History EstablishingCharacterMoment / Film

* ''Film/MorningForTheOsoneFamily'', a Japanese drama set DuringTheWar, opens with the Osone family singing "Silent Night" (with Japanese lyrics) at Christmas 1943. They are immediately established as less traditional and more Westernized than other Japanese.
* ''Film/TheUsualSuspects'' getting arrested one at a time.
* Our first introduction to the title character in ''Film/SavingGrace'' is her in her greenhouse nurturing an orchid. Grace's prowess as a gardener is what drives the entire plot.
* Kelly Lebrock's immortal intro from ''Film/WeirdScience''.
-->''So, what do you maniacs want to do next?''
* The first half-hour of ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' is all about this. The opening scene tells us about a mad scientist with his Rube Goldberg machines, a dog, stolen plutonium, Libyan terrorists and a fascination with clocks. Then we see a young friend with his skateboard who plays guitar, has a girlfriend and is regularly late for school. Then the young friend skateboards through town, wants to be a rock star and has a miserable home life. Then we see how George is bullied by Biff, Lorraine takes comfort in alcohol, Dave and Linda live quiet lives of desperation, and Uncle Joey has no hope of parole. Eventually we meet Doc who deals with terrorists and can tell us we're going to see some serious shit, and the plot of the movie is finally started.
* ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'': The movie opens with perky pop song playing over fun, bouncing credits, as four perky pretty girls roll up to a stop sign in a brightly-coloured sports car...then the pop music is rapidly drowned out by Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation", as a lone, sour-faced young woman rolls up next to them in a beat-up Ford, ''glaring''. Six minutes before we learn her name, five minutes before she ever ''speaks'', and we already know Kat's basic character.
** Also captured in that wonderful exchange with Miss Perky:
--> '''Ms. Perky:''' People perceive you as somewhat...\\
'''Kat:''' Tempestuous?\\
'''Ms. Perky:''' "[[PrecisionFStrike Heinous bitch]]" is the term used most often.
* ''West Side Story'': No scene identifies the Jets better than the first few minutes where they tersely walk across the playground, snapping in rhythm, but walk around a small girl making a chalk drawing on the asphalt...taking care not to step on her art! Unity! Toughness! Tension! Anger! All revealed in seconds...as well as a core sense of propriety and human decency.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'':
** After the very first scene in ''Film/BatmanBegins'' which has young Bruce Wayne falling into a cave and being swarmed by bats (which as a kid, he was terrified of), we're treated to a prison scene which establishes the older Bruce Wayne as a badass, which has him taking down both a huge Chinese prisoner and every other prisoner who joins the fight. And then the guards have him dragged away, not to protect Bruce from them, but to protect ''them'' from ''him''.
--->"You're not the Devil. You're ''practice''."
** The Joker in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' has two of these, the first being the bank robbery when he shows himself ready and willing to betray his teammates for his own ends, and later his "magic trick" involving a pencil and plenty of EyeScream, which shows his mental instability and viciousness, but also [[GallowsHumor his sense of humour]].
** Harvey Dent also establishes himself in his first scene: flip a coin, diss a crime boss, punch out a would-be assassin and then [[RefugeInAudacity tell the assassin that if he is going to try killing a public servant]], [[DoWrongRight he suggests buying American]]. Some of those actions simultaneously establish the character he's ''going'' to become as Two-Face.
** In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', a maid has wandered into the quarters of Bruce Wayne, unseen in public for eight years. He startles her when he appears, and the flustered woman apologizes and insists that she'll be leaving. Then Bruce points out that ''somebody'' has cracked his supposedly uncrackable safe and stolen his mothers pearls...which look a lot like the ones on the maid's neck. The maid's demeanour instantly cools. "Oops. [[DeadpanSnarker Nobody told me it was uncrackable]]". She then kicks Bruce's cane out from under him and backflips out the window. Meet Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman.
* ''Film/ManOfSteel'':
** Zod is treated by some critics of the film as a tragic villain, [[http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/04/27/marvels-joe-quesada-disappointed-in-man-of-steel-says-it-made-zod-the-hero/ or even having more noble goals than Superman,]] which is altogether surprising since his very first scene is shooting an old woman in the face after declaring himself the new leader of Krypton, showing not only his unnecessary ruthlessness but also his fascism, in that he believed that he and only he knew what was best for his planet while saying it was for the good of everyone. He has another establishing moment when he and Jor-El are arguing about the genocide of humans. Jor-El tries to appeal to his empathy, and tries to get him to realize how horrible his actions are, while Zod flat out acknowledges this, and consciously chooses to ignore it.
** Clark Kent's establishing moment is when he saves a school bus of his classmates, even though they thought he was a freak and a few of them bullied him. [[spoiler: It echoes the biggest conflict of the plot, saving the Earth despite not knowing if they fully trusted him or even liked him.]] The one time he chooses not to intervene because of the possible consequences, that person dies. That scene was criticized, but it also showed just what happens when Clark doesn't use his powers. [[spoiler: And it was his father, the one person who always told him to keep his powers a secret.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** [[ReCut Han shooting first]]. This is why the change to that scene evoked such a strong response.
** Luke's Binary Sunset scene; gazing wistfully into the distance like he was looking at the future.
** Vader walking emotionlessly past his dead troops and then strangling Captain Antilles while interrogating him. He also provides the first introduction of what the Force is capable of; an Imperial officer starts mouthing off about how his "sorcerous ways" are nothing compared to the Death Star, to which Vader casually lifts a hand and chokes the guy from across the room.
-->'''Vader:''' I find your lack of faith disturbing.
** The opening of ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' is this for Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and, by extension, the entire Jedi Order. ("Have you ever encountered a Jedi Knight before, sir?")
** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' has Rey, a scavenger who is dependent on selling whatever she can get her hands on for rations, refuse to hand over BB-8, despite being offered a staggering amount of rations in exchange. This shows that she really is a good person at heart.
* ''Film/SevenSamurai'',
** Kambei's BatmanColdOpen, in which he shaves off his topknot, a symbol of honor for a samurai, in order to trick a kidnapper and rescue a child. Creator/RogerEbert wonders in his review if it's the origin of the practice, now common in action movies, of introducing the main hero with an undertaking unrelated to the main plot.
** Good-natured Heihachi is found cutting wood in order to get by. Rather than complain about doing such lowly labor, he accepts it with good cheer and a quip about being from the "Woodcut School."
** Kyuzo, the expert swordsman, is first seen engaged in a duel. His opponent refuses to be convinced that he truly lost their non-lethal exchange and insists on repeating it in earnest, whereupon Kyuzo immediately kills him.
** Kikuchiyo is first seen front and center while carrying a ''really'' long sword.
* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Judge Doom, when he melts a toon shoe using the chemical he invented known shortly as the dip. Also doubles as a major KickTheDog moment.
* In ''Film/BigGame'', first two things Herbert does upon his arrival are: (1) [[TheSnackIsMoreInteresting calmly eating a sandwitch]] as he's briefed on the situation and (2) performing a correct SherlockScan on the terrorists.
* ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven'', a SettingUpdate of ''Film/SevenSamurai'', features alternate establishing character moments for its versions of the characters. Vin and Chris volunteer to drive a hearse containing an Indian up to Boot Hill despite the protests of the townspeople, which mirror's Kambei's socially dishonorable and morally correct actions. Britt is introduced with a duel, as with Kyuzo in ''Film/SevenSamurai'': he demonstrates non-lethally his ability to win a pistol duel with a knife, and displays complete indifference to being called a liar and a coward, only agreeing to repeat the duel in earnest when his opponent threatens to shoot him where he sits otherwise.
* Achilles in ''Film/{{Troy}}'' waking up from [[AManIsNotAVirgin a threesome]], several hours late for a battle and after being called up to fight some gigantic champion in a duel, running up and just casually stabbing him in the neck.
