Line #41 Main/TheCenterpieceSpectacular


1	It is well known that the second act of any story is one of the most important parts and one of the hardest to get down right. So to keep everyone enthralled during this period you come up with the Centerpiece Spectacular.
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3	The Centerpiece Spectacular is a point in a story that is certainly not the climax, but it is situated during the middle of the story or sometimes even the beginning to really get their attention.
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5	Now, there can often be a downside to this. It isn't a bad thing to make the centerpiece the high point of the story, but if the climax doesn't even come close to approaching it then it can end up being a let down. And if the running time of the story has too great a distance between the centerpiece and the climax, you can run into EndingFatigue.
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7	The placing of the Centerpiece Spectacular can vary wildly, though it is never the climax. If this sequence happens towards the beginning of the story, it can overlap with an EstablishingCharacterMoment. In early Act 2 it is intended to get the plot flowing fast. In late Act 2 it is a set-up for the climax.
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9	----
10	!!Examples:
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12	[[foldercontrol]]
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14	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
15	* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'' has the battle between the dragons of the island nest and Drago's forces.
16	* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' has the fight with the giant robot at the Golden Gate bridge.
17	* The Tournament sequence in ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973''.
18	* The escape from Sunnyside Day Care in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''.
19	* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' has the "Hundred Mile Dash" scene.
20	* "Be our Guest" in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''.
21	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' has the first Sharptooth encounter. A big set piece that involves the first real touch with danger Littlefoot and Cera see as they are hunted by the vicious predator and protected by his mother as the ground splits apart in a massive earthquake. That Littlefoot's mother dies in the aftermath cements that his journey will be an arduous one without guidance. Later encounters with the Sharptooth are more tense affairs as they must deal the predator without the help of someone actually capable of harming him.
22	* Similarly, "Under the Sea" in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid\|1989}}''.
23	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePiratesInAnAdventureWithScientists'' has the bathtub chase through UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin's house.
24	* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' uses the dungeon to rescue Princess Fiona as one, fitting for being a parody of fairy tales. An intense chase sequence to survive a dragon's wrath would usually be the final climactic piece of most stories is the middle part here where the plot turns on its head and becomes a romantic comedy.
25	* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' has the giant red panda chase scene from Mei's school to her home.
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28	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
29	* ''Film/CastAway'': The plane crash is used for one, with spectacle not seen elsewhere as Chuck struggles to survive before being plunged into the ocean depths. It serves as an interesting turning point between his normal life before and the crushing isolation Chuck faces afterward.
30	* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' has the opening amphibious landing battle. A solid half-hour of relentless combat and no other combat sequence in the film, up to and including the climactic fight, can match it for intensity.
31	* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'': All the movies have a big breakout scene where all the dinosaurs are loose and chaos ensues.
32	** The original ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' movie has the Tyrannosaurus escape scene. As all the dinosaurs thus far had been in contained enclosures, seeing the largest carnivore on the park loose is a good show of how out of control things have gotten.
33	** ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' has the parent Rex encounter that sees the vehicles the good guys had been using go tumble off a cliff and Eddie's death. Without technology or anyone who could fix them, both the team and Ingen team must work together to find a way to connect with their escape vehicles.
34	* All of the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' movies follow this closely:
35	** ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' has the truck chase, and like most of the movie has gone on to be legend. And in a rare instance of a movie having two, the opening sequence with the giant stone ball serves a similar purpose.
36	** ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' has the mine cart sequence.
37	** ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' has the fight against, around and on top of the tank.
38	** ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' has the chase in the forest with the car boats.
39	* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' has the police escort being attacked by the Joker and Batman rushing into the fight. In fact the sequence was so good many people expected it to be the climax.
40	* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
41	** ''Film/IronMan1'' has the hero going to the Middle East and destroying the Stark weaponry that is being used there. The UnflinchingWalk after destroying the tank cements it, and the chase sequence with the American jets brings it home.
42	** ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk\|2008}}'' has the fight at the college grounds.
43	** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' has Captain America's first mission -- his attack on the HYDRA base, rescuing Bucky and the Howling Commandos and meeting the [[BigBad Red Skull]] for the first time.
44	** ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}'' has the attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, featuring Loki and his forces laying waste to it, the Hulk transforming to wreak havoc, and the Avengers working with S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to weather the attack.
45	** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' has the Hulk go on another rampage, and Iron Man activates his Hulkbuster armor to stop him.
46	** The scene at Leipzig airