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* ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'': The HorrorComedy begins with the hero Columbus narrating about how he's survived the ZombieApocalypse by following various rules that let him avoid all the cheap ways people usually die in zombie movies (keep up with your cardio so you can outrun the zombies, DoubleTap, [[TheCanKickedHim Beware of Bathrooms]], and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers wear your seatbelt]] are among those mentioned). All the while, the film shows people dying these exact cheap deaths and Columbus sarcastically remarks on them.
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** The first scene of ''Film/ANewHope'' does this for the ''Star Wars'' saga, though in ways that [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny are difficult for modern audiences to appreciate]]. First, it gives the setting as "ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway", establishing this as a modern-day fairy tale in space. Next, it introduces the plot via an OpeningScroll as an homage to the ''[[Film/FlashGordonSerial Flash Gordon]]'' serials of the 1930's, complete with a bombastic opening theme. Then, just seconds later, we get that famous tracking shot of the underside of an Imperial Star Destroyer, [[ShootTheMoney showing off every lovingly crafted inch of the thing]]--and showing that, unlike ''Flash Gordon'', this was a big-budget EpicFilm in a painstakingly detailed [[TheVerse fictional world]]. Moviegoers in 1977 [[GenreTurningPoint had never seen a science-fiction film with production values that high]], but that tracking shot gave them a taste of the {{spectacle}} that awaited them.
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** The first scene of ''Film/ANewHope'' does this for the ''Star Wars'' saga, though in ways that [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny [[OnceOriginalNowCommon are difficult for modern audiences to appreciate]]. First, it gives the setting as "ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway", establishing this as a modern-day fairy tale in space. Next, it introduces the plot via an OpeningScroll as an homage to the ''[[Film/FlashGordonSerial Flash Gordon]]'' serials of the 1930's, complete with a bombastic opening theme. Then, just seconds later, we get that famous tracking shot of the underside of an Imperial Star Destroyer, [[ShootTheMoney showing off every lovingly crafted inch of the thing]]--and showing that, unlike ''Flash Gordon'', this was a big-budget EpicFilm in a painstakingly detailed [[TheVerse fictional world]]. Moviegoers in 1977 [[GenreTurningPoint had never seen a science-fiction film with production values that high]], but that tracking shot gave them a taste of the {{spectacle}} that awaited them.
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** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' has a good one. After the first few minutes showing the origin story of a young Peter Quill, the scene changes to adult Peter walking across a storm-blasted alien landscape. He enters a cave, pulls out a Walkman and starts dancing to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love" in what can only be described as a '70s music video, alternatively kicking around the local hostile wildlife like footballs and singing into one of them like it was a microphone. This firmly establishes the movie as a lighthearted BreatherEpisode compared to the rest of the MCU.
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** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' has a good one. After the first few minutes showing the origin story of a young Peter Quill, the scene changes to adult Peter walking across a storm-blasted alien landscape. He enters a cave, pulls out a Walkman and starts dancing to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love" in what can only be described as a '70s music video, alternatively kicking around the local hostile wildlife like footballs and singing into one of them like it was a microphone. This firmly establishes the movie as a lighthearted BreatherEpisode compared to the rest of the MCU.MCU, though with moments of darkness and drama.
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* The introduction of the [=DeLorean=] in ''Film/BackToTheFuture''. Prior to that, the film could pass as your standard '80s teen comedy. Of course, it still is a teen comedy, but [[GenreBusting not exclusively]].
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* The introduction of the [=DeLorean=] in ''Film/BackToTheFuture''.''Film/BackToTheFuture1''. Prior to that, the film could pass as your standard '80s teen comedy. Of course, it still is a teen comedy, but [[GenreBusting not exclusively]].
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Disambiguation per Wick Cleaning Projects
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* Judging ''Film/TheRoom'' by the first few minutes, you might think it's just a badly acted romantic drama about a boring yuppie couple. But the arrival of Denny — an unintentionally [[CreepyChild creepy]] HeartwarmingOrphan whose relevance to the plot is never explained — cements the movie as the bizarre, [[RandomEventsPlot plotless]] {{melodrama}} that its fans know and love. [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext As soon as Denny sneaks into Tommy and Lisa's room to join in on their sexy pillow fight]], you just know that you're in for something, uh... "memorable".
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* Judging ''Film/TheRoom'' ''Film/TheRoom2003'' by the first few minutes, you might think it's just a badly acted romantic drama about a boring yuppie couple. But the arrival of Denny — an unintentionally [[CreepyChild creepy]] HeartwarmingOrphan whose relevance to the plot is never explained — cements the movie as the bizarre, [[RandomEventsPlot plotless]] {{melodrama}} that its fans know and love. [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext As soon as Denny sneaks into Tommy and Lisa's room to join in on their sexy pillow fight]], you just know that you're in for something, uh... "memorable".