* In ''Film/IronMan'', Tony Stark seems to get two moments several scenes apart. In the very first scene, he's drinking, flirting with a female soldier, downplaying yet at the same time bragging about his abilities to nail beautiful women, carousing with a soldier, and making morbid yet situation-appropriate jokes. Then, despite being a businessman who's never seen a real fight, he shows something approximating a cool head by asking for a gun (and, in a deleted scene, actually using one for a few moments), running when there's no other option, calling for help on his phone, and revealing himself to have been wearing a flak jacket. At the same time, his interactions with the lower enlisted personnel show that even the lowest ranking [[InsistentTerminology airmen]] are still worthy [[NiceToTheWaiter of his attention and charm.]]
** Pepper Potts's first appearance when she speaks with Christine Everheart, the reporter who Tony sleeps with and then subsequently dumps.
---> '''Christine''': After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the drycleaning?
---> '''Pepper''': I do anything and everything Mr. Stark requires. Including, occasionally, taking out the trash.
* In ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'':
** We first learn that Indiana Jones is no man to be trifled with when he bullwhips a treacherous partner behind his back. The entire BatmanColdOpen in the ancient temple and ultimate IndyEscape also establish him as a daring adventurer who's not exactly perfect.
** Marion is introduced as a tough chick by outdrinking a sherpa twice her size, then punching our hero in the face.
** "Dr. Jones. Again we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away. And you thought I'd given up." Belloq's [[SmugSnake personality]], [[EvilCounterpart role]] and [[ArchEnemy shared history]] all laid out in three sentences.
** Indy's father, Henry Sr., is introduced in ''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade The Last Crusade]]'' [[NotNowKiddo being uninterested in hearing Indy tell him how he got the Cross of Coronado]], instead wrapped up in writing his Grail diary.
* Film/JamesBond has a few in ''Film/DrNo''. One is the ever famous gunbarrel, and the other is killing a would-be assassin in cold blood.
-->"That's a Smith and Wesson... and you've had your six."
** Which is subverted if you know that the assassin is actually holding a Colt 1911, which holds ''seven'' rounds.
** Or that he knew it was a Colt 1911 and he was tricking the assassin into thinking he had lowered his guard, displaying his cunning.
** More iconically, when we first meet Bond at a casino, winning a card game.
-->'''Bond:''' I admire your courage, Miss...
-->'''Sylvia Trench:''' (''writing a check'') Trench, Sylvia Trench. I admire your luck, Mister...
-->'''Bond:''' (''lighting a cigarette'') [[TheNameIsBondJamesBond Bond, James Bond]].
* ''Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate'': [="I aM ToRgO. I taKe cAre oF tHe PlaCe wHiLe thE MasTer iS awaY."=]
* ''Film/TheProposition'' is really clever about this. The first character we see is Mikey Burns, who is, appropriately enough, confused, hiding, and entirely reliant on the protection of his older brother Charlie. Charlie establishes his character by saying, quietly and calmly, "Touch me brother again, and I'll kill you." Arthur Burns is established through Stanley's [[OffstageVillainy recounting]] of Arthur's MoralEventHorizon, and then introduced as [[AffablyEvil a caring older brother with a poetic soul]]. Stanley's introduced when he pistol-whips a mentally impaired man, and then turns out to actually be a decent fellow. And then there's Eden Fletcher, who spends most of his first scene looking at a badly wounded Mikey and repeatedly commenting "What a little piece of filth."
* The wedding sequence in ''Film/TheGodfather'', in which Vito conducts nefarious business in a darkened office alongside the bright festivities of his family.
** Also Vito casually playing with a cat on his lap while discussing whether or not to accept a man's request to murder someone. This was a ThrowItIn moment thanks to Francis Ford Coppola meeting a stray cat in the parking lot, and giving it to Creator/MarlonBrando (who happened to be a cat person) just before filming the scene.
** Santino smashing a photographer's camera. Also a ThrowItIn moment.
** Michael, in his military uniform, [[IJustWantToBeNormal assuring Kay he is different from his family]] -- right after delivering a hair-raising account of [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse how his father got a bandleader to release his godson, Johnny Fontane, from his contract]], foreshadowing his later following in his father's footsteps.
** Fredo gets one some way in when [[spoiler:Vito gets shot]]; he reacts too slowly [[spoiler:to the gunshots]], then drops his gun [[spoiler:while the hitmen make their getaway]] and then he just sits down and cries pathetically rather than try to help.
* The first time we see Nick Charles in ''Film/TheThinMan'', he's telling a bunch of ''professional bartenders'' how to mix classic cocktails. ("The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan, you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time... And a dry martini, you always shake to waltz time.") Despite him basically telling them how to do their own jobs, they're all obviously charmed and quite attentive. This shows that Nick knows his cocktails better than anyone on Earth, and that he's a charismatic, fast talker.
* ''Film/ApocalypseNow'': Col. Kurtz gets one via audio only via a recording of his descent into insanity being played for Willard as his "termination" mission is assigned to him.
--> '''Col. Kurtz''' "I have seen...a snail...crawl along the edge...of a straight razor. I have seen...a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor...and survive. That's my dream. That's my nightmare."
** Willard going crazy in his hotel room shows the inner turmoil he tries to suppress for the rest of the film. As with TheGodfather above, this was pretty much a ThrowItIn moment: Martin Sheen was [[MethodActing legitimately drunk]], and Francis Ford Coppola was taunting him from off-screen about what a total failure he was as an actor and a human being. Breaking the mirror, and his hands bleeding, wasn't special effects.
* In ''Film/TheElephantMan'':
** John's moment is the revelation that he can read, and is, therefore, intelligent. "The 23rd Psalm is beautiful. It's my favorite."
** Carr Gomm doesn't get one of these for quite a while, not until just after John's. "Can you imagine the life he must have had?"
** Mr. Bytes is introduced as a scummy, exploitative man ("My treasure.") and [[MoralEventHorizon just goes downhill from there]].
** The Night Porter establishes his character in his first scene. "I got friends who'd love to meet you. And they will, mate. Believe me. They will."
** Mrs. Kendall is established by her line "I should very much like to meet this Mr. Merrick." Not "elephant man", but "Mr. Merrick".
** Mothershead's moment would probably be the fear that John is just being stared at all over again. This is quite appropriate, as the characters have seen little of her personality up to now, either.
** And Frederick Treves doesn't get one at all. This keeps his fears of being NotSoDifferent from Bytes all the more effective.
* The first quarter-hour of ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'' establishes the character who will be holding the camera for most of the movie as the kind of person who's just enough of an obsessive nerd to do that. This doubles as {{justifi|edTrope}}cation, since the first question anyone asks is "Who would actually keep the camera running at a time like this?"
* ''Film/{{Tombstone}}''
** Doc Holliday's first appearance
** Johnny Ringo matching wits and gunplay with Doc establishes them as rivals.
* Darryl Revok, the BigBad of ''Film/{{Scanners}}'', shows us all what a CrazyAwesome guy he is by strolling into a seminar, tricking the audience into thinking he's just an extra, and then assassinating his target in [[YourHeadASplode the coolest possible way.]]
* The first scene in ''Film/{{Swordfish}}'' is Creator/JohnTravolta's character {{Deconstructi|on}}ng Hollywood's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG-Z6-nFQBo traditional portrayal of bank robberies]]. By itself, it tells a lot about the mindset of his character, but what really makes it an EstablishingCharacterMoment is what happens afterward. He walks out of the café, convince the [[spoiler:heavily armed SWAT team]] to move out of his way by [[spoiler:bringing up a detonator]] and cross the street to where he [[spoiler:has a bank robbery in progress]], revealing that the people he has been talking to are [[spoiler:hostage negotiators]].
* In ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'', SinisterMinister Harry Powell introduces himself by driving his car, talking loudly and colloquially to {{God}}, about his own sick, misogynistic views. It's strongly hinted (and confirmed, later) that Harry is a SerialKiller.
