A great many films hinge on their plot twists. In one short scene, everything the audience thought they knew about the story can change, and things can take off in an entirely new direction that almost nobody saw coming. Some plot twists require character deaths, reappearances, or major events. Some require a single sentence.
Whether that sentence reveals something revelatory about a character, disproves something the audience took for granted, or reveals something entirely new about the setting, it can rock a movie to its core. Some lines of dialog change a film irrevocably, with no turning back.
10 "You Never Told Me Her Name, Did You?"
Wanda Maximoff, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
A lot of marketing for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness revolved around Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. While her morality was questioned by some, many assumed she'd be on Strange's side, helping fight against a multiversal threat.
Things seem that way in the film, right up until Wanda suggests to Strange that she could protect America at her farm, mentioning her by name. When Strange pauses, Wanda realizes he never said her name, revealing herself to both Strange and the audience as the villain almost immediately.
9 "I Miss You"
Anna Crowe, The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is a film about a therapist, Malcolm Crowe, who helps the young Cole Sear, who can see and speak to ghosts. Malcolm has his own troubles at home following a violent attack from a former patient months before, with his wife not willing to so much as acknowledge his existence.
Once Malcolm has helped Cole with his problems, Cole offers Malcolm some advice: speaking to his wife, Anna, while she sleeps. Malcolm does so, only for Anna to say she misses him. This is a crucial hint, following a film's worth of foreshadowing, that Malcolm has been dead all along.
8 "Get Down"
The T-800, Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Many movies make the villain's identity their big twist, so Terminator 2: Judgment Day is unusual in that the identity of its hero is a major revelation. Throughout the first act, John Connor is covertly pursued by two time-traveling individuals, one of which is identical to the Terminator who tried to kill his mother years ago.
The two hunters come face-to-face, with John caught in the middle. As they both draw, it's the villainous-looking Terminator who tells John to take cover before opening fire at his attacker. "Get down" tells audiences that T2 is flipping the first installment on its head, with the Terminator one of the heroes.
7 "Your Name's Arthur, Right?"
Sophie Dumond, Joker
The main character in Joker, Arthur Fleck is a complex, dark man who has many sympathetic qualities despite his villainous actions. These qualities seem to endear him to his neighbor, Sophie, who he pursues romantically throughout the film's first half.
After something of a friendly relationship develops between the two of them, Arthur lets himself into Sophie's apartment. Visibly scared, she asks him his name. This triggers the revelation that there never was any form of relationship between the two, with them interacting a grand total of once. Every other interaction was a hallucination, signaling Arthur's struggling mental state.
6 "I Couldn't Resist, Mate"
Jack Sparrow, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl
For most of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Barbossa and his crew appear undefeatable. They're cursed, undead pirates who use this ability to great effect against the protagonists and British Navy. Things come to a head when Jack Sparrow duels Barbossa, visibly outmatched.
Barbossa runs Jack through, and he staggers back into the moonlight, revealing himself to also be cursed. An explanation is given moments later, as he says he couldn't resist while toying with a cursed gold piece. This is the first time anyone truly outmatches Barbossa.
5 "Houston, We Have A Problem"
Jim Lovell, Apollo 13
The events of Apollo 13 are based on a real-life incident, so for many, the film's twists aren't surprising in the least. For less-informed audiences, the film's best-known line can present a shocking change in mood.
Throughout the film's first act, Apollo 13's crew of astronauts are shown to be intelligent, capable, and almost unflappable, dealing with a number of minor problems. When the fuel tanks rupture, however, all protagonist Jim Lovell can do is say they're in trouble, with things taking a turn into a darker and far more tense story.
4 "If Only There Was Someone Out There Who Loved You"
Prince Hans, Frozen
Hans and Anna look like they have a typical Disney relationship in Frozen, right down to deciding to marry within one day of meeting each other. Hans is the typical Disney prince on the surface level – brave, loyal, and handsome – right up until he betrays Anna.
After Elsa hits her with a blast of ice to the heart, Anna learns that she needs true love's kiss to reverse it. Hans prepares to deliver it, seeming to live up to the cliché, only to say the above line. This recontexutalizes him into a cold-blooded villain rather than the ideal hero he pretends to be, settin in motion Frozen's final act.
3 "Mr. Glass"
David Dunn, Split
Said by the right character, the simplest line of dialogue can provide a major twist. For much of its runtime, Split appears to be a standalone M. Night Shyamalan thriller about a trio of girls being menaced by a man holding them captive. Even when things take a supernatural turn, there's little to suggest the film has ties to any others in the Shyamalan canon.
The final scene, however, turns to a discussion in a coffee shop. The participants liken it to a situation from years ago, struggling to remember the criminal's name, until David Dunn, last seen in Unbreakable, says "Mr. Glass." Split's ending retroactively confirms it as Unbreakable's sequel, setting the stage for Glass.
2 "No, I Am Your Father"
Darth Vader, The Empire Strikes Back
One of the most famous lines in film history dropped a plot twist of epic proportions. At the end of the duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, Vader clearly has Luke beaten and offers to spare him if they join forces. Luke refuses, and Vader mentions Luke's father. When Luke accuses Vader of killing him, Vader corrects the young hero with the truth.
Albeit given some foreshadowing earlier in the film, this is a massive revelation regarding Vader's true identity and his connection to Luke. "I am your father" shocked audiences for years, and the line has had an enormous effect on pop culture as a whole.
1 "I'm Here To Talk To You About The Avenger Initiative."
Nick Fury, Iron Man
Prior to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, crossover superhero movies were unthinkable. The first sign of the paradigm shift came at the end of Iron Man, in its post-credits scene between Nick Fury and Tony Stark. After a high-quality, but fairly conventional origin story, Fury surprises audiences with the above line.
As the first sign of the coming crossover The Avengers, which laid the foundations for the MCU as it's known today, this line has no impact on Iron Man itself, but changed everything for not only the MCU but the future of cinema. Iron Man's post-credits scene directly led to one of the most profitable film franchises of all time.