21) Beheading for the Finish Line

Mission: Impossible would outdo Speed’s subway finale two years later, but Ethan Hunt never got to deliver a kiss-off line to his nemesis half-so great as Jack’s. “I’m smarter than you!” Payne rages, choking Jack while they both straddle the top of the train. After a warning signal decapitates Payne, Jack’s self-satisfied retort is, “Yeah, but I’m taller.” It’s ridiculous, and silly, and wonderfully effective all the same, which is pretty much Speed in a nutshell. Toast with: A freshly sabered bottle of champagne.