* The first scene of ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' is one huge SeinfeldianConversation and is seemingly irrelevant to the plot, but gives most characters their establishing moments. Some of these are quite adequate (White is shown as levelheaded and experienced, and his friendship with Mr Orange is evident if you watch close enough; Mr Pink gives the impression of a whiny [[TheSpock powerhouse of logic]]; Mr Brown is talkative and not serious-minded), some are misleading (PsychoForHire Mr Blond as a jolly Elvis lookalike? Puh-lease!), and there is even a bit of clever {{Foreshadowing}} concerning TheMole.
* ''Film/BlueVelvet'''s villain, Frank Booth, introduces himself in the story by randomly brutalizing and raping a woman, including such sexual perversions as erotic asphyxiation, fisting, dry humping, and sadomasochism, and then taunting her about her mutilated (by him no less) husband. It should be pretty obvious to the audience just what [[AxCrazy kind]] [[DepravedBisexual of character]] he is by that point.
* In the movie version of ''[[Literature/{{Ripliad}} Ripley's Game]]'', Ripley starts out by [[DissonantSerenity calmly]] beating a thug to death with a fireplace poker and tricking a couple fellow criminals out of several million dollars worth of forged paintings. That sums up his character.
* ''Film/{{Se7en}}''
** Detective Mills's establishing moment arguably comes not long after the research montage: after spending most of the night working on the case, he's then sent a package of library books on the SevenDeadlySins by his partner... whereupon Mills loses his temper, refers to [[Literature/TheDivineComedy Dante]] as a "[[MenAreUncultured poetry-writing faggot piece of shit]]," and starts throwing books around the inside of his car. Then, upon being given the cliff-notes versions of the same books, he profusely thanks the officer who delivered them. All of this establishes him as a nice if somewhat uncultured guy who has difficulty controlling his temper when under pressure (which becomes much more relevant later on).
** [[TheSmartGuy Detective Somerset]]'s establishing moment arrives right at the beginning of the film, in which he goes about his morning routine in a very careful, methodical manner, goes to work and asks questions about a particular crime that none of the other detectives are interested in answering, [[DeadpanSnarker makes sarcastic comments]] about the "crime of passion," wonders why his new partner (Detective Mills) would actually want a transfer to ''this'' [[WretchedHive city]], before going home and lulling himself to sleep with a metronome. All of this sums him up as both intelligent and remarkably cynical.
** ''"DETECTIIIIIVE!"''
* Barton Keyes' first scene in ''Film/DoubleIndemnity'', in which he tears apart a guy trying to claim insurance on his truck by revealing that the man had set fire to it himself. The scene is completely irrelevant to the plot, but it serves to thoroughly introduce Keyes, his methods, his quirks, and his relationship to Neff.
* In ''Film/{{Stargate}}'', Daniel Jackson gives a lecture on the Pyramids where his (correct) conclusions on their age are mocked and everyone abandons the talk before he's done, showing that he's a brilliant but unappreciated scientist. Jack O'Neil is introduced looking moodily at a gun while sitting on his recently dead son's bed. This establishes the pain beneath his gruff exterior and explains why he would take a suicide mission to begin with. Both moments also show that neither man has a lot going for him on Earth.
* In ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', Bullseye is first seen landing a series of bulls-eyes into a dartboard without looking and while downing a beer, establishing his superhuman accuracy. He then murders a man in front of a bar full of witnesses over a muttered insult, ''with a paperclip'', establishing that he is AxCrazy.
* In ''Film/AClockworkOrange'', the very first shot is Alex leering into the camera while a synthetic funeral march blares on the soundtrack, establishing Alex's strong, hypnotic and thoroughly evil personality before the voice-over even mentions "the old ultraviolence."
* The first appearance of the Operative in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', in which he casually kills the head doctor of the Academy and praises him for his good work even as the doctor dies, impaled on the Operative's sword. This establishes him as intelligent, honorable, and completely ruthless.
** [[KnightTemplar He also mentions how everything he and the Alliance are doing is to create a better world.]]
* ''InTheLoop'' opens with [[MagnificentBastard Malcolm Tucker]] sweeping into [[{{Whitehall}} Number 10]] in his [[BadassLongcoat long flowing black coat]], before a colleague engages him in some friendly banter:
--> '''Malcolm Tucker:''' "How'd your team do at the weekend?"
--> '''Number 10 staffer:''' "Alright, we won!"
--> '''Malcolm Tucker:''' "Yeah? Hehehehe...''wanker''."
* The very first thing you see [[CampGay Felicia]] doing in ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPriscillaQueenOfTheDesert'' is singing this song:
-->A desert holiday\\
Let's pack the drag away\\
You pack the lunch and tea\\
I'll pack the ecstasy\\
Fuck off you silly queer\\
I'm getting out of here\\
A desert holiday\\
Hip hip hip ''hip'' hooray.
* It isn't long into the first appearance of the Twister from ''IpMan 2'' before he calls Master Hung a "yellow piece of fat", and he only gets worse from there.
* In ''Film/AHardDaysNight'', the ECM for John, George, and Ringo has them running for their lives from the fans. They are further established, along with Paul's grandfather, in the first train scenes.
* In ''Film/GiveMyRegardsToBroadStreet'', we first see Paul in the back seat of a limo that's stuck in traffic in the rain, dividing his time between writing lyrics and listening to the radio with an air of silent resignation. Even though this is one level of reality up from most of the film, it foreshadows his role in the film surprisingly well.
* In ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' the first time we see the titular character, he's slowly limping with a cane towards the crowd and appears to suddenly trip just before the end...only to suddenly do a somersault and stand up triumphantly. This scene was Creator/GeneWilder's idea, to convey to the characters and the audience that Wonka is not to be trusted.
* ''[[Franchise/{{Predator}} Predator 2]]'' opens with Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) pulling off a move that's completely over-the-top awesome (even for the '80s) to save two police officers pinned down. He stuffs bullet-proof vests in the windows of one side of the car, smashes the driver's-side door off, and drives in while leaning out of the car, shooting at the gang members. He then picks up his shotgun (having dismissed the pistols as "too small"), flanks the gang members, and kills them. This immediately gives us the idea that if anyone can take on an alien hunter with superior technology, it's this man.
* In one of the first scenes of ''Film/TheThing1982'', [=MacReady=] is playing chess with a computer. When he loses, he pours his scotch into the CPU and calls the program a cheating bitch. In the long run, the outburst tells a lot about his character; [[spoiler:in the end, he'd rather burn down the whole facility than let the Thing win, just as he'd rather fry the computer than admit defeat to it]].
* Jack Napier in the 1989 ''Film/{{Batman}}''. In his introduction scene, he establishes that he's part of the criminal element plaguing Gotham City by his first line (in response to Harvey Dent's speech about making the city safe for decent people), "Decent people shouldn't live here. They'd be happier someplace else." His next line, "If this clown could touch Grissom, I'd have handed him his lungs by now," establishes that he is a psycho. Next, he comments on how his boss is a "tired old man" and how he "can't run the city without me," suggesting that he wants to run the show himself someday (which is expanded upon later in the "think about the future" scene with Eckhardt). He then admires himself in the mirror, and when the attractive woman he's been talking to (his girlfriend, who is also his boss's mistress) approaches him and compliments his looks ("You look fine"), he is insulting ("I didn't ask"), revealing that he is an arrogant jerk with a focus on his looks, which foreshadows his later transformation and the psychological effect it will have on him.
* The ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' films used different techniques to introduce Bruce Wayne.
** The first ''Film/{{Batman}}'' - He is fumbling about during a party showing his eccentricity. The fact that he also pretends not to know who Bruce Wayne is to Vicki Vale, only to introduce himself to her and Alexander Knox in a more low-key fashion, also indicates his willingness to and ease at keeping a low profile and slipping into the background when it suits him.
** ''Film/BatmanForever'' - He is on the cover of TIME magazine in Ed Nygma's cubicle showing him as TheAce. [[BrokenAce That's entirely not true]].
** ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' - He responds to Robin's quip with a wry "This is why Franchise/{{Superman}} works alone," indicating the LighterAndSofter direction of the movie.
* Jigsaw's pre-disfigurement establishing scene in ''Film/PunisherWarZone'' has him look at himself in a mirror and makes an arrogant rebuff when his woman compliments him.
* In ''Film/TheBigLebowski'', the first thing we see The Dude doing is shopping for half-and-half in his robe, tasting it in the store, then paying for it by writing a post-dated check for 69 cents. If that's not TheSlacker, then nothing is.
* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'': Creator/SigourneyWeaver's character barks, "Where's my goddamn cigarette?" showing that she's tough even though she's a scientist.
* In ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}'', Francis Begby is [[ShowDontTell shown to be a violent thug]] when he casually tosses a beer mug off a balcony, hitting a girl in the face with it, then starting a brawl. Just before kicking a guy in the crotch, he roars with an exultant look on his face, showing that violence is a drug to him.
** Also, there's a scene at the beginning of the film that introduces the five leads acting out their Establishing Character Moments- as part of a football game: [[GuileHero Sick Boy]] fouls, and shouts "What?" as if trying to look innocent; [[BloodKnight Begbie]] dropkicks one of the opposing team-members, wearing a delighted grin as he gets up; [[ButtMonkey Spud]] acts as goalie, completely misses an incoming ball and gets yelled at by his own team; Tommy gets caught in a corner and tries valiantly to escape without performing a foul; finally, Renton gets hit in the head with the ball and collapses- all the while narrating sarcastically.
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'': Captain Jack Sparrow has ''three'' [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Establishing Character Moments]] within his first few minutes. He is introduced to the series standing proudly atop the mast of his ship staring straight ahead... before the "ship" is revealed to be nothing more than a small, flooded dinghy, that he has to bail water out of before resuming his proud staring. All this shows that Jack never loses his pride. Immediately after, he casually steps off the rapidly sinking boat just moments before it completely goes under, and then promptly confuses the hell out of a few officers by babbling non-stop. All of this accurately shows the kind of nonsensical character that he has become known for being. A few minutes later though, he gets another EstablishingCharacterMoment when he jumps in to save Elizabeth from drowning without a second thought, despite not knowing her at all and the fact that doing it didn't benefit him in the slightest (it in fact hindered his plans), showing that despite being a morally grey pirate, he is deep down a fundamentally good person.
* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}''. Venkman is first shown giving an ESP test to two students in which a wrong answer is followed by an electric shock. Because one of his test subjects is an attractive female student, Venkman keeps zapping the other (male) subject regardless of who gets the right answer. This reveals Venkman as a JerkAss, a scientific fraud, and a man who thinks with his groin.
* The opening scene of ''Film/TopGun''. Maverick and another Navy fighter encounters enemy [=MiGs=]. Maverick manages to fly right above and upside down one [=MiG=] so close his RIO (Radio Intercept Officer), Goose, takes a Polaroid of the surprised pilot. This establishes Maverick as a skilled flyer and he and Goose as best friends who like to clown around. When the encounter causes his fellow pilot has a HeroicBSOD in mid-air, Maverick defies orders to stay with him to help guide him back to their aircraft carrier safely. This establishes Maverick as a rebel '''and''' heroic.
* The opening scene of ''Film/{{Patton}}'' does a very good job of establishing the title character, with all his medals, and pearl handled revolvers giving a RousingSpeech to his army offscreen in front of a giant American Flag.
* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' has one for each of the title characters.
** [[{{Bandito}} Tuco]]: Is eating in a bar. A group of gunmen come in to kill him and he shoots them all before crashing out of a window, still eating his dinner. "[[VillainProtagonist The Ugly]]."
** [[HiredGuns Angel Eyes]]: Has been hired to get information from a man. He enters his house, talks with him, refuses the man's counteroffer of more money if Angel Eyes leaves him alone and instead kills his boss, then shoots the man dead. His son comes downstairs with a gun and [[MoralEventHorizon Angel Eyes kills him too]]. He then goes back to his boss, giving him the information, and then kills ''him'' -- he took the first victim's money, and [[ConsummateProfessional he always finishes the job once he's been paid]]. "[[PsychoForHire The Bad]]."
** [[BountyHunter Blondie]]: Tracks down Tuco, kills several rival bounty hunters, and turns him in for a reward, then frees him so they can repeat the process several more times. When the jig is up he abandons Tuco in the desert and rides off with the money. "[[AntiHero The Good]]."
* The eponymous ''Film/MysteryTeam'' has two: the harassment of Old Man [=McGinty=] for absolutely no reason, and the investigation and interrogation of Eric; these two scenes set up their childlike attitude, Jason's [[PaperThinDisguise paper thin disguises]] and their tendency to overreact to the smallest thing.
* ''Film/{{Superman}}'' establishes the famed Man of Steel three separate times; each time is awesome.
** The first time is when the baby Kal-El reaches Earth. The baby crawls up out of the wrecked spacecraft and raises his arms to the stunned Ma and Pa Kent (whose characters are established here as well). Moments later as Pa Kent is changing the tires the jack goes loose and the truck nearly crushes him. But it doesn't...because the little baby caught the thing and is holding it over his head, smiling sweetly at the awed humans. The kid can't read a nursery rhyme, and already he's starting his superhero career.
*** In an Establishing Character Moment that's also a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, Ma Kent gushes about how she's begged and begged all her life for the Good Lord to give them a child as she looks at the infant from Krypton. As if on cue, the baby, who's never seen her a day in his life, spins around and hugs Ma Kent. Establishing Family Moment?
** We flash to a teenage Clark Kent, whose acting as a waterboy for the football team. He's painfully shy around Lana Lang, his crush and can't even talk to her unless she talks to him. And rather than beat the snot out of her smug jerkass boyfriend, he grudgingly gets back to work. In a fit of rage he kicks the football when no one's looking, seemingly into orbit. Already Clark is learning how to hide his true nature, how to control the urge to simply overpower his foes, and we see his famous awkwardness around women.
** Lastly, the Fortress of Solitude scene climaxes his training and his lessons from Jor-El with the first appearance of the adult Clark Kent/Kal-El, dressed in the classic blue suit and flowing red cape. As the RousingMusic blasts away in the background, he flies away from the Fortress of Solitude, the first demonstration of his greatest known ability. (This leads directly to the first appearance of adult Clark Kent in alter-ego form as he arrives for his first day of work at the Daily Planet. This establishes [[ClarkKenting the classic Kent bumbling and aloof disguise.]])
* ''Film/XMen'':
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'':\\\
The Nazi scientist, Dr. Klaus Schmidt, tries to get the young Erik to use his powers to move a coin, first by using a chocolate bar and when that doesn't work... he then shoots Erik's mother in the face. And when the kid has a BSOD and tears the place up with his metal powers, the guy laughs with satisfaction. The funny thing is, the Nazi scientist persona was a cover for his true identity, but that moment told you precisely the kind of a son of a ''bitch'' from hell you were dealing with.\\\
The following scene shows an adult Erik sitting silently in a hotel room, fiddling with the same coin using his powers. He stares at a wall papered with pictures of notable Nazis, including a hand drawing of Dr. Schmidt. He looks at it for a moment before [[{{Foreshadowing}} spearing the picture of Schmidt with the coin]]. Everything we need to know about how this man becomes ComicBook/{{Magneto}} is right in that scene.\\\
When we first see Charles as a kid, the framed photos on his night table are of Charles Darwin, Hedy Lamarr (who was both a Hollywood sex symbol and the [[http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/shortcuts/2011/dec/04/hedy-lamarr-wifi co-inventor of a radio-guided torpedo system]]) and Albert Einstein. He would later grow up to be a scientist with an appreciation for both brains and beauty.\\\
The first meeting between a young Charles Francis Xavier and Raven Darkholme. It established her isolation due to her appearance, and the fact that she is willing to latch on to anyone who accepts her, and it showed his kindness and delight at finding other people who were different.
