It's not hard to see that most, if not all, Hollywood films seem to follow the same basic structure. The genre of the film usually does not change the fact that the viewer is expecting to be introduced to a problem, have the film hit a conflict/complication in the middle of the film, and watch it end with a resolution that makes everything end for the better. This is known as the "happy ending" structure that most people expect from a film.
A good example of this 3-Act Structure being used, is in the film "Armageddon." This is personally one of my favorite films in that it makes the viewer feel nearly every type of emotion know to man. The film begins with an introduction to the problem which is that a giant asteroid is on its way toward Earth and that it will bring an end to the world as we know it. The introduction tells about the time when Dinosaurs, and most species, were wiped out by an impact caused by an asteroid. The last line of the introduction, "It happened before. It will happen again. It's just a question of when" gives the viewer the knowledge that this film will be about another possible asteroid impact on earth. That last line is also the peak of the introduction part of the 3-Act Structure.
As the film progresses, the people at NASA have to find a group of men who are willing to help destroy the Asteroid by going up into space and drilling a bomb into the asteroid, essentially blowing it apart. This here is plot point #2, or the complication in the film. The problem is fixed when NASA finds a man named Harry and his friends, who are known as the best drillers in the world. The drillers then go under intensive training to help them prepare for the conditions they will experience on the asteroid. The peak of this plot point is right before they are about to board the shuttle. Here, one of Harry's workers, who is dating Harry's daughter, is singing to her as he prepares to leave her behind. This scene gives the viewer the feeling that the time has finally come for these drillers to show what they are really made of and make use of the training that NASA has provided them with.
Lastly, the climax and resolution of this film comes when they encounter a problem on the asteroid and discover that one of them will have to stay behind to detonate the bomb that will blow up the asteroid and save all of mankind. The climax is when Harry has to tell his daughter that he won't be coming back home like he had promised and that he wants her to go ahead and marry his worker, AJ. The scene is enhanced by the use of an Aerosmith song made specially for this film and in the way the scene was filmed showing his daughter crying as she puts her hand on one of several screens to "touch" her father one last time. This climax is then essentially resolved when Harry stays behind and blows up the asteroid, thus saving the entire world.
This movie is over two hours long, and is a film that easily makes use of the 3-Act Structure. They introduce plot point #1 in the opening scene, reveal the conflict and plot point #2 in the middle of the film, and ultimately end the film with the climax and resolution. Overall, this film is a great example of Hollywood's Classic 3-Act Structure.
***VIDEO*** [Armageddon: Opening Scene][Plot Point #1/Introduction]
***VIDEO*** [Armageddon: Leaving On A Jetplane][Plot Point #2/Conflict]
***VIDEO*** [Armageddon: Ending][Climax/Resolution][Start at 4:45]
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