Admit it already. Seeing an explosion on the screen is quite exciting. The sheer thrill of seeing something being completely obliterated is a feast for our eyes to gaze upon. Whether it’s the White House blowing up in Independence Day or the robots from Transformers laying utter destruction to our American cities, when things go boom, we are thrilled! But what about the movies where the explosions themselves are essential to the plot? Well, I have a list for you then. These movies feature explosions that while impressive in the visuals are vital to the story that is about to unfold. So, let’s count them down!
Final Destination
Traveling by plane is often deemed, “The safest way to travel”. Well, tell that to the passengers of Flight 180. Final Destination was a clever idea that was originally a spec script for an episode of The X-Files and ended up being a successful horror/thriller film. In this movie, a young man is nervous about flying on a plane with a school trip heading to Paris, France. After boarding the plane, Alex has a violent and terrifying premonition that sees the plane shake, catch fire and ultimately explode killing everyone onboard. He then wakes up to realize that none of it was true but prior to the plane taking off, some things start to feel all too real. When the reality actually hits and the plane explodes, then the movie kicks off when the survivors realize that cheating death has its consequences. If there’s one movie that will never be the in-flight movie, it will surely be the first Final Destination. The premonition and explosion itself are some of the most memorable of the franchise and surely one of the most terrifying openings of a horror film to date.
Die Hard with a Vengeance
The Die Hard franchise is known for giving us one of the most badass cops in all of cinema but no movie in the franchise has a better opening then the third entry. The movie opens with some establishing shots of New York City only for everything to be thrown into chaos when a department explodes setting off a chain of events that is going to give McClane a really bad day not to mention a headache as well. A man named Simon takes credit for the explosion and threatens more if the police and McClane don’t comply with his demands. He only wants to play a game but we know that McClane has a knack for pissing people off. Following the explosion, McClane is forced to run all over the city, battle traffic, kill bad guys and all in a day’s work too. This third entry in the Die Hard universe is certainly one of the most fast-paced and entertaining action movies from the ‘90s and the Bonwit Teller Department Store was the first sacrifice that got the movie rolling right from the start.
Speed
A two-for-one special. Speed is one of the most simply plotted films and with an exacting amount of action and suspense this movie is one of the best action films of all time! There are two explosions in the movie that get the ball rolling and it all begins with an elevator’s breaks exploding trapping workers inside and putting them in peril of falling to their deaths. After that debacle, Jack Traven has just grabbed his morning coffee and witnesses a city bus exploding. It’s a shocking scene and the man responsible wants Jack to know that another city bus is rigged to detonate too. Then the chase is on to find the bus, figure out a way to save the passengers and somehow not get anyone killed in the process. Speed is an absolute blast and the perfect popcorn thriller that still excites us even to this day.
The Towering Inferno
A massive skyscraper towers over every building in the city of San Francisco and a dedication is underway that sees hundreds of guests entering the Glass Tower. During a circuit check, a fire breaks out in a closet that slowly burns. Even the alarms are indicating that a fire is present but none of the personnel is aware of the growing situation. When it’s revealed that safety regulations were cut or not even enforced, then the entire building is a disaster waiting to happen. Sure enough, after one explosion, more ensue throwing all the occupants and members of the fire department in grave danger. While the movie may be overlong for most audiences, The Towering Inferno is a wonderful disaster movie that features memorable characters and a story that grabs our attention from the start. With gripping special effects and sheer spectacle, this movie starts off simple and unfolds into a situation that still pack quite a punch after all these years. Especially, when we hear stories that eerily echo how this disaster was caused.
The X-Files: Fight the Future
The debut film for this incredible sci-fi tv series showcases an involving story rife with conspiracy, cover-ups and a secret that no government wants to admit is even possible. Special Agents Mulder and Scully are called to Dallas to investigate a bomb threat at a Federal Building since the x-files has been closed officially. The threat is taken seriously but after searching countless times, a bomb isn’t located. Turns out the bomb is in a building across the street and once it’s located, it’s just mere minutes to evacuate everyone to safety. Instead of disabling the bomb, the person in charge allows to bomb to detonate in front of him, killing him. It’s later revealed that the explosion was planned in order to conceal the truth of a bigger picture at stake. Both Mulder and Scully investigate and once the truth in revealed, it’s quite a sight to see. The explosion itself packs quite a punch and eerily looks similar to the Oklahoma City Bombing that occurred in 1995. That case was shrouding in conspiracy itself but was later proven to be a domestic terrorist case. The movie invites the audience to become fully engage in the investigation and whether you’re a fan of the tv series or not, the movie is still entertaining in its own right.
What are favorite movie explosions that were not used for entertainment purposes? I’ll bet that’s a question you never thought to ask yourself! Let us know!