The most important thing to remember is that the HERO cannot turn back, his ultimate aim and goal has to be to kill the DRAGON even if he doesn't realize it himself. The audience has to see the hero isolated from his own people, his team, and see him on enemy ground, isolated from everyone. It ultimately must come down to a one on one battle between the two forces. The key to this film is, despite the idea of the IMF team, it's really Ethan Hunt, isolated, alone, and vulnerable against the Dragon. I will be referencing Mission: Impossible: 3 and Star Wars in this article.
Prequel: The Threat
In some manner, you have to show the danger of the threat, how bad the Dragon is and what it is willing to do. In history, this would be seen by either a knight trying and failing to rescue the princess, the girl being eaten by the shark (Jaws), or the bones of the fallen knights (Shrek)
Act One: Fighting to get something out of the Dragon's Den.
This is "the hero in balance".
- Consider what your main character wants, this is going to be the thing that is threatened. Remember it's not an item, an item is only a symptom of what he wants, an indication, a byproduct of his desire.
example: Ethan Hunt in MI:3 wants to have a normal life, the life before becoming an agent, and he leaves the agency, meets a girl, and is planning on getting married. Getting married is not what he wants; it's only a symbol of his having a "normal" life. However, this is something that the antagonist can then take away. You can't take away the feeling of "security" but you can take away the thing that the hero has because of his security.
- Your hero will be faced with a choice, one that threatens his present situation. This will be his past life conflicting with his present life; it will also be an "unresolved issue" that he feels guilty about, partly responsible for, and a need to resolve. Your hero will feel that he can get close to the dragon's den without threatening his life.
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example: Ethan Hunt trained a young female agent (coincidentally enough she of course is the blonde princess from all the knights in shining armor stories) and gave the go ahead for her to be put into the field. She was taken and he feels responsible for getting her out. This is despite the fact that he has been trying to lead a normal life. He lies to his wife about what he is doing, where is going and why, and so sets off the chain of events.
- The mission successful, the Hero returns home only to find that all is not what it seems. He discovers the cost of his brashness was to much for the town people to bear.
example: The young agent is killed and Ethan is called on the carpet for a failed mission.
Now, here, Tom could go home to his wife and live happily ever after, all would be well. But the guilt is to much, the pain of what happened, the sheer trauma is so weighing on him that he has no choice but to suit up and "try to make things right".
- The Hero vows revenge and chases after the Dragon.
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example: Ethan assembles his team and goes after Davies in an attempt to capture him. Here is the plan. Go after what Davies wants, in an effort to lure Davies' buyers out into the open, only to do that they have to get Davies first (cue the elaborate plan), then get the item (cue the elaborate plan), and finally, get the buyers. Sounds simple.
Act Two/Part One: Fighting to get back into the Dragon's Den
This is the hero out of balance
Now, understand this is the longest part of the film, occupying half of your entire film's length. So this means you have to really consider everything they have to do to get what they need to get to get into the Dragon's den.
- This begins the "what's the worst that can happen" part of the film.
- Ethan retrieves Davies
- Davies is then retrieved by the baddies (first appearance of a superior force)
- Ethan is again captured and threatened to be put away by his own agency (isolating the hero from the townspeople)
- the Dragon kidnaps the Hero's symbol of what he wants (Ethan's wife)
- the countdown is established by the Dragon now, instead of the Hero just wanting to go into the Dragon's den, he is forced to go into the Dragon's den
- Ethan assembles his team in Shanghai (isolating the Hero from everyone due to language and culture)
Act Two/Part Two: The Hero taking control
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- The Hero hatches a plan.
Up until now, the Dragon has been in control, now by getting the treasure, the Hero is taking control.
- Ethan gets the Rabbit's Foot (symbol of the dragon's power)
- The Dragon offers to exchange the symbols
- The Hero agrees but of course, this is where he says good bye to his team (think Luke getting into the single pilot X-wing)
Act Three: Fighting to get out of the Dragon's Den
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Now the Hero is inside the Dragon's lair, by himself, up to his own devices to not only get out, but to get out with the treasures. What's interesting is that idea that he has to have both to be successful, without both, he will have failed. Also realize that getting out is not the only thing to be done, the hero has to also kill the Dragon, because the dragon will be relentless in his pursuit to destroy the hero and everything he has worked so hard to have.
- The hero loses all his external weapons (Luke turning off his targeting computer).
example: Ethan's most powerful weapon is his brain, and as such, he gets the implant that takes away his ability to make lightening fast decisions. This would be like King Arthur losing Excalibur, proving then that the Hero is a Hero not because of what he has, but because of who he is inside.
- The hero faces the dragon and falls.
example: Ethan gets beat down by Davies, Luke getting R2 blown up.
- The hero passes through death to the other side and rises, realizing that he has to do it, he must do it, and he must even fight death to survive.
Ethan rises up, with only 4 minutes to spare and beats down Davies. Luke uses the force.
- It is this power within that allows the Hero to fight and win against the Dragon.
Balance Restored. This is page 120.