The Princess Bride has the Greatest Twist in Fantasy Movie History

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Fantasy is a hugely diverse movie genre, offering many different types of stories. Within this broad category, stands out as a timeless favorite, largely due to its sweet love story, fantastic humor, strong performances, and surprising plot twists.

Rob Reiner’s 1987 film, The Princess Bride, is a charming love story set in the imaginary kingdom of Florin. It follows Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Cary Elwes), a farmhand who leaves to seek his fortune so he can be worthy of her love. When Buttercup gets into trouble, Westley returns to rescue her, battling criminals and scheming princes in an exciting adventure across the kingdom. Though the entire movie is thoroughly enjoyable, one particular scene really shines due to its surprising twist.

Westley And Inigo Introduced The Best Twist In The Princess Bride

The movie The Princess Bride quickly establishes its central conflict. After Westley leaves to seek his fortune, he encounters the notorious Dread Pirate Roberts and is believed to be killed – the pirate leaves no survivors. Heartbroken, Buttercup is then forced to become engaged to Prince Humperdinck. However, trouble continues when she’s kidnapped by the cunning Vizzini and his henchmen, the giant Fezzik and the skilled swordsman Inigo Montoya. Vizzini’s plan is to take Buttercup to the enemy country of Guilder and murder her, framing it as an act of political sabotage.

As soon as Vizzini and his men kidnapped Buttercup, a skilled masked man began pursuing them – first across the sea and then up the dangerous Cliffs of Insanity. Vizzini decided to leave Inigo to duel the masked man, believing Inigo’s fencing skills would be enough to win. This encounter, full of unexpected twists, hinted at the eventual partnership between Inigo and Westley within the castle at Florin.

Everyone anticipated a fierce and brutal battle, but the fight took an unexpected turn when both men demonstrated remarkable kindness and respect for each other before it even started. Vizzini had previously cut the rope Westley was using to climb, forcing him to scale the cliff on his own. Although he could have easily left Westley to fall or pushed him off, Inigo instead offered him the rope to help him up, ensured he was safely on solid ground, and even allowed him time to rest before they began their sword fight.

Before their duel, Inigo announced he’d fight with his left hand to make things more challenging for Westley and extend the fight. Once it began, they fought with impressive skill, testing each other without truly trying to harm one another. They playfully referenced famous fencing masters like Capo Ferro and Agrippa, incorporating those techniques into their moves while exchanging clever remarks. The fight was both fluid and unpredictable, and actors Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin performed the sequence with remarkable finesse.

The audience is aware that Inigo is fighting with his left hand, but Westley isn’t. Inigo reveals this by switching hands, unexpectedly raising the difficulty of the fight for Westley. Then comes a bigger surprise: Westley calmly tells Inigo that he wasn’t fighting with his left hand either, having pretended to do so.

The crowd was so caught up in the duel that they didn’t notice Inigo and Westley were both fighting left-handed. Just when Inigo seemed to be gaining the upper hand, Westley revealed a hidden move and quickly overpowered him. Instead of killing Inigo, as Vizzini expected, Westley simply knocked him unconscious so he could continue after Buttercup.

This plot twist is considered one of the best in film history because it genuinely surprised viewers without feeling contrived. It relies on cleverness and intelligence rather than simple tricks to create its impact.

This Duel Reflected Inigo and Westley’s Personalities As Well

Discovering that Inigo and Westley intentionally fought with their weaker hands made the scene much better, highlighting that their duel wasn’t about causing real harm. It was a dazzling display of skill, filled with surprising moves that kept the audience engaged. While Inigo was a professional swordsman motivated by revenge, he wasn’t cruel. He and Westley clearly relished the challenge of testing each other’s abilities, skillfully using both their dominant and non-dominant hands.

Inigo and Westley clearly respected each other, and their duel – a thrilling exchange of both insults and swordplay – was the most memorable part of the encounter. Both fighters demonstrated strong character and integrity through their good sportsmanship. Even when Westley had the upper hand, he chose not to kill Inigo, instead showing his respect before incapacitating him so he could continue his journey.

Although Inigo and Westley were meeting for the first time, they quickly connected, hinting at the strong partnership they would develop throughout the movie. Inigo shared the story of his father, Domingo, who had been wrongly murdered by a man with six fingers. Westley remembered this detail, and later informed Inigo when he encountered the same man – Count Tyrone Rugen, a member of Humperdinck’s court.

Okay, so back in Florin, things really kick into high gear as our heroes race against time to rescue Buttercup before the Prince can put his awful plan into action. What I loved was seeing this unexpected bond form between these guys – they become true partners while facing impossible odds, which really highlighted just how important that epic sword fight was. Beyond the clever dialogue and surprising plot twists, that fight wasn’t just action; it made their friendship, and honestly, it’s cemented its place as one of the greatest friendships – and swordfights – in all of fantasy movies.

Will There Be A Princess Bride Sequel?

Though it wasn’t a huge success when it first came out, The Princess Bride is now a beloved classic, with some fans even calling it a perfect film. Despite years of hoping for a sequel, director Rob Reiner recently confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con that there are no plans to make one. The movie is based on the 1973 novel of the same name by the late William Goldman, who also played a major role in writing the film’s script.

William Goldman attempted to write a sequel to The Princess Bride, tentatively titled Buttercup’s Baby, but ultimately stopped working on it. He apparently completed three unusual chapters, but he wasn’t happy with the direction the story was taking. He discussed his concerns with director Rob Reiner, who stated he would only consider making a movie based on a story Goldman himself approved.

The actors, particularly Robin Wright, were against making another movie, and for good reason. In an interview with AARP, Wright directly stated that a sequel She explained that the original cast had aged significantly over the 38 years since the first film, and a sequel made now would look strange. Wright also mentioned that during a 30-year reunion call, the cast discussed the possibility of a sequel, but many of them

As a movie lover, it feels like all Hollywood does these days is dust off old favorites and try to reboot them. And honestly, it almost never works! Too often, they mess with the original story or change characters in ways that just ruin the whole experience. There are some films that are just perfect as they are, and thankfully, the people behind The Princess Bride seem to get that. It nailed everything – romance, comedy, a little bit of satire, and fantasy – and they’re smart enough to not risk messing with something already so brilliant.

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2025-12-04 01:08