** In ''Film/TheWolverine'', Yukio walks in a bar, [[DeadpanSnarker quips on the idiocy]] of Wolverine's foes (and that they'll be dead soon, as per her seer powers), then proceeds to [[CurbStompBattle effortlessly]] puts them on their place. Yukio then walks away unfazed as if she does that on a daily basis.
* ''Film/FirstKnight''
** Lancelot teaching swordsmanship establishes him as a man of action.
** Guinevere playing soccer shows she's a RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething.
** Arthur standing up to Malagant shows he's not to be trifled with even in his old age.
* [[Film/DirtyHarry "You gotta ask yourself one question; "Do I feel lucky?" Well do you, punk?"]]
* ''Film/DieHard'''s BigBad Hans Gruber showed his refined taste when he complimented Takagi's suit.
** Gruber already established the MagnificentBastard, SmugSnake type of criminal he is when he's directing his goons to prep before taking the Nakatomi Christmas Party hostage. And then, after they burst in and spray the place with bullets, he gently chides the screaming, terrified, hostages to please, please be quiet and allow him to speak.
** Gruber actually gets a few in quick succession. After his moment with the hostages at the party and complimenting Tagaki's suit in the elevator, he sees a scale model of Nakatomi Plaza and quotes that when "Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer" (showing his ego), before nerding out over another model and commenting that he loved model as a boy for "the exactness, attention to every conceivable detail" (showing that he's a meticulous planner).
*** Detective [=McClane=]'s AntiHero tendencies start to peek through as he's talking to the doctor on the flight to LA.
* The coffee shop meeting of Detective Alonzo Harris and Officer Jake Hoyt in ''Film/TrainingDay''.
* The opening voiceover of his letter to his mother establishes the mindset and character of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw in ''Film/{{Glory}}''.
* Morpheus's first phone call to Neo in ''Film/TheMatrix''. Apparently all-knowing, a disembodied voice of wisdom, and bad things happen when his orders aren't followed -- but also completely dogmatic, trying to steer Neo's every action.
** Neo's comes between his introductory scene and his interrogation with Smith. In the first he's a loner, living in an empty apartment surrounded by computers, looking for answers to mysterious, elusive questions. In the interrogation he demands the rights he is entitled to, shows disrespect for authority, and by all accounts he [[NiceGuy helps his landlady carry out her garbage.]]
* The scenes of the young James T. Kirk and young Spock near the beginning of ''Film/StarTrek''.
* Sarah Connor doing pull ups in ''Franchise/{{Terminator}} 2'' showed she TookALevelInBadass at the cost of her sanity.
** To clarify, said pull ups are being done on the leg of a bed she has flipped over, her options being somewhat limited as she's currently a mental patient in a loony bin.
* ''Film/MenInBlack'' contrasts Jay and Kay's ways of catching aliens. Kay tricks a disguised alien into exposing himself by calmly chatting with him in Spanish (which the alien pretends to speak), and Jay chases another disguised alien through a busy Manhattan street, ultimately getting the drop on him by jumping onto a moving bus from a bridge.
* Steve Rogers in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' has quite a few. All these moments occurred ''before'' his transformation into Captain America. One was where he [[JumpingOnAGrenade dove for a grenade]] and '''cradled''' it despite not knowing it was a dud. Also the scene when the sergeant tells the recruits to get a flag off a pole. Everyone fails to climb it but Steve casually takes the screws off the pole, causing the pole to fall and retrieved the flag that way. And this line:
--> '''Steve Rogers''': I don't want to kill ''anyone''; I don't like bullies. I don't care ''where'' they're from.
** Earlier than that, you find out he's tried to enlist in the army multiple times, he calls out a guy for being rude in a movie theater, later is fighting said guy even when it's obvious who has the upper hand and doesn't run away no matter how much he gets beaten.
** Heck, one of these moments occurred ''during'' his transformation. Further into the procedure, [[PainfulTransformation it becomes a lot more intense and he starts screaming in pain.]] This causes everybody to panic and Abraham Erskine and Howard Stark hastily try to shut down the machine - but are stopped by Steve:
-->'''Steve ''(still obviously in agony)'':''' NO! DON'T! I CAN DO THIS!
** Peggy Carter's first scene is dealing with someone who was mocking her for being English and making several rude and sexist comments towards her. She knocks him down with one punch.
** The first thing we see Bucky Barnes do is step into the aforementioned back-alley fight and beat the guy up for hurting Steve.
** Heck, Steve's ''very first line'' is one. A guy next to him in the recruiting office says, "Lotta guys getting killed over there. Kinda makes you think twice about joining, huh?" Steve's reply: "Nope."
* ''Film/TheProfessional''. The first scenes show Leon as a badass hitman with almost supernatural skills due to years of training. He spends the rest of his day as mundanely as possible- going to the store, watering his plants and cleaning his guns.
** [[PsychoForHire Norman Stansfield]] gets two establishing moments: he's introduced standing in the background, listening to classical music on his headphones and completely disconnected from the rest of the world. Then, when his [[TheDragon second-in-command]] informs him of a problem (a drug holder apparently cut some of the dope he was supposed to be keeping safe), he removes the headphones, and [[TheNoseKnows sniffs the holder]] for a few seconds, before declaring him innocent. Stansfield's next scene shows him leading a gang of thugs towards the holder's apartment: he takes a moment to down a pill and muse on how much he likes "these calm little moments before the storm," before charging into the apartment with a shotgun, killing the holder's wife, the holder's teenage daughter, then finally cornering the holder himself... so he can chat about classical music while the rest of his gang search the apartment for drugs.
* In ''Film/{{Audition}}'', TheProtagonist, a grieving widower has met a beautiful woman named Asami through the ruse of a movie audition. Over the objections of his friend, he calls her back, and we see her sitting on the floor in a largely unfurnished apartment, near the only two other things there: the ringing phone, and a lump burlap sack whose contents lurch over with an incoherent groan. ''And she's staring at the phone.''
* ''Literature/LastOfTheMohicans'':
** Hawkeye is first seen hunting a stag (while {{shirtless|Scene}}) establishing him as a frontier badass.
** Duncan asking Gen. Webb why he is negotiating with colonials shows he's an arrogant imperialist.
** [[JerkAss Magua insulting Duncan in Huron about being subordinate to women]].
** Alice saying how exciting the trip to Fort William Henry will be shows she's woefully unprepared for the reality of frontier life.
* ''Film/ConAir''
** Larkin mocking one of his superiors behind his back.
** [[WickedCultured Cyrus speaking to Johnny-23 in Spanish]].
** Malloy parking his car in a handicap space.
** Garland Greene's entrance offset by his gentle manner of speaking.
* ''Film/FaceOff''
** Sean Archer venting his frustrations on his subordinates.
** Castor Troy plants a bomb that will blow you AWAY!!, then [[EvilIsHammy dances away]] and swaggers to a choir singing "Hallelujah," and takes the time to grope a blonde choir girl.
* Maj. Jackson in ''Film/{{Django}}'' shoots a bunch of Mexicans for sport.
* ''Film/TheHangover''
** Doug being a NiceGuy to Alan.
** Alan letting a dog kiss him.
** Phil stealing the money meant for a class trip.
** Stu getting bitched out by his girlfriend.
* The first hint that Einon from ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'' isn't the good prince Bowen believes him to be is the moment he callously takes his dying father's crown while his father tries to hold onto it.
* ''Film/TheDeparted'' had the one where Dignam congratulates Colin's passing the detective test with "[[TheLancer Woop de fucking doo]]"
* In ''Film/GreenLantern'', Hal Jordan is first seen late to work, jumping out of bed with a woman in it, rushing to a test flight against two AI fighters and while outmatched in almost every way he manages to outwit the drones by doing a stunt that almost got him killed. As he learns how to control the ring, Hal demonstrates the tendency to act intuitively (the Racetrack) and thinking outside of the box.