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* ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'': The black-and-white opening establishes the DarkerAndEdgier tone of Creator/DanielCraig's Film/JamesBond, as Bond notches the two kills required to become a double-0 agent, the first a brutal, [[Film/TheBourneSeries Bourne-esque]] fight with Dryden's contact, and the second a cold-blooded assassination of Dryden himself, with a [[FreezeFrameBonus split-second view]] of a photo on Dryden's desk confirming that he is a family man to highlight the moral ambiguity of Bond's line of work. Just to reassure the audience that the classic Bond tropes will not be entirely absent, Bond does drop a BondOneLiner after killing Dryden, and the scene ends with Bond shooting Dryden's contact, neatly cutting into the iconic BondGunBarrel.
-->'''Dryden:''' Well you needn't worry. The second is...[''Bond shoots him'']\\
'''Bond:''' Yes. Considerably.
-->'''Dryden:''' Well you needn't worry. The second is...[''Bond shoots him'']\\
'''Bond:''' Yes. Considerably.
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* ''Film/AKnightsTale'' begins with a crowd of joust fans singing along to [[AnachronismStew "We Will Rock You"]] by Music/{{Queen}}.
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* ''Film/AKnightsTale'' begins with a crowd of joust fans singing along to [[AnachronismStew "We Will Rock You"]] by Music/{{Queen}}.Music/{{Queen|Band}}.
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* The first act of ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'' features Peg Boggs catching sight of a decrepit gothic mansion at the top of the hill overlooking her picturesque suburban neighborhood. That tells you almost everything that you need to know about the film (and Creator/TimBurton's default artistic aesthetic) in a nutshell.
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** TheStinger at the end of ''Film/IronMan'' is the moment when fans everywhere learned that a movie SharedUniverse was being planned.
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** TheStinger at the end of ''Film/IronMan'' ''Film/IronMan1'' is the moment when fans everywhere learned that a movie SharedUniverse was being planned.
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** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' has a good one. After the first few minutes showing the origin story of a young Peter Quill, the scene changes to adult Peter walking across a storm-blasted alien landscape. He enters a cave, pulls out a Walkman and starts dancing to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love" in what can only be described as a 70's music video, alternatively kicking around the local hostile wildlife like footballs and singing into one of them like it was a microphone. This firmly establishes the movie as a lighthearted BreatherEpisode compared to the rest of the MCU.
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** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' has a good one. After the first few minutes showing the origin story of a young Peter Quill, the scene changes to adult Peter walking across a storm-blasted alien landscape. He enters a cave, pulls out a Walkman and starts dancing to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love" in what can only be described as a 70's '70s music video, alternatively kicking around the local hostile wildlife like footballs and singing into one of them like it was a microphone. This firmly establishes the movie as a lighthearted BreatherEpisode compared to the rest of the MCU.
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** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'''s first shot is the conclusion of ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'''s final battle, where [[spoiler:Superman pulled a HeroicSacrifice against Doomsday. As this happens, Superman starts screaming, with his soundwaves reverberating across the ''entire planet'' and awakening three mysterious boxes from Cyborg's house, the Atlanteans and the Amazonians. This single act alone establishes the dangers of a world without Superman, since the planet is now fair play for anyone seeking these boxes]].
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** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'''s The first shot of ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' is the conclusion of ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'''s final battle, where [[spoiler:Superman pulled a HeroicSacrifice against Doomsday. As this happens, Superman starts screaming, with his soundwaves reverberating across the ''entire planet'' planet'']] and awakening three mysterious boxes from Cyborg's house, the Atlanteans and the Amazonians. This single act alone establishes the dangers of a world without Superman, [[spoiler:Superman]], since the planet is now fair play for anyone seeking these boxes]].boxes.
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** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'''s first shot is the conclusion of ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'''s final battle, where [[spoiler:Superman pulled a HeroicSacrifice against Doomsday. As this happens, Superman starts screaming, with his soundwaves reverberating across the ''entire planet'' and awakening three mysterious boxes from Cyborg's house, the Atlanteans and the Amazonians. This single act alone establishes the dangers of a world without Superman, since the planet is now fair play for anyone seeking these boxes]].
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* At first, it looks like ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'' will be a generic Muppet parody, complete with an intro that would fit that genre- until the rat named Trevor, from the wings, shouts as the cast and uses a profanity, establishing that this will be a adult movie through and through.
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* At first, it looks like ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'' will be a generic Muppet parody, complete with an intro that would fit that genre- until the rat named Trevor, from the wings, shouts as the cast and uses a profanity, establishing that this will be a an adult movie through and through.
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Crosswicking.
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* ''Film/{{Zathura}}'': Once the game begins and Danny draws the first card saying "METEOR SHOWER TAKE EVASIVE ACTION", it's made immediately clear just how real the game's effects are when a meteor shoots straight through the card that Walter is holding.
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** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' has a good one. After the first few minutes showing the origin story of a young Peter Quill, the scene changes to adult Peter walking across a storm-blasted alien landscape. He enters a cave, pulls out a Walkman and starts dancing to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love" in what can only be described as a 70's music video. This firmly establishes the movie as a lighthearted BreatherEpisode compared to the rest of the MCU.
