Although it also used convoluted storytelling, the show did wrap up every plot nicely and gave a satisfactory finale. One of the better parts of this show that made it worthy of being on this list came when Alice and her genie lover, Cyrus, reunited, and not just because it finally got Alice to shut up about finding him. Will Scarlet, formerly of Robin Hood's Merry Men and formerly Knave of Hearts, was saved in an earlier episode when Alice made a wish to save his life in that if he died, she died. When Jafar tries to kill Anastasia, aka Cinderella's stepsister aka the Red Queen aka Will's ex, she tries to divert his power but it strikes Will, which in turn affects Alice. She has one wish left which she gave to Will in the first episode, so to save her life he makes his wish: "I wish for Alice's suffering to end." In a flash, their bond is broken, Alice is okay, and Cyrus hasn't returned to his bottle! At first it looks like Will may have freed Cyrus from the bottle until Cyrus and Alice turn to find Anastasia crying. Sure enough, Will is gone. One of the most unselfish acts of his life has now put him in his new career: the genie in the bottle!
Doctor Who - It's always important to make a good first impression
We lost Matt Smith last year and were bestowed Peter Capaldi, who we only got to see about 15 seconds of in the series 7 Christmas special. With the series eight premier, viewers and Whovians would finally get to know the new Doctor. The episode opens in Victorian England, where there's a T-Rex on the loose(!), and the Tardis shoots out of its mouth. It finally lands, and one of the Doctor's acquaintances in this era, Strax, orders him to come out and surrender. Well, the new Doctor ain't having any of that. He opens the door and says one word: "SHUSH!" And shuts the door in Strax's face. Good impression for Strax? No. Good impression for us? You bet!
Supernatural - tackling a much debated issue: fan fiction!
In this day and age, a TV show normally does a musical episode to either garner higher ratings or try to show that they're not running out of fresh ideas (yeah, like we're fooled). In this case, Supernatural airs its 200th episode, and it's about a musical fan fiction about Sam and Dean's lives! Throughout the series, the Winchester boys have endured de-souling, demonic possession, prophetic stories about themselves, geek conventions of their adventures, and plenty of dealings with death; but nothing prepared them for this! In this episode, Sam and Dean walk onto an all-girl school campus to investigate a disappearance and instead witness the rehearsal of this fan-fiction-turned-musical about their lives in complete and utter shock (with undertones of horror). This episode plays out very well how fictional characters would probably react if they themselves had a chance to read what their fans wrote about them. It was an imaginative take on the subject and good twist on the musical themed episode premise.
The Flash - perfect for each other
Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles - the cold doesn't bother them anyway
In typical Michael Bay style, there are explosions, slow-mo techniques, and generally defying the laws of physics all throughout his movies. This scene from TMNT is no different, but only the turtles could have pulled it off. While trying to escape bad guys, their big-rig truck goes off course and down a snowy mountain. Soon, all the turtles are riding the snow too, sometimes attached to cables shot at them by the baddies, the rest of the time trying to survive whatever is in their path. There's the turtles surfing an avalanche on an off-roader, dodging cars left and right, and daring rescues all at once. With any other film, this would have been ridiculously silly, but somehow, Bay made it work.
The Walking Dead - you like that leg medium or well done?
Hannibal may the resident cannibal on the airwaves right now, but The Walking Dead is no ordinary show. This current season is cranking out the shocking moments like gumballs from a penny machine (aww, you made Daryl cry!), but it's the cannibalism that sticks out for 2014. Poor Bob is the unlucky victim who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and gets whacked over the head by the exiled Gareth, who then explains how he and his band of outcasts have had to evolve to survive. He wraps up his speech by telling Bob that what he's done is "nothing personal," and the camera angle changes to show that Bob has had his left leg above the knee chopped off. If that ain't bad enough, Gareth starts chewing on the freshly BBQed leg right in front of him, commenting on how he tastes! Though not as smooth as Hannibal is, Gareth certainly serves this scene with just the right amount of creepiness.
The Amazing Spiderman 2 - the tease for those in the know
Those of us who were familiar with Peter Parker's back story knew that his love with Gwen Stacy was doomed from the start, and the filmmakers obviously wanted to draw this climactic scene out as long as they could. As Spiderman and Green Goblin battle in a clock tower, Gwen is secured by a web so she won't fall. Then the Green Goblin cuts that web and Peter shoots out another to catch her. The scene drags out to slow motion as Gwen and debris heed the call of gravity, and the web almost seems to stretch out as tiny fingers to catch Gwen. The web magically misses every piece of debris in its way and finally reaches Gwen square in the midsection. Spiderman canon has Gwen dying when the web catches her by the leg with such force that her neck breaks from whiplash, so the angle at which this web catches her seems to make that outcome less likely. For one brief, glimmering moment, it looks as though this movie will break canon. Then, as the web becomes taut to pull Gwen back up, she whacks her head on the ground, delivering a fatal blow to her head. Though many expected this to happen, it wasn't expected to be done in such a teasing way and with such an emotional wallop; and Andrew Garfield's reaction to her fall is heartbreaking, adding to the tragic scene. The filmmakers did their part in drawing out hope to the very last second for Peter and Gwen. Too bad they didn't take that kind of care with the rest of the film.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Maurice makes a friend
This prequel sequel (ha ha ha, laugh all you want, you know that's what it is!) picks up after the Simian virus wipes out most of mankind, and the few survivors live separate from the human-like apes led by Caesar. A very fragile truce is struck by Caesar and Malcolm, a man who is trying to restore power for San Francisco. Maurice, an orangutan, is curious about their new human associates and sneaks out to study them. Malcolm's to-be stepson Alexander sees him and offers him a comic book to read. The second time Maurice comes around, Alexander is waiting with a bigger graphic novel. Malcolm and Ellie, Alexander's mom, wake up to find the two bonding while Alexander explains the premise of the novel to Maurice. Not only is it a light moment in a primarily dark film, it also shows how easily the apes and humans could get along if they only gave it a simple try.
Interstellar - the explosion only appreciated in the theater environment
Christopher Nolan's 2001 meets Contact film was well done from start to finish, albeit confusing and a bit on the preachy side. That aside, there are many scenes in this film that were particularly impressive, but I picked one that doesn't need an in depth explanation. Dr. Mann is looking to hijack the Endurance space station but has not docked his ship to access port properly. While Coop literally begs him over his intercom to not open the pod bay door-excuse me, the hatch, Dr. Mann begins to ramble off his reasons for his actions when he does open the hatch, and the section of the station explodes. It has long since been proven that sound does not travel in space, so when the hatch blows, there's no sound at all. Since there's no sound, you can literally hear everyone around you, from gasping to going, "whaaaat?" The lack of sound has a direct affect on all who watch it, and it is an affect that will not have a big of impact when it is released in digital or hard copy format. Nolan's style of film making is always changing, and this particular method was very effective. This is another clip that is not available, so please enjoy the movie trailer.
And now: The Moment You've All Been Waiting For! The #1 Top Sci-Fi/Fantasy Moment of the Year!
#1: The Star Wars Episode 7 Trailer
Come on now, is this really a big surprise? 2015 is going to be chalked full of reboots, sequels and prequels, but who can deny that the new installment of Star Wars is the most exciting??? J.J. Abrams has been mum on the details, and little to no information about this film was released until the post-Thanksgiving trailer. Too bad companies like Target and X Box Live don't have the firewall systems like Bad Robot and Disney have! Anyways, you've probably already seen the trailer, but I'm putting it here just the same.
Barely Ineligible Honorable Mention: "Agony" from Into the Woods
Although this film is technically a fantasy, its primary genre is as a musical and it sticks to the musical comedy layout, so it's not officially eligible for this list; hence the reason why it is an honorable mention. The song, "Agony," is one of the funniest songs to ever come out of Broadway, but can easily be done wrong if it's taken too seriously. With musicals onscreen, songs like this don't normally make the transition well. In this case, it is not only pulled off well, it's pulled off flawlessly by Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen who throw around the silliness of the situation with just the right amount of ham. Just how impressive was it? Well, when I saw this in the theaters, I saw it with a group of theater actors in my area, and we were all applauding when this song ended. That's saying something!
In the meantime, I will be taking lots of notes for 2015! This will be a good year for geeks!
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