* In ''Film/ThePrestige'', UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla walks casually out of a cloud of plasma arcs and shows Angier how to power a light bulb with the electrical currents in the human body, demonstrating one thing: Tesla is a goddamned ''wizard.''
* The opening scenes from ''Film/{{Payback}}'' show that Porter is a major VillainProtagonist. Among other things, he jumps turnstiles, robs a beggar, steals the wallet of an InnocentBystander, (and subsequently runs up the guy's credit cards) ducks out on bills, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking he doesn't tip his server]].
* ''Film/{{Jumper}}'': Roland is introduced telling a Jumper at his mercy that only God should have this power, then shanking the man in the gut[[note]]instead of, say, a relatively painless and quick bullet to the head[[/note]], establishing his religious extremism and viciousness.
* ''Film/{{Airplane}}''
** Captain Oveur grabbing a copy of [[StraightGay Modern Sperm]] magazine.
** Johnny telling [=McCrosky=] "No, thanks" [[CloudCuckoolander when he was asked to get him coffee]].
** Rex Kramer beating up religious solicitors.
* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''
** Sam telling Frodo about the promise he made to Gandalf ("Don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee!").
** Merry & Pippin's mischief at Bilbo's birthday.
** Saruman chastising Gandalf for consorting with Hobbits.
** Legolas immediately standing up for Aragorn when Boromir insulted him.
** Gimli impulsively attempts to break the ring with his axe.
* In ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'' most of the main characters get one of these:
** [[InsufferableGenius Mark]] has a conversation with his girlfriend where it's established that he's very intelligent but almost completely anti-social; he's arrogant, condescending and overly sensitive, which results in him getting dumped at the end of the conversation.
** Eduardo shows up in Mark's apartment after reading his blog, ready to give Mark emotional support, but all Mark wants is a formula he invented. Combined with the dialogue about Eduardo in the opening conversation, it's established that Eduardo is also very intelligent but much more personable about it. Eduardo also tries to ground Mark while he creates Facemash, which foreshadows his role in Facebook later.
** The Winklevoss twins get a very streamlined ECM - we see them effortlessly winning a boat race, while talking about the lack of opposition and making reference to the laws of motion. This shows them as very good sportsmen and intelligent, but arrogant and completely unaccustomed to losing.
** Sean makes witty banter with a college girl he's just slept with.
* While his siblings are suckling on a milking machine, Film/{{Babe}} is the only one who shows sadness that his mother was taken away.
* [[Film/ThreeHundred Xerxes]] meets Leonidas while he rides on a mobile throne [[AGodAmI pulled by dozens of slaves]].
* ''Film/{{Alaska}}'': [[DesignatedHero Sean]] refusing a compass as a gift from his father and proclaiming to his face that [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead wishes that he had died instead of his mother]] firmly cements Sean as an unsympathetic {{jerkass}}.
* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'': Jareth's first scene can be boiled down to his response when Sarah rejects his offer of a dream-viewing crystal if she'll forget about the baby brother she's just wished away: He turns the crystal into a snake and tosses it at her. The snake just as quickly turns into a harmless scarf, and then into a goblin when she drops it. "You're no match for me, Sarah" indeed! (His CirclingMonologue in the climax adds a wrinkle to this when he suggests that his intimidation of her is born of mutual [[Main/GenreSavvy genre savviness]] -- namely, he is aware of what she expects someone like him will act like, so he's been acting accordingly.)
* ''Film/ActOfValor'': Shabal's willingness to let children be collateral damage in his assassination of the US ambassador firmly shows that he's a nasty piece of work, while Christo's PsychoticSmirk when he hears Morales get punched by the torturer earns him no sympathy either.
* [[Film/SaturdayNightFever Tony Manero strutting down the street and stopping to admire new shoes and a possible new shirt]] showed him as a poor kid who has big plans for his future even though he doesn't know it yet.
* Professor Moriarty in ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows''. He confronts Irene Adler at her favorite restaurant, then just as she thinks she's safe in public, he empties the restaurant with a tap of a spoon on a teacup. [[spoiler:And then, kills her by letting her drink a cup of tea laced with an untraceable poison. The man used his substantial resources to demonstrate to Ms. Adler that at no point was she untouchable, moments before killing her anyway]]. Why? [[ItAmusedMe Be]][[ForTheEvulz cause.]]
* ''Film/TheNakedGun'' began with [[{{Badass}} Drebin]] [[AmericaSavesTheDay beating the tar out of the world's most evil men]] [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass then falling out of a window]].
* In ''Film/TheAvengers'', virtually all the major characters get defining moments:
** Agent Maria Hill is first shown walking quickly alongside Nick Fury, questioning one of his orders. Later, she hops into an armored vehicle in solo pursuit of Loki and his minions, showing that she's strong-willed and highly trained.
** Loki appears out of the Tesseract in a crackle of blue energy, with a fancy new spear and a ''really'' creepy grin on his face, attacks before speaking a word, and when told by Fury that Earth has no quarrel with him, he replies that "An ''ant'' has no quarrel with a ''boot''." [[TookALevelInBadass changed]] since we last saw him in ''Film/{{Thor}}''.
** We first see Comicbook/BlackWidow being interrogated by Russians and seemingly under duress; Until she drops the WoundedGazelleGambit with a [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "Hold please,"]] and takes them all out without effort. This shows that she's calculating, multi-layered, and extremely badass.
** Bruce Banner gets a quieter one - the very ''first'' thing we see of him is his inability to refuse a vulnerable child begging for his help, even when Banner (correctly) suspects he's being baited into a trap. In other words, his basic humanity is the first thing established, which sets up a tragic juxtaposition with how most of the other characters tiptoe around him as a monster.
** Hawkeye is the only character to suspect that other people could manipulate the Tesseract from a distance, showing his incredible powers of observation.
** Nick Fury tries to escape with the Tesseract, and when that doesn't work he attempts to stall Loki long enough that the building collapses, showing that he's willing to do whatever it takes to protect the earth.
** Steve Rogers is working off his frustration at the gym, showing how he feels he has no place in this new world.
*** Even more so in a deleted scene (which would have extended his introduction): he is shown watching old footage of him and him comrades in the war, he looks through some files finding out that all of his friends have died of old age - with Peggy being retired in the UK, as he ponders whether to call her or not. He then wanders through the streets of New York, [[FishOutOfTemporalWater surrounded by all this new technology]], and ends up at a café, [[WarriorPoet drawing a detailed sketch of the skyline on a napkin]]. This exchange follows between him and a waitress (before Creator/StanLee tells him to ask for her number):
--->'''Waitress:''' Also, we have free wireless.
--->'''Steve:''' Radio?
** Tony Stark is enjoying a moment with Pepper, showing how far he's progressed from his devil-may-care playboy personality. He then "shares" 12% of "his" recent success with her, informing us that no, for all his character development, his ego is still very much intact.
** Agent Coulson interrupts and barks down a Russian mafia boss: "You're at 114 Solinski Plaza, third floor. We have an F-22 exactly eight miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby."
* Peter Parker's first scene in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' after a flashback to his childhood show him as a loner at his school. The real establishing moment comes when he stands up to [[JerkJock Flash]] when he's bullying another student and refusing to take part even when getting beaten up.
* Buddy cop films often begin with a comparison between the by the book cop and the CowboyCop.
* ''Film/TheRedBaron'' establishes the main characters as [[OfficerAndAGentleman Officers and Gentlemen]] by them flying into the enemy territory only to drop a funeral wreath on the coffin of their WorthyOpponent.
* The first time we see the titular monster in ''Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster'', he bursts out of a meteor that has crashed onto earth in a blazing inferno before letting out his three-pitched shriek and attacking Japan.