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** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' has a good one. After the first few minutes showing the origin story of a young Peter Quill, the scene changes to adult Peter walking across a storm-blasted alien landscape. He enters a cave, pulls out a Walkman and starts dancing to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love" in what can only be described as a 70's music video.video, alternatively kicking around the local hostile wildlife like footballs and singing into one of them like it was a microphone. This firmly establishes the movie as a lighthearted BreatherEpisode compared to the rest of the MCU.
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** The final scene establishes that Batman's very presence will redefine Gotham's underbelly, with the first sign of this being a homicidal maniac who likes to mark his crime scenes with Joker cards.
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** The final scene establishes that Batman's very presence will redefine Gotham's underbelly, with the first sign of this being a [[ComicBook/TheJoker homicidal maniac who likes to mark his crime scenes with Joker cards.cards]].
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Accidentally hit the save button too early, my apologies.
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* ''Film/ABeautifulDayInTheNeighborhood'' starts with a recreation of a standard episode of ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood''. Mister Rogers does a segment where he introduces his friends using a pictureboard and introduces a new friend of his, Lloyd Vogel...and then shows a picture of Lloyd's bloodied, bruised face. The scene then switches to a much more realistic scene of Lloyd giving a speech after receiving an award for an article he wrote. This establishes three things: the movie's frequent switch from surrealism to realism,
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* ''Film/ABeautifulDayInTheNeighborhood'' starts with a recreation of a standard episode of ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood''. Mister Rogers does a segment where he introduces his friends using a pictureboard and introduces a new friend of his, Lloyd Vogel...and then shows a picture of Lloyd's bloodied, bruised face. The scene then switches to a much more realistic plausible scene of Lloyd giving a speech after receiving an award for an article he wrote. This establishes three things: the movie's frequent switch from surrealism to realism, the use of Mr. Rogers' show as a FramingDevice, and that this will be a SidelongGlanceBiopic with Lloyd as the primary focus instead of Mr. Rogers.
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* ''Film/ABeautifulDayInTheNeighborhood'' starts with a recreation of a standard episode of ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood''. Mister Rogers does a segment where he introduces his friends using a pictureboard and introduces a new friend of his, Lloyd Vogel...and then shows a picture of Lloyd's bloodied, bruised face. The scene then switches to a much more realistic scene of Lloyd giving a speech after receiving an award for an article he wrote. This establishes three things: the movie's frequent switch from surrealism to realism,
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* At first, it looks like ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'' will be a generic Muppet parody, complete with an intro that would fit that genre- until the rat named Trevor, from the wings, shouts as the cast and uses a profanity, establishing that this will be a adult movie through and through.
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* At first, it looks like ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'' will be a generic Muppet parody, complete with an intro that would fit that genre- until the rat named Trevor, from the wings, shouts as the cast and uses a profanity, establishing that this will be a adult movie through and through.through.
----
----
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* The introduction of the [=DeLorean=] in ''Film/BackToTheFuture''. Prior to that, the film could pass as your standard '80s teen comedy. Of course, it still is a teen comedy, but [[GenreBusting not exclusively]].
** Its focus on science is shown by the intro featuring a Rube Goldberg-style can opener, the clocks all set at the wrong time, and the case of stolen plutonium under Doc Brown's bed.
* "WHAT ARE YOU?!" ''[[Film/Batman1989 "I'm Batman"]]''.
* ''Film/BatmanBegins'':
** Its opening scene, after a brief flashback to young Bruce falling into the well, establishes ''Begins'' as a new type of superhero movie. Instead of a fantastical-yet-traditional opening of Batman [=and/or=] a cartoonish version of his rogues gallery, we see a wandering, disheveled Bruce Wayne rotting in a HellholePrison until Henri Ducard comes calling to recruit him into the League of Shadows. This tells this audience this is not a simply "Batman exists to fight the bad guys" movie, but will dig into the hows and whys of Bruce Wayne becoming the Batman.
** The final scene establishes that Batman's very presence will redefine Gotham's underbelly, with the first sign of this being a homicidal maniac who likes to mark his crime scenes with Joker cards.
* ''Film/{{Brazil}}'' begins with a man getting abducted and tortured to death because of a typo. This shows that it's a CrapsackWorld that isn't malevolent but incompetent.
* For the ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'':
** ''Film/ManOfSteel'' opens with the birth of Kal-El, which his mother managed with no obstetric aid of any kind. Then we see his father struggle to reason with both Krypton's council and Zod's rogue militia before finally taking matters into his own hands in the most heart-pounding manner imaginable. Within these first few minutes, audiences were alerted to the fact that this Superman story would be far more intense than [[Film/SupermanTheMovie its predecessor]].
** ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' was established with Bruce Wayne arriving in Metropolis right when the Kryptonians invaded and witnessing the death toll first-hand. This establishes that while his beef with Superman was misguided, it's at least understandable.
** ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' has the Amazons fighting the German invaders. The Amazons had millennia of training and no fear of death, but still suffered heavy losses due to the Germans' firearms, which could fell any one of them with a single shot, establishing that this film will ''not'' romanticise war and making the titular characters' decision to fight appear all the more noble.
** ''Film/Shazam2019'' had it with Billy Batson's first two words in the whole movie being ''"Holey Moley!"'', showing that this DC film would aim for a lighter, more whimsical tone regardless of how silly it may seem.
* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has almost [[OverlyLongGag five long minutes]] of increasingly wacky, metatextual and ridiculous {{Credits Gag}}s before the actual movie has even started. (It even starts with the wrong movie.)
* ''Film/EnemyAtTheGates'' cements that WarIsHell when we see Russian soldiers gunned down by their own officers for retreating without orders.
* ''Film/AKnightsTale'' begins with a crowd of joust fans singing along to [[AnachronismStew "We Will Rock You"]] by Music/{{Queen}}.
* ''Film/KnivesOut'' opens with the story cliché of a housekeeper bringing tea to someone, only to discover a dead body. But instead of a scream or a DramaticDrop, she catches the tray before she spills it, cursing. Immediately this hints that the ensuing murder mystery is going to be a GenreSavvy AffectionateParody.
* The first shot of ''Film/KungFury'' firmly establishes that it's a movie that runs on a [[AffectionateParody ridiculously exaggerated version]] of the same nonsensical RuleOfCool that made movies from the '80s so endearing and you're [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief willingly going to suspend your disbelief]], no matter what happens or how ridiculous the movie gets, from this point onwards.
* The first few minutes of ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'' looks like a serious kung fu flick. That is until Master Pain [[GagDub opens his mouth]].
* Up until ''[[Film/XMen1 X-Men]]'', most movies in the superhero genre, while not without their moments of darkness, took place in some kind of fantastical universe like Metropolis or Gotham City that was clearly separate from the real world. The very first scene of X-Men shows [[StartOfDarkness a young Magneto]] [[DownerBeginning in a concentration camp]], being separated from his family. By chillingly grounding its setup in one of the most nightmarish real-world events in human history, ''X-Men'' set itself apart from the pack in terms of realism, and this was the moment that made the critics [[GenreTurningPoint sit up and take notes]] about whether superhero movies could actually have something to say.
** ''Film/{{Logan}}'' opens with the title character [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen sleeping in his car]], looking very old and very tired, and the very first word out of his mouth is an exhausted "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck.]]" Woken up by a group of thugs trying to strip the hubcabs off his car while he's still sleeping in it, Logan takes [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown a rather severe beating]] before snapping and slicing them all to pieces. [[RRatedOpening Gruesomely.]]
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** TheStinger at the end of ''Film/IronMan'' is the moment when fans everywhere learned that a movie SharedUniverse was being planned.
--->'''Nick Fury:''' Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. I'm here to talk to you about the [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Avenger Initiative]].
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' has a good one. After the first few minutes showing the origin story of a young Peter Quill, the scene changes to adult Peter walking across a storm-blasted alien landscape. He enters a cave, pulls out a Walkman and starts dancing to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love" in what can only be described as a 70's music video. This firmly establishes the movie as a lighthearted BreatherEpisode compared to the rest of the MCU.
** The opening to ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' establishes right away the DenserAndWackier tone compared to the previous Thor films. Thor is brought before Surtur while hanging in chains, and Surtur soon exposits his plan to bring about Ragnarok and destroy Asgard. But [[FailedAttemptAtDrama the gravity of the situation is undercut]] as the swinging chains keep turning Thor away from him, he confuses Surtur's crown for a giant eyebrow, and his dramatic declaration of escape is followed by a few awkward seconds of him having to wait for Mjolnir to come to him.
** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' lets us know right off the bat that Thanos is [[AnyoneCanDie not fucking around]] by having him [[spoiler: blow up the [[Film/ThorRagnarok Asgardian refugee ship]], [[CurbStompBattle give the Hulk a brutal beating]]]], and [[HeroKiller kill off]] [[spoiler: Heimdall and Loki]] before the ten-minute mark. Also counts as one for [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Thanos himself.]]
* ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' starts with a dignified portrayal of Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount, but it devolves into comedy as soon as the people in the back of the crowd (who have to struggle to hear him) start trying to interpret his message.
* In ''Film/PansLabyrinth'', when Captain Vidal brutally beats a young man with a bottle then coldly murders him and the guy's father is the point where the audience realized the film wasn't a family friendly Narnia clone [[NeverTrustATrailer as advertised]].
* ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'': A guy getting beaten to death with the immortal narration "''As far back as I can remember, [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster I always wanted to be a gangster.]]''"
* The slow motion shadow boxing intro of ''Film/RagingBull'' shows the beauty inherent even in a brutal sport like boxing. It's also a metaphor for the beauty in the tragedy of Jake's life.
