Not a movie, but the cold opening of the Star Trek:TNG episode “Cause and Effect” is pretty memorable.
I’ll be the sixth to nominate the opening of Once Upon a Time in the West. Bronson was a brilliant casting choice, as were Elam, Strode and the guy who looked like a tweaker.
There’s an awful lot of action movies on here, which lends well to bad ass.
But on the other hand, I think Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail’s opening is pretty bad ass. Think English fog, a King comes riding out of it… with a servant banging two coconuts together! If bad ass means revolutionary, if it means shocking the socks of the viewers, well, I think the python boys got it right!
I didn’t mention Saving Private Ryan because as already mentioned, D-Day wasn’t the opening scene.
I also didn’t mention Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs because I couldn’t remember which scenes came very first. 
Goodfellas’ opening was pretty meh to me.
I don’t even remember the opening scene for Star Wars! :eek:
The rest I’ll have to get to in the future. 
I’ve always liked the opening scene in “Lethal Weapon II”. The car chase and explosions from right off the bat pull you in and keep you watching.
Tropic Thunder - the movie within the movie was a great start
Heh … I read the thread title as “Most Bad Ass-Opening Scenes to a Movie” … .
I was gonna mention Saving Private Ryan, but it’s true, the most memorable opening montage of the D-Day invasion is not, technically, the opening scene.
#2 on my personal list would be the opening scene of the anime classic Akira. I actually saw this for the first time in a movie theater, in full surround sound, and it blew me away. Never again would I equate anime = animation = something to watch on a little 19" 4:3 tube TV…
Another vote for Star Wars. First the rebel ship zips by, followed by the pursuing Imperial cruiser, then the battle and boarding sequence, with Darth Vader making his grand entrance.
The Matrix and X-Men 2 are good.
I was going to say Once Upon a Time in the West and The Matrix (although I wasn’t totally sure Trinity kicking as was the opening scene.)
Uh… the Google ad is for “Dead Body Clean up (Decomp/Homicide/Suicide)”… WTF? That’s weird shit.
Oh god how could I forget The Matrix? It’s one of my favorite movies! :smack:
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. The card game scene, where a player accuses Sundance of cheating.
Strictly speaking, it isn’t the opening scene (Butch checking out the new bank at closing time). But it’s close. And it’s magnificent in every way - writing, cinematography and acting.
Goatse?
I came in to mention that one. Really well done.
I third the opening of The Matrix, with Trinity versus the police and the introduction of Agent Smith.
I can’t remember if it is the very first scene, but Jessica Biel’s fight sceneat the beginning of Blade: Trinity is pretty bad ass.
I don’t know if it counts as a ‘bad-ass’ opening, but I’ve always loved the opening scene of Contact.
Definitely bad-ass.
If it hasn’t been mentioned yet: The remake from several years ago of Dawn of the Dead. It starts with Sarah Polley going home from work and sleeping peacefully, then waking up to a world of hell and zombies, including one that attacks her husband. Then she crashes her car into a tree and you hear Johnny Cash’s “When the man comes around” over a montage. Good stuff.
I watched this again the other day. It’s a fun film, and the opening scene is great.
My nomination: the opening of Cube.
Quoted for tons of truth!
I hadn’t seen that scene or movie at all. Thanks for posting the YouTube clip GreedySmurf.