* After ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' (1963) establishes the jewel thieves' methods and wiliness, the scene switches to a police office. The very serious man seated at the desk gets up, dramatically spins a large standing globe, and declares to an associate "We must find that woman!" He makes to rest his hand on the framework holding the globe, but lands it on the still-spinning globe instead, [[Main/{{Slapstick}} sending him tumbling to the floor]]. He gets up and acts as if nothing happened, and so the world is introduced to Inspector Jacques Clouseau, the movie's BreakoutCharacter.
* In ''Film/TheHobbit'', when Thorin first enters Bilbo's house, he doesn't introduce himself, bow or offer his services to Bilbo, unlike the other dwarves, showing how [[FatalFlaw proud]] and dignified he is.
** Dwalin is surly and rudely takes Bilbo's supper without a word. Balin is more friendly and guides the other dwarves in organizing the table. Fíli and Kíli, the youngest dwarves and the most insecure, noticeably panic when Bilbo denies the existence of a meeting.
* ''Film/TheSwordOfDoom'''s very first scene has Ryunosuke quietly show up behind a Buddhist pilgrim praying for death, walk up to him, and kill him with a single blow, wearing a blank, intense stare all the while.
* ''Film/RearWindow'' introduces LB Jeffries through one long, silent pan through his apartment. It shows, among other things, Jeff sleeping in a wheelchair with his leg in a cast, his shattered camera sitting on a table, a first-person view of a car crash captured in a photograph displayed near it, and photos Jeff took while visiting several other far-off places hanging on his walls.
** Lisa Fremont makes her first appearance when she awakens Jeff from another nap that night, gets a few dreamy close-ups from Jeff's POV, and kisses him in slow-motion. The movie proceeds to highlight the differences between her lifestyle and Jeff's when she shows him her newest PimpedOutDress, then brings in a waiter from The 21 Club to prepare them dinner.
* Film/MaryPoppins gets at least two. The first shows her sitting on a cloud, applying her makeup, and calmly keeping her [[BagOfHolding carpetbag]] and [[ParasolParachute parrot-handled umbrella]] from falling out. Later, after the wind blows away the other candidates for the Banks family's nanny, Mary Poppins descends on said umbrella. When getting interviewed by Mr. Banks, she reveals to him that she got ahold of the want ad the children wrote. He becomes so confused as to how she found the ad after he tore it up, he doesn't object to her confirming that she meets each qualification listed.
* The first shot we see of Corrine in ''Film/FlowersInTheAttic'' involves her looking at herself in the mirror, instead of her daughter who is right next to her.
* Each of the 4 Horsemen get a scene at the beginning of ''Film/NowYouSeeMe'' showing their solo acts:
** Daniel does a simple card trick on a ''large'' scale with a lot of planning ahead.
** Henley does an underwater escape routine and dies... only to emerge from the crowd a few seconds later.
** Merritt does a hypnotist act on a couple and uses his mentalist skills to extort some money from the husband.
** Jack offers $100 to anyone who can see how he does his spoon trick, pays up... then makes off with the guy's wallet.
* In ''Film/PacificRim'', one of the first things we see of Stacker is him ordering Gipsy Danger to guard Anchorage and ignore a fishing boat in the {{Kaiju}}'s path. When the Becketts go to save the boat anyway, and he realizes the crap's about to hit the fan, he tells them to take the boat and leave. He's ostensibly concerned with the bigger picture, but clearly doesn't like anyone being sacrificed or hurt if he can help it.
** Striker Eureka [[CurbStompBattle finishes off]] a Kaiju in less than a minute, to show just how powerful this [[HumongousMecha Jaeger]] is.
** Chuck Hansen is seen talking about how Striker Eureka broke the new record with 10 Kaiju kills, establishing himself as a cocky hotshot.
* ''Film/LegallyBlonde'' has Elle, supposedly a DumbBlond, easily seeing through a salewoman's attempt to cheat Elle of her money and rattling off reasons why the price would have been unreasonable. See also IvyLeagueForEveryone and SubvertedTrope on the film's page.
--> '''Elle''': It's impossible to to use a half-loop top stitching on a low-viscosity rayon. It would snag the fabric. And you didn't just get it in. I saw it in Teen Vogue a year ago. So if you are trying to sell it to me for full price, you've picked the wrong girl.
* ''Film/TheWayWayBack'' starts off with the much-quoted-by-reviewers scene where Steve Carell's character asks the 14-year-old protagonist how he rates himself on a scale of 1 to 10; upon hearing a 6, he tells the kid he's a 3.
* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'':
** Delacourt's first action in the film is to order the destruction of passenger ships full of people in need of medical attention.
** President Patel also has one, as he immediately calls Delacourt in for a review of her actions.
** This leads to Kruger's moment, in which Patel lists, as evidence of Delacourt's extremism, the dozens of crimes that he has committed, including [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil multiple rapes]] and torture.
*** Kruger's first appearance has him coldly shooting down the ship in question. He looks like a cool, assassin type character. [[SubvertedTrope When he's told he's fired, he's barbecuing on his roof in his boxers and throwing rocks at the neighbours]]. Just like your usual crazy neighbour, except he's using his katana for a barbecue fork. When he gets the news, he tips over the BBQ and starts swearing at Elysium.
* DjangoUnchained
** Schultz speaking very politely in his first scene, treating the slaves with respect, and demonstrating his deadly marksmanship, and only after it's (somewhat) legal for him to do so.
** Candie having lots of fun watching slaves fight to the death, and brashly asking Schultz questions before making introductions.
** Stephen [[DragonInChief stamping checks with Candie's name]] is the first shot we see of him. Shortly afterwards, he [[BoomerangBigot complains more loudly]] about Django being treated with dignity than anyone else in Candieland.
* ''Film/RockAndRollHighSchool'' introduces us to Riff Randall by having her steal a record player and using it to play Music/TheRamones out in the school hall.
* In ''Film/LaLeyDeHerodes'', a Mexican film, at the beginning when the protagonist is taken to his empty boss' office, the first thing he does is sitting in his boss' desk and imagining himself in his position, showing how despite his incompetence he is [[AmbitionIsEvil very ambitious]].
* ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'': Oh, we all know Master Pain/Master Betty is the BigBad, but what makes him stand out? The moment where he's struck with staves, including one directed ''[[GroinAttack at his balls]] repeatedly'' and [[NoSell he shrugs it off!]]
* ''Film/IntoTheStorm2009'': Neville Chamberlain is announcing his reisgnation to Churchill and Halifax. Churchill simply glares in the horizon without saying a word and ignoring Chamberlain like a stubborn ox until Chamberlain and Halifax catch the drift of what he means, signaling perfectly what Churchill is.
* During the dildo creation scheme in ''[[Film/{{Neighbors2014}} Neighbors]]'', Pete uses a scanner from one of his architecture classes to expedite the process. He mentions casually off hand that the others should go to class since the school has great resources.
* Missy of ''Film/BringItOn'' is introduced as basically a {{Expy}} of [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Faith]] replete with tattoo, athletic prowess, attitude and [[Creator/ElizaDushku actress.]]
* Will building a Faraday cage as a "private place" in his and Evelyn's garden in ''Film/{{Transcendence}}''. She said they needed a "place to be alone together", and he made sure that ''no-one'' could disturb them there. Ergo, he is ProudToBeAGeek and they are HappilyMarried - but he is so bashful and awkward he can only really say it with odd gestures like this. Once he is uploaded, he has godlike power and is able to do far, far more for her - so much more that she has difficulty comparing those godlike actions with his previous gestures.
* ''Film/HocusPocus'': Sarah's first appearance after being resurrected:
-->'''Sarah:''' My lucky rat tail! Just where I left it!
* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' packs a whole bunch into the first few minutes after the flashback. We have [[TheRemnant Ronan]] ranting about how he will "rain Kree justice" upon his enemies, showing his zealotry, followed by crushing the skull of a captured Nova Corpsman with his hammer. Shortly afterward, we have Rocket snarking at the people of Xandar and their stupid haircuts, showing off his antisocial attitude, then he berates Groot for drinking fountain water, showing his care for Groot and Groot's own GentleGiant nature. Of course, this all pales in comparison to Star-Lord, who, after a lengthy BadassWalk through rainy, deserted ruins, finally gets indoors; takes off his helmet, puts on a Walkman, and starts dancing to "[[EarWorm Come and Get Your Love]]", firmly establishing him as a BunnyEarsLawyer.
