Can you believe that 2024 is about to end? What a year it’s been for movies. What was supposed to be a slow year due to delays caused by the strikes ended up being a fun one with an eclectic crop of movies. From Dune: Part Two and Anora to The Brutalist and Inside Out 2, it’s one of the most wide-open years for awards.
Beyond the films themselves, several standout scenes deserve recognition. While the Academy doesn’t reward specific scenes, these moments will inevitably be on 2024’s highlight reel. Here are the seven best movie scenes of 2024.
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7. The phone argument – Hit Man (2024)
Forget the best movie scenes of the year; how about changing the article to “7 times Glen Powell won 2024”? This truly was the year of Powell, who entered the year riding high off of Anyone but You’s success. Powell showcased his movie star potential in Hit Man and Twisters and parlayed that into a future Hulu series, The Running Man remake, and a J.J. Abrams movie.
All of Powell’s qualities — charm, likability, presence, and looks — were on full display during the phone argument in Hit Man. The police want Gary (Powell) to elicit a confession from Madison (Adria Arjona). With the cops listening, Gary gives Madison written instructions from his phone on what to say as they stage a fake argument. It’s one of the more creative uses of the iPhone Notes app in a movie and another shining example of great chemistry between two budding stars.
Stream Hit Man on Netflix.
6. Monstro Elisasue – The Substance (2024)
You might have a better chance of winning the lottery than accurately explaining the ending of The Substance, one of the surprise hits of 2024. Director Coralie Fargeat delivered body horror and then some in the film’s unforgettable final scenes. Without Elisabeth (Demi Moore) to sustain her physical beauty, a desperate Sue (Margaret Qualley) uses the leftover serum to create another version of herself.
Unfortunately, that goes against the rules of The Substance. The mutated body, Monstro Elisasue, has a deformed Sue in front and Elisabeth’s face on the back.
Monstro Elisasue makes it back to a live New Year’s Eve TV broadcast and horrifies the audience, leading to her decapitation and pools of blood drenching the audience. It’s a WTF moment in every sense of the phrase, but more importantly, it’s a memorable ending that you’ll never forget.
Stream The Substance on Mubi.
5. The final point – Challengers (2024)
Who knew tennis could be so sexual? Director Luca Guadagnino explored a love triangle within the world of tennis in the romantic sports drama, Challengers. At the end of the film, Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor) reach a final tiebreak, with Tashi (Zendaya) looking on from the side.
Set to a thumping score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Art and Patrick embark on a long rally, neither gaining an advantage. At this moment, Art and Patrick understand each other completely and get lost in the match with each passing shot.
It’s a visual representation of how Tashi explained that tennis is a relationship between two people. The two embrace after a spirited point, causing Tashi (and the audience at home) to let out a passionate scream.
Stream Challengers on Amazon Prime Video.
4. The Home Invasion – Anora (2024)
Twenty-eight minutes. That’s how long the home invasion scene lasts in Anora, Sean Baker’s magnificent drama about a sex worker named Anora (Mike Madison), aka Ani, and her whirlwind romance with Vanya Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch. After a week of sex and partying, Ani and Vanya get married in Vegas.
Once Ani moves into Vanya’s Brooklyn mansion, Anora drastically changes tones. If the first half channels the energy of a rom-com, the second half rivals Uncut Gems. Once Vanya’s parents find out about his marriage, they send Toros (Karren Karagulian) and his henchmen Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) to the house to dissolve the marriage. The ensuing half hour is absolute chaos as Ani yells, fights, and scraps her way to ensure the marriage remains intact.
Buy Anora on Apple, Google, and Prime Video.
3. Attack on the War Rig – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
George Miller returned to his bread and butter this year, the Wasteland, in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, the movie explores the origins of Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy), the strong heroine who will one day become an Imperator. Unlike Fury Road, Furiosa is not a chase movie. However, the prequel does include a few chase sequences that rival Fury Road’s best moments.
Furiosa hides on the War Rig when the Citadel’s lead driver, Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke), embarks on a supply run. Jack and the War Boys run into trouble when The Octoboss (Goran D. Kleut), the leader of the Mortifiers biker gang, launches a surprise attack on the War Rig.
It’s a loud and explosive scene, with pulse-pounding action as the War Boys fight to defend the War Rig. The moment when the Mortifiers launch their parachutes and attack from the air is the definition of the leaning forward in chair meme.
Stream Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on Max.
2. What kind of American are you? – Civil War (2024)
Much has been said about the politics, or lack thereof, of Civil War, Alex Garland’s dystopian action thriller. The film imagines a divided United States during a civil war, where many of the states have teamed up to overthrow the tyrannical president. A group of journalists, including an experienced photojournalist named Lee (Kirsten Dunst), embark on a journey to Washington, D.C., to document the war on film.
Nothing in 2024 will be as scary as Jesse Plemons’ one scene in Civil War. Plemons plays a racist ultranationalist soldier who holds a group of journalists at gunpoint. The soldier, who’s wearing red sunglasses, and his two cronies happen to be burying bodies at a mass grave. The xenophobic scene will send chills down your spine, especially as Plemons interrogates the group about their origins in America. The overhead shot of the mass grave is a harrowing image that will be hard to erase from your memory.
Stream Civil War on Max.
1. Terry Richmond explains the meaning of P-A-C-E – Rebel Ridge (2024)
Good luck finding a better “A Star Is Born” moment all year than Aaron Pierre in Rebel Ridge. The 30-year-old proved he’s more than capable of headlining a movie in Rebel Ridge, Jeremy Saulnier’s excellent action thriller about Terry Richmond (Pierre), a former Marine veteran battling corruption in a small town in Louisiana.
After Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) refuses his bail offer, Terry explains the meaning of the acronym “P-A-C-E.” While Terry explains the phrase to Burnne, the other cops in the station learn about Terry’s experience as a close combat expert in the Marines.
Pierre’s delivery is calm and confident, as he exudes movie star charisma with each passing letter. Once he grabs the gun, it’s a wrap for Burnne. He may have won the initial battle, but Terry is about to win the war.
Stream Rebel Ridge on Netflix.