Highlander (1986)
"There can be only one."
- To start off, the opening duel between Iman Fasil and Connor. It perfectly represents the spirit of not just what's to come in the first movie but the entire franchise. Iman himself shows to be a very awesome warrior, giving Connor immense difficulty in the entire brawl and even MANAGING TO DISARM the Scotsman. Connor only managed to finally win the fight through a surprise attack from behind.
- The original Highlander movie more or less codified the Crowning Moment of Awesome with the Quickening (No, not the awful movie). What could we do to make a swordfight more awesome? Oh, how about when one of the guys takes the other guy's head, EVERYTHING EXPLODES!
- The church scene in the original film. Never before has two men sitting down and talking been more badass.
- Connor letting the Kurgan know that any fear he may have felt is long gone: "You can't stay in here forever."
- By the end of that scene, Kurgan actually looks quietly afraid of Connor if anything. When he lets Connor know what really happened to poor Heather on that stormy night in 1542, Connor's reaction is a quiet look that would probably kill at thirty paces, and then cutting off his gloating by grabbing Kurgan's throat.
- Connor defeating the Kurgan.(camera zooms in to a close-up of Connor's face)There can be ONLY ONE. (EVERYTHING EXPLODES)
- Brenda attacking the Kurgan with a pipe, given she knew she was attacking a six foot tall, immortal, madman wielding a broadsword.
- Ramirez sure knows how to make an entrance.
Ramirez: Greetings! I am Juan Sanchez-Villalobos Ramírez, chief metallurgist of King Charles V of Spain, and I am at your service. [makes a small bow]Heather: (Beat) ...Who? - The duel between Ramirez and the Kurgan. When Sean Connery is demolishing brick walls due to the impact of his sword, you know that Awesome is occurring.
- The gun nut who stumbles upon the end of a duel and opens fire on the Kurgan. No, it didn't work, but he still did better than just about anyone else who went up against the Kurgan.
- Also awesome: after getting impaled on the Kurgan's sword and left for dead, the gun nut lives.
- Subtle, but there's Connor coolly weaseling out of the police detective trying to get him to implicate himself. Twice.
- Punching the creepy power-tripping beat cop in front of the same detective and getting away with it. It earns him a round of applause from a group of hookers as he's leaving.
- Connor administering a lethal dose of Laser-Guided Karma to a Nazi officer who shot him In the Back while he was carrying little Rachel to safety. At first, he offers the Nazi a chance to run away, but the smug bastard defiantly states in German that Connor will have to shoot him, and Connor is just fine with that arrangement:"Heheheh, whatever you say, Jack; you're the master race." *DAKKA!*
- Evil as he is, the Kurgan is a pretty awesome warrior. He manages to defeat Juan Ramírez after a grueling battle, handily outfights Sunda Kastagir, and takes Connor to his absolute limit during their final duel.
- Rick, a police analyst, successfully deducing Russel Nash's true identity as an immortal. This is likely the first time in history a mere mortal has ever been able to figure out the truth through research alone.
