This is NOT a list of my favourite CBM's. It is NOT a list of my favourite performances. It's not even a list of my favourite scenes. These giddy moments can come from anywhere, any movie, good or bad and any character whether that performance is Oscar or Razzie worthy. They can be the joy of what you've just seen on screen or excitement and anticipation of what "could" be to come. So, here it goes...
Wolverine's introduction - X Men
Back here, we had no idea who Hugh Jackman was. No clue as to how Wolverine would look or act on screen. This was back when CBM's were starting to edge their way into Hollywood. Anticipation was at an all time high as the X Men were coming to the big screen. Dreams of my early comic reading days and Saturday morning cartoons being made "real" were coming true and Wolverine was the one everyone liked most, before it became cool to not like him because it had become too cool to like him or whatever.
We see a runaway Rouge enter a seedy bar in the middle of a cage fighting competition. As a loser is thrown out of the cage and a new competitor enters, we see a shirtless man with his back to us. The only clues to his identity are his dog tags and hairy features. "It's him, it's Wolverine!" I'm sure most of us were screaming inside. He allows his fresh competitor to land the first few blows and just as he is about to land the final blow, his fist meets the adamantium laced fist of Wolverines where his clearly comes off the worst. Our hero makes very short work of his enemy from that point and shows a ferocity that was sadly only shown two or three times throughout his whole four movie outings. The end of this scene shows Wolverines claws and anger perfectly as his true identity is revealed to the bar staff. Ushered to move along, he reluctantly agrees but not before showing his displeasure by chopping the landlords shotgun in half.
We felt the promise of a true live action Wolverine, a promise we never really got. Hugh Jackman's passion and devotion is without question, sadly it's not enough as those who hold the purse strings demand a clean, family friendly Wolverine. Still, in it's context, at it's time, this truly was a giddy moment.
Iron Man's 1st outing - Iron Man
Fast forward from the X Men's introduction of the CBM era to Iron Man. The previous success of comics A list in Hollywood paved the way for a new "more evolved" line of CBM's. And who would have thought relative B list hero Iron Man would lead the way?
The entire movie was a triumph and the armour looked sublime in every shot. Say what you want about the final battle, personally I think it only felt a little lack lustre because the rest of the movie was so damn good! But that's not the "giddy moment" anyway. The moment I'm on about is when Tony has his suit built and ready and decides to use it as a weapon against evil. Terrorists are going about their usual business of terrorising in the middle east when suddenly a red and gold armoured man lands with a thump to put a stop to their shenanigans. The camera circles a truly bad ass looking Iron Man as all the intricacies of the suit are on show. Iron Man efficiently destroys the boot leg stark weapons, takes out the bad guys and saves the locals showing us what his invention is capable of. To top it off, he shakes of a hit from a tank and fires a small missile at it. Without even waiting to confirm a hit, he turns and walks away as said tank is obliterated. Cooler than the cold side of the pillow!
Opening Credits - Superman Returns
This movie seems to gather more hatred as time goes by. It's easy to see why. The inclusion of an illegitimate son for Superman is not only a brain fart to melt the eyes of the screen writers, it completely undermines who Superman is. Putting that aside, this was supposed to be a homage and continuation of the Donner/Reeve Superman. A few problems with that. Firstly, a continuation is just that. It's supposed to continue the story, not repeat it scene for scene. Everything Returns showed us had been done in the previous movies. Secondly, a continuation was not what Superman as a character or the public needed. He had become a joke to many who only really knew him from the Donner movies. As good as they were at their time, in the long run they have hurt the character to the point of him being labelled as "lame" by even the comic fan population. What was needed was a movie to show that Superman isn't just one of the richest characters out there he is also just as troubled, if not more so than Batman (yes, I believe that) and is struggling to find his place in a "world made from cardboard" as the character himself put it.
However bad the movie was, nothing has made me as giddy as hearing that infamous score in the cinema on the release of Superman Returns. The nostalgia of the old movies with the anticipation of what we could be in for given the technological advancements was too much for me to contain. I remember trying to bite the insides of my cheeks to stop a grin that I was sure the rest of the audience could see, despite looking the other way and in darkness!
The Riders Of Rohan - LOTR: Return Of The King
Peter Jackson's unprecedented back-to-back filming of this epic trilogy gave plenty of awe inspiring moments. It's been a while since I've seen these movies but I can't remember a single dodgy performance from anyone, be it a lead member of the fellowship or a small bit part. Jackson got the best out of everyone during his intense 18 month filming schedule and then he got the best out of the editing and fx teams during production. The scale of these movies could provide many giddy moments but there is one that stands out above all others.
The battle of Minas Tirith was not going well. Despite the news of the impenetrable Helms Deep falling into enemy hands, those in charge of the city refused to believe the white walls could be breached. But breached they were. The colossal Orc horde threw everything they had at the walls of the city. They went over and eventually straight through the once immaculate stone barrier. The city's population were outnumbered, overwhelmed and sure to meet their end. All hope was lost, and then on the brow of a far hill Gandalf appeared and he wasn't alone, the infamous Riders of Rohan were in tow. Their numbers were still not enough to match the size of the Orc army but their valour made up for that. The entire fleet kick their horses into action as they gather speed down the hill and direct their assault not at the centre of the enemy horde, but at the far side. They plough through the Orcs in a kamikaze effort to wipe out as many as possible, stopping for nothing. If they died, the momentum of their steed would carry on bowling enemies over. The scene was powerfully uplifting, the emotion of all that had happened in the movies leading to this point poured down that hill with Rohan's finest. It was one of the finest scenes any movie has delivered and also a true giddy moment.
Darth Maul in action - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
In my opinion, George Lucas didn't get much right with his highly anticipated prequel trilogy. The very first of this extension to his saga didn't just fail in its task of credibly introducing the boy who would become Darth Vader, it ripped a whole in the ass of a mythology held so dear to many that no but plug could fill. The force stemming from a bacteria, Anakin's sickening Christ like birth, an army of Droids loaded with Mr Bean's personality instead of tactical warfare and state of the art weapons systems are just a few major negatives from just the first of this pretty dismal trilogy. But he did get one thing right in this opening movie, Darth Maul.
Not only did Maul look cool, he was mysterious. Maybe even more so than Vader in some ways. The original trilogy gave us the light sabre, a weapon than burned into the soul of every young boy. If there is one piece of fictional movie technology you could have all to yourself and in full working order, the light sabre would be almost anyone's choice! Ok, maybe Iron Man's armour has taken that crown now but you get my point. When thinking of Darth Maul, George Lucas must have been working with a stoner from the days of Led Zepplin because like the guitar of that time, Darth Mauls' light sabre went double! The battle at the end of The Phantom Menace started off with a pure giddy moment as this warrior of the force, trained for nothing but assassination lit his weapons hilt on both sides. He moved with both grace and ferocity as this staff of plasma whirled around him. For a moment I forgot who I was, I forgot how disappointing the movie was. All I knew was I wanted a double bladed light sabre and I wanted to wield it like Darth Maul. Sadly, it didn't last. Thanks George!
So what moments in CBM history have made you giddy? Remember, this is not your favourite scene. Like most people, you may love Jokers disappearing pen trick from TDK but that's not a "giddy moment". I'm sure you get what I mean. Sound off below, I'd love to know what woke your inner child.