- The bus jumping the gap in the freeway. Physically impossible, yes, but still awesome.
- The section when the bus enters the city streets, and Annie must dodge every conceivable obstacle in that area as cop cars and motorcycles race to the bus in full lights and sirens to provide an escort, while the film's score hits it's highest and most frantic tempo. Physically possible and even more awesome for that believability.
- Pretty much every time Jack (and Annie) keep everyone alive after one nerve-wracking scenario after another. note Roger Ebert noted this as a "Bruised Forearm Movie", as in whoever is watching the movie with you will be grabbing your forearm at virtually every intense moment.
- Harry acts as excellent Mission Control and then goes on his own to stop Payne after having a "Eureka!" Moment and apparently tracking him down.
- After he discovers his ransom money is tainted by a paint bomb, Payne ascends to the top of the train car in a fit of rage and fights Jack. During the fight, Jack notices another tunnel light heading their way, Jack pushes up Payne's head, resulting in Payne's beheading."Yeah? Well, I'm taller."
- Jack managing to get himself and Annie off the bus after all the other passengers have been rescued. The music swells triumphantly as they blow the hatch and slide to safety, while the bus finally dips below 50MPH and takes out an empty cargo plane. We waited the whole film for that thing to finally blow and they didn't disappoint!
- Even better, that was all done in one take with multiple cameras covering the explosion, because Jan De Bont knew they couldn't afford to do it again.
- In the aftermath of the explosion, Payne calls up asking where his ransom is. Mac is about give him a piece of his mind, until Jack realizes something...
Jack: (whispering) He doesn't know it blew up.(Beat)Mac: (on the phone) ...Thirty minutes. - After Sam the bus driver gets shot, he somehow manages to keep his foot down on the pedal to keep the bus going over 50 mph, even when Annie (at this point unaware of the bomb) is trying to get his foot off the pedal.
- A woman crossing the street has her baby carriage hit by the bus, thrown through the air and run over. Fortunately, its contents are not what you'd expect.
- There is also the fact that this movie is one blockbuster Hollywood action feature movie where the police are most definitely not useless, but are for the most part being big-league hard driving action heroes to the male protagonist.
- Reporters covering the incident turn out to be helpful too. When they realize Payne has a camera on the bus, they ask the news crew to stop filming so Payne can't see what's going on. They then conscript the crews into helping film, edit, and pipe in fake video footage so the hostages have enough time to escape. All in a few minutes.
- The part where the people on the bus find out Payne is watching them and hack the camera to just play looped footage while they figure out how to escape. While he does eventually notice due to a continuity error in the looped footage, by then it's too late and everyone has already been rescued. His Big "NO!" when he finds out he's been tricked is very satisfying.