** Drax the Destroyer's establishing moment can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiAFwV2emZQ right here]], albeit without the part where he explains his quest to avenge the murder of his wife and daughter by slaying Ronan.
* ''Film/{{Fracture}}'': The very first scene shows Crawford (the movie's villain played by Creator/AnthonyHopkins) briefly examining an x-ray of a failed aircraft part, circling a particular point and telling his colleagues that was the point of failure. When asked if he wants to wait to see if he was right, he casually says "nope" and drives off. Both his hubristic confidence and his ability to quickly identify weaknesses are key parts of his character.
* ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'':
** The original Lancelot provides one for the Kingsman organization as a whole. He greets the bad guys with a gentlemanly joke, fights them all off with grace and style, then catches a glass before it falls, identifies the contents with a single sniff, and declares that spilling even a single drop would be a sin.
** Eggsy has a couple of these near the start of the film. One of his first on screen acts is to comfort his crying (half) sister. He also enables his two friends to escape from the stolen car they've just crashed (after he swerved to avoid killing a fox) by ramming the police car pursuing them so only he can be arrested and refuses to give their names to the police while being questioned.
* ''Film/{{Red}}'':
** Moses wakes up six in the morning before his alarm and does a cardiac routine even though he's retired.
** Sarah works at a boring job where she has postcards of all the places she would love to travel to.
** Cooper is on the phone with his wife about his children while casually moving around a room, planting evidence before hanging a guy.
** Boggs has a ghille suit in his own front yard and rambles on about conspiracies.
** Victoria elegantly arranges flowers while hiding a machine gun underneath the flowers as Frank meets her.
** Han in the sequel is literally stripped of all his clothing and equipment and manages to assassinate his target with a folded picture (that the target had given him!) and leaves the building without anyone realizing it.
* ''Film/JurassicWorld'':
** Zach doesn't show much interest in his little brother Gray and eyes several girls despite already having a girlfriend
** Gray is excited about dinosaurs and is fascinated by everything at the park.
** Claire doesn't greet her nephews at the airport and instead sends her assistant to get them. Even when she does meet up with them, she is completely booked off with meetings until late evening despite having promised to spend time with them and she has a hard time remembering what they look like. Also, while everyone tries to walk around the dinosaur holograms, she walks right through them, showing her disregard for the creatures.
** Owen is shown trying to control the raptors and later rescues a coworker who had fallen into the raptor den. He is not happy when Hoskins wants to attempt to weaponize the raptors.
** Hoskins starts talking about how war is the natural state of the world and that Velociraptors could be the perfect field weapon in modern warfare, in contrast to Owen and Barry who genuinely care for the raptors' wellbeing.
* ''Film/MichielDeRuyter'': when Admiral Tromp's ship is in trouble, Michiel de Ruyter doesn't hesitate to rush to his side with his own ship, despite advice to the contrary.
* ONI Agent Jameson Locke gets his in ''Film/HaloNightfall'' when, armed with nothing but light armor and a pistol, he fearlessly tracks, attacks, and disarms a Sangheili, an alien that is physically about as strong as a [[SuperSoldier SPARTAN-II]] in full PoweredArmor.
* ''Film/TheSucideTheory'': In Steve's opening scene, he is talking with a convenience store owner about his (Steve's) pregnant wife when another customer interrupts him to buy cigarettes. Steve catches up with him down the street and beats him to death with the pint of ice cream he just bought, showing that while he loves his wife, he is also a stone-cold killer.
* ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'': As Clarice walks down the hall of the prison, she walks past a convict brooding in his cell and an obviously insane convict who yells "I can smell your [[CountryMatters cunt]]" at her, then comes to the cell of Hannibal Lecter, who is just standing there with an expressionless face. It perfectly establishes Hannibal as the master of DissonantSerenity.
* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'': SergioLeone sold his reluctant star by describing his first appearance.
-->"Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera tilts up to the gunman's face, and it's HenryFonda."
** The scene doesn't quite play out that way, but it still counts.
* In ''Film/JupiterAscending'', the three Abrasax siblings are introduced overlooking a Harvested planet with zero remorse and arguing (subtly) over their mother and the inheritance she left them. Jupiter has a montage of cleaning other people's houses and admiring their beautiful and expensive things. And Caine's introduced with all the bounty hunters speaking in awe of him: cue fight scene.
----

** Vader walking emotionlessly past his dead troops and then strangling Captain Antilles while interrogating him.

** The Joker in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' has two of these, the first being the bank robbery when he shows himself ready and willing to betray his teammates for his own ends, and later his "magic trick" involving a pencil and plenty of EyeScream, which shows his mental instability and viciousness.

** Dave being a NiceGuy to Allen.
** Allen letting a dog kiss him.

* [[Film/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty's]] first on-screen appearance in the new Holmes films: He confronts Irene Adler at her favorite restaurant, then just as she thinks she's safe in public, he empties the restaurant with a tap of a spoon on a teacup. [[spoiler:And then, kills her by letting her drink a cup of tea laced with an untraceable poison. The man used his substantial resources to demonstrate to Ms. Adler that at no point was she untouchable, moments before killing her anyway]]. Why? [[ItAmusedMe Be]][[ForTheEvulz cause.]]

-->"Picture this: the camera shows a gunman from the waist down pulling his gun and shooting a running child. The camera tilts up to the gunman's face and it's HenryFonda."

The following scene shows an adult Erik sitting silently in a hotel room, fiddling with the same coin using his powers. He stares at a wall papered with pictures of notable Nazis, including a hand drawing of Dr. Schmidt. He looks at it for a moment before [[{{Foreshadowing}} spearing the picture of Schmidt with the coin]]. Everything we need to know about how this man becomes SelfDemonstrating/{{Magneto}} is right in that scene.\\\

* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'': Captain Jack Sparrow has ''three'' EstablishingCharacterMoments within his first few minutes. He is introduced to the series by
** The first we see of Jack Sparrow is the man standing proudly atop the mast of his ship staring straight ahead... before the "ship" is revealed to be nothing more than a small, flooded dinghy, that he has to bail water out of before resuming his proud staring. All this shows that Jack never loses his pride. Immediately after, he casually steps off the rapidly sinking ship just moments before it completely goes under, and then promptly confuses the hell out of a few officers by babbling non-stop. All of this accurately shows the kind of nonsensical character that he has become known for being. A few minutes later though, he gets another EstablishingCharacterMoment when he jumps in to save Elizabeth from drowning without a second thought, despite not knowing her at all and the fact that doing it didn't benefit him in the slightest (it in fact hindered his plans), showing that despite being a morally grey pirate, he is deep down a fundamentally good person.

* Every character in ''[[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Curse of The Black Pearl]]'' got one. ''Jack got three''.
** The first we see of Jack Sparrow is the man standing proudly atop the mast of his ship staring straight ahead. The ship is almost immediately shown to be a small, sinking, flooding dinghy, and Sparrow is the only crew. Sparrow drops down, bails some of the water out, and then resumes standing proudly atop the mast. Sparrow loses his ship and crew numerous times throughout the franchise, but if nothing else, he always has his pride.

* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'': Captain Jack Sparrow is introduced to the series by casually stepping off a rapidly sinking ship just moments before it completely goes under, and then promptly confuses the hell out of a few officers by babbling non-stop. All of this accurately shows the kind of nonsensical character that he has become known for being. A few minutes later though, he gets another EstablishingCharacterMoment when he jumps in to save Elizabeth from drowning without a second thought, despite not knowing her at all and the fact that doing it didn't benefit him in the slightest (it in fact hindered his plans), showing that despite being a morally grey pirate, he is deep down a fundamentally good person.