* Judging ''Film/TheRoom'' by the first few minutes, you might think it's just a badly acted romantic drama about a boring yuppie couple. But the arrival of Denny — an unintentionally [[CreepyChild creepy]] HeartwarmingOrphan whose relevance to the plot is never explained — cements the movie as the bizarre, [[RandomEventsPlot plotless]] {{melodrama}} that its fans know and love. [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext As soon as Denny sneaks into Tommy and Lisa's room to join in on their sexy pillow fight]], you just know that you're in for something, uh... "memorable".
** Though for some fans, the Establishing Moment comes even earlier than that, when we get our first glimpse of the protagonist Johnny — an ostensibly charming banker with hair like Fabio and a face like a zombie — as he walks through the door and greets the love of his life with a completely monotone ''"Hi, babe"'' in an [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent unidentifiable European accent]].
* ''Film/RunLolaRun'' starts off as a standard crime thriller. Lola hears from her boyfriend that he's a dead man if he doesn't get 100 thousand marks for some mobsters in the next 20 minutes. Lola hangs up and runs out of her apartment to help him. Then, one-third into the movie, Lola gets shot and killed. [[GroundhogDayLoop Suddenly, we're back in Lola's apartment, and Lola hangs up the phone and runs out the door again.]]
* ''Film/ShootEmUp'' begins with a close up of Mr Smith. He just stares out into space, then takes a bite of a carrot. This sets up the silly, cartoony sense of humour. Later, at the beginning of the very first fight, Smith shoots a tanker of gasoline, causing it to spill everywhere, runs at it... and uses it to slide along the ground, shooting everyone. This sets up the ''balls to the wall awesome'' action we'll be seeing.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** The first scene of ''Film/ANewHope'' does this for the ''Star Wars'' saga, though in ways that [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny are difficult for modern audiences to appreciate]]. First, it gives the setting as "ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway", establishing this as a modern-day fairy tale in space. Next, it introduces the plot via an OpeningScroll as an homage to the ''[[Film/FlashGordonSerial Flash Gordon]]'' serials of the 1930's, complete with a bombastic opening theme. Then, just seconds later, we get that famous tracking shot of the underside of an Imperial Star Destroyer, [[ShootTheMoney showing off every lovingly crafted inch of the thing]]--and showing that, unlike ''Flash Gordon'', this was a big-budget EpicFilm in a painstakingly detailed [[TheVerse fictional world]]. Moviegoers in 1977 [[GenreTurningPoint had never seen a science-fiction film with production values that high]], but that tracking shot gave them a taste of the {{spectacle}} that awaited them.
** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' gets a good one as well. First, as a homage to the above one from ''A New Hope'', we see the ominous shadow of a Star Destroyer blotting out a ''planet'' from view, before cutting down to the planet's surface where we see a beautifully-crafted PracticalEffects BB-8. The battle that follows also gives us two good examples of this, where 1) Kylo Ren brutally kills [[DeadStarWalking Max von Sydow's character]], and 2) a stormtrooper gets shot by a hero and actually ''bleeds'', before putting a BloodyHandprint on a comrade's helmet and then dying in his arms. Both of these instances serve to highlight the DarkerAndEdgier nature of the sequel trilogy thus far.
--->'''Lor San Tekka:''' [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall This will begin]] [[WinBackTheCrowd to make things right.]]
** ''Film/TheLastJedi'' begins with the Resistance achieving a severely PyrrhicVictory, escaping from the base on D'Qar and blowing up the First Order Dreadnaught but at the cost of their entire bomber fleet, during which we witness the tragic HeroicSacrifice of a likable character. When it cuts back to Luke Skywalker with Rey on Ahch'To, the first thing he does is take Anakin's lightsaber from her and [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness throw it over his shoulder]] without even looking back. Both these scenes demonstrate quite handily that this is a Star Wars film that will ''[[DarkerAndEdgier not]]'' be playing it too safe.
** ''Film/RogueOne'' has the main character's mother killed by the Empire and her father taken prisoner [[DownerBeginning before the credits roll,]] demonstrating immediately that this is a film where ''[[AnyoneCanDie no one]]'' is safe. [[OverlyLongGag Did we mention already]] that the new Star Wars films are [[DarkerAndEdgier darker than their predecessors?]]
*** Even before any characters appear on screen, the movie makes its identity clear. It opens with the familiar "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...", but rather than a smash cut to the ''Star Wars'' logo, accompanied by the series' legendary opening theme and its bombastic opening horns, it simply delves right into the opening scenes. If you wanted proof that this was not a part of the main saga, but a "''Star Wars'' Story", this was it.
** In contrast, ''Film/{{Solo}}'' lets us know what a fast-paced, entertaining BreatherEpisode it's going to be when Han steals a speeder and hyperspace fuel from his vicious crimelord boss and escapes in a breathless speeder chase, his hot girlfriend in tow, within the first ten minutes of the movie.
** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' establishes the Old Republic's "more civilized age" as we see an immaculate cruiser, a bulkier yet still stylish predecessor to the Corellian Corvette from ''A New Hope'''s opening, arriving aboard the Trade Federation's flagship with two Jedi Knights onboard, one of whom is the young Obi-Wan Kenobi.
* ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'' begins with a fairly mundane opening, as a man named Harold Crick wakes up, does his MorningRoutine, goes about his work day, comes home, and goes to bed, all while a narrator explains that he has been stuck in this same routine for years. Then, at around the four-and-a-half minute mark, as Harold is brushing his teeth the next morning, [[FourthWallObserver he suddenly realizes that he can hear the narrator.]] Strap in, viewer, this is not going to be your typical drama.
* You know something's weird with ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'' when you see the limo driver misspell their name as Spinal Pap.
* ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' establishes itself as a DarkerAndEdgier take on the series within the opening moments of the movie; kicking off with Harry Goodman getting into a car accident [[spoiler: from investigating Mewtwo at PCL Labs]] and his son Tim going to Ryme City to find the truth about what happened. The movie's tone is then firmly established once Tim meets the talking Pikachu in Harry's apartment.
* ''Film/Halloween2018'' begins when a true crime podcaster is trying to interview a prisoner who has been institutionalized for 40 years in a facility and shows him a very familiarizing mask before the opening credits which means one thing .... Michael Myers [[HesBack is back]].
* After a DistantPrologue scene in ''Film/AmericanSplendor'', Harvey Pekar narrates to remind the viewers that this is not a fantasy/escapism movie this is realism when he said "''you got the wrong movie''".
* At first, it looks like ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'' will be a generic Muppet parody, complete with an intro that would fit that genre- until the rat named Trevor, from the wings, shouts as the cast and uses a profanity, establishing that this will be a adult movie through and through.
** Its focus on science is shown by the intro featuring a Rube Goldberg-style can opener, the clocks all set at the wrong time, and the case of stolen plutonium under Doc Brown's bed.
* "WHAT ARE YOU?!" ''[[Film/Batman1989 "I'm Batman"]]''.
* ''Film/BatmanBegins'':
** Its opening scene, after a brief flashback to young Bruce falling into the well, establishes ''Begins'' as a new type of superhero movie. Instead of a fantastical-yet-traditional opening of Batman [=and/or=] a cartoonish version of his rogues gallery, we see a wandering, disheveled Bruce Wayne rotting in a HellholePrison until Henri Ducard comes calling to recruit him into the League of Shadows. This tells this audience this is not a simply "Batman exists to fight the bad guys" movie, but will dig into the hows and whys of Bruce Wayne becoming the Batman.
** The final scene establishes that Batman's very presence will redefine Gotham's underbelly, with the first sign of this being a homicidal maniac who likes to mark his crime scenes with Joker cards.
* ''Film/{{Brazil}}'' begins with a man getting abducted and tortured to death because of a typo. This shows that it's a CrapsackWorld that isn't malevolent but incompetent.
* For the ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'':
** ''Film/ManOfSteel'' opens with the birth of Kal-El, which his mother managed with no obstetric aid of any kind. Then we see his father struggle to reason with both Krypton's council and Zod's rogue militia before finally taking matters into his own hands in the most heart-pounding manner imaginable. Within these first few minutes, audiences were alerted to the fact that this Superman story would be far more intense than [[Film/SupermanTheMovie its predecessor]].
** ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' was established with Bruce Wayne arriving in Metropolis right when the Kryptonians invaded and witnessing the death toll first-hand. This establishes that while his beef with Superman was misguided, it's at least understandable.
** ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' has the Amazons fighting the German invaders. The Amazons had millennia of training and no fear of death, but still suffered heavy losses due to the Germans' firearms, which could fell any one of them with a single shot, establishing that this film will ''not'' romanticise war and making the titular characters' decision to fight appear all the more noble.
** ''Film/Shazam2019'' had it with Billy Batson's first two words in the whole movie being ''"Holey Moley!"'', showing that this DC film would aim for a lighter, more whimsical tone regardless of how silly it may seem.
* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has almost [[OverlyLongGag five long minutes]] of increasingly wacky, metatextual and ridiculous {{Credits Gag}}s before the actual movie has even started. (It even starts with the wrong movie.)
* ''Film/EnemyAtTheGates'' cements that WarIsHell when we see Russian soldiers gunned down by their own officers for retreating without orders.
* ''Film/AKnightsTale'' begins with a crowd of joust fans singing along to [[AnachronismStew "We Will Rock You"]] by Music/{{Queen}}.
* ''Film/KnivesOut'' opens with the story cliché of a housekeeper bringing tea to someone, only to discover a dead body. But instead of a scream or a DramaticDrop, she catches the tray before she spills it, cursing. Immediately this hints that the ensuing murder mystery is going to be a GenreSavvy AffectionateParody.
* The first shot of ''Film/KungFury'' firmly establishes that it's a movie that runs on a [[AffectionateParody ridiculously exaggerated version]] of the same nonsensical RuleOfCool that made movies from the '80s so endearing and you're [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief willingly going to suspend your disbelief]], no matter what happens or how ridiculous the movie gets, from this point onwards.
* The first few minutes of ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'' looks like a serious kung fu flick. That is until Master Pain [[GagDub opens his mouth]].
* Up until ''[[Film/XMen1 X-Men]]'', most movies in the superhero genre, while not without their moments of darkness, took place in some kind of fantastical universe like Metropolis or Gotham City that was clearly separate from the real world. The very first scene of X-Men shows [[StartOfDarkness a young Magneto]] [[DownerBeginning in a concentration camp]], being separated from his family. By chillingly grounding its setup in one of the most nightmarish real-world events in human history, ''X-Men'' set itself apart from the pack in terms of realism, and this was the moment that made the critics [[GenreTurningPoint sit up and take notes]] about whether superhero movies could actually have something to say.
** ''Film/{{Logan}}'' opens with the title character [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen sleeping in his car]], looking very old and very tired, and the very first word out of his mouth is an exhausted "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck.]]" Woken up by a group of thugs trying to strip the hubcabs off his car while he's still sleeping in it, Logan takes [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown a rather severe beating]] before snapping and slicing them all to pieces. [[RRatedOpening Gruesomely.]]
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** TheStinger at the end of ''Film/IronMan'' is the moment when fans everywhere learned that a movie SharedUniverse was being planned.
--->'''Nick Fury:''' Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. I'm here to talk to you about the [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Avenger Initiative]].
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' has a good one. After the first few minutes showing the origin story of a young Peter Quill, the scene changes to adult Peter walking across a storm-blasted alien landscape. He enters a cave, pulls out a Walkman and starts dancing to Redbone's "Come And Get Your Love" in what can only be described as a 70's music video. This firmly establishes the movie as a lighthearted BreatherEpisode compared to the rest of the MCU.
** The opening to ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' establishes right away the DenserAndWackier tone compared to the previous Thor films. Thor is brought before Surtur while hanging in chains, and Surtur soon exposits his plan to bring about Ragnarok and destroy Asgard. But [[FailedAttemptAtDrama the gravity of the situation is undercut]] as the swinging chains keep turning Thor away from him, he confuses Surtur's crown for a giant eyebrow, and his dramatic declaration of escape is followed by a few awkward seconds of him having to wait for Mjolnir to come to him.
** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' lets us know right off the bat that Thanos is [[AnyoneCanDie not fucking around]] by having him [[spoiler: blow up the [[Film/ThorRagnarok Asgardian refugee ship]], [[CurbStompBattle give the Hulk a brutal beating]]]], and [[HeroKiller kill off]] [[spoiler: Heimdall and Loki]] before the ten-minute mark. Also counts as one for [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Thanos himself.]]
* ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' starts with a dignified portrayal of Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount, but it devolves into comedy as soon as the people in the back of the crowd (who have to struggle to hear him) start trying to interpret his message.
* In ''Film/PansLabyrinth'', when Captain Vidal brutally beats a young man with a bottle then coldly murders him and the guy's father is the point where the audience realized the film wasn't a family friendly Narnia clone [[NeverTrustATrailer as advertised]].
* ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'': A guy getting beaten to death with the immortal narration "''As far back as I can remember, [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster I always wanted to be a gangster.]]''"
* The slow motion shadow boxing intro of ''Film/RagingBull'' shows the beauty inherent even in a brutal sport like boxing. It's also a metaphor for the beauty in the tragedy of Jake's life.
* Judging ''Film/TheRoom'' by the first few minutes, you might think it's just a badly acted romantic drama about a boring yuppie couple. But the arrival of Denny — an unintentionally [[CreepyChild creepy]] HeartwarmingOrphan whose relevance to the plot is never explained — cements the movie as the bizarre, [[RandomEventsPlot plotless]] {{melodrama}} that its fans know and love. [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext As soon as Denny sneaks into Tommy and Lisa's room to join in on their sexy pillow fight]], you just know that you're in for something, uh... "memorable".
** Though for some fans, the Establishing Moment comes even earlier than that, when we get our first glimpse of the protagonist Johnny — an ostensibly charming banker with hair like Fabio and a face like a zombie — as he walks through the door and greets the love of his life with a completely monotone ''"Hi, babe"'' in an [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent unidentifiable European accent]].
* ''Film/RunLolaRun'' starts off as a standard crime thriller. Lola hears from her boyfriend that he's a dead man if he doesn't get 100 thousand marks for some mobsters in the next 20 minutes. Lola hangs up and runs out of her apartment to help him. Then, one-third into the movie, Lola gets shot and killed. [[GroundhogDayLoop Suddenly, we're back in Lola's apartment, and Lola hangs up the phone and runs out the door again.]]
* ''Film/ShootEmUp'' begins with a close up of Mr Smith. He just stares out into space, then takes a bite of a carrot. This sets up the silly, cartoony sense of humour. Later, at the beginning of the very first fight, Smith shoots a tanker of gasoline, causing it to spill everywhere, runs at it... and uses it to slide along the ground, shooting everyone. This sets up the ''balls to the wall awesome'' action we'll be seeing.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** The first scene of ''Film/ANewHope'' does this for the ''Star Wars'' saga, though in ways that [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny are difficult for modern audiences to appreciate]]. First, it gives the setting as "ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway", establishing this as a modern-day fairy tale in space. Next, it introduces the plot via an OpeningScroll as an homage to the ''[[Film/FlashGordonSerial Flash Gordon]]'' serials of the 1930's, complete with a bombastic opening theme. Then, just seconds later, we get that famous tracking shot of the underside of an Imperial Star Destroyer, [[ShootTheMoney showing off every lovingly crafted inch of the thing]]--and showing that, unlike ''Flash Gordon'', this was a big-budget EpicFilm in a painstakingly detailed [[TheVerse fictional world]]. Moviegoers in 1977 [[GenreTurningPoint had never seen a science-fiction film with production values that high]], but that tracking shot gave them a taste of the {{spectacle}} that awaited them.
** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' gets a good one as well. First, as a homage to the above one from ''A New Hope'', we see the ominous shadow of a Star Destroyer blotting out a ''planet'' from view, before cutting down to the planet's surface where we see a beautifully-crafted PracticalEffects BB-8. The battle that follows also gives us two good examples of this, where 1) Kylo Ren brutally kills [[DeadStarWalking Max von Sydow's character]], and 2) a stormtrooper gets shot by a hero and actually ''bleeds'', before putting a BloodyHandprint on a comrade's helmet and then dying in his arms. Both of these instances serve to highlight the DarkerAndEdgier nature of the sequel trilogy thus far.
--->'''Lor San Tekka:''' [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall This will begin]] [[WinBackTheCrowd to make things right.]]
** ''Film/TheLastJedi'' begins with the Resistance achieving a severely PyrrhicVictory, escaping from the base on D'Qar and blowing up the First Order Dreadnaught but at the cost of their entire bomber fleet, during which we witness the tragic HeroicSacrifice of a likable character. When it cuts back to Luke Skywalker with Rey on Ahch'To, the first thing he does is take Anakin's lightsaber from her and [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness throw it over his shoulder]] without even looking back. Both these scenes demonstrate quite handily that this is a Star Wars film that will ''[[DarkerAndEdgier not]]'' be playing it too safe.
** ''Film/RogueOne'' has the main character's mother killed by the Empire and her father taken prisoner [[DownerBeginning before the credits roll,]] demonstrating immediately that this is a film where ''[[AnyoneCanDie no one]]'' is safe. [[OverlyLongGag Did we mention already]] that the new Star Wars films are [[DarkerAndEdgier darker than their predecessors?]]
*** Even before any characters appear on screen, the movie makes its identity clear. It opens with the familiar "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...", but rather than a smash cut to the ''Star Wars'' logo, accompanied by the series' legendary opening theme and its bombastic opening horns, it simply delves right into the opening scenes. If you wanted proof that this was not a part of the main saga, but a "''Star Wars'' Story", this was it.
** In contrast, ''Film/{{Solo}}'' lets us know what a fast-paced, entertaining BreatherEpisode it's going to be when Han steals a speeder and hyperspace fuel from his vicious crimelord boss and escapes in a breathless speeder chase, his hot girlfriend in tow, within the first ten minutes of the movie.
** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' establishes the Old Republic's "more civilized age" as we see an immaculate cruiser, a bulkier yet still stylish predecessor to the Corellian Corvette from ''A New Hope'''s opening, arriving aboard the Trade Federation's flagship with two Jedi Knights onboard, one of whom is the young Obi-Wan Kenobi.
* ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'' begins with a fairly mundane opening, as a man named Harold Crick wakes up, does his MorningRoutine, goes about his work day, comes home, and goes to bed, all while a narrator explains that he has been stuck in this same routine for years. Then, at around the four-and-a-half minute mark, as Harold is brushing his teeth the next morning, [[FourthWallObserver he suddenly realizes that he can hear the narrator.]] Strap in, viewer, this is not going to be your typical drama.
* You know something's weird with ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap'' when you see the limo driver misspell their name as Spinal Pap.
* ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' establishes itself as a DarkerAndEdgier take on the series within the opening moments of the movie; kicking off with Harry Goodman getting into a car accident [[spoiler: from investigating Mewtwo at PCL Labs]] and his son Tim going to Ryme City to find the truth about what happened. The movie's tone is then firmly established once Tim meets the talking Pikachu in Harry's apartment.
* ''Film/Halloween2018'' begins when a true crime podcaster is trying to interview a prisoner who has been institutionalized for 40 years in a facility and shows him a very familiarizing mask before the opening credits which means one thing .... Michael Myers [[HesBack is back]].
* After a DistantPrologue scene in ''Film/AmericanSplendor'', Harvey Pekar narrates to remind the viewers that this is not a fantasy/escapism movie this is realism when he said "''you got the wrong movie''".
* At first, it looks like ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'' will be a generic Muppet parody, complete with an intro that would fit that genre- until the rat named Trevor, from the wings, shouts as the cast and uses a profanity, establishing that this will be a adult movie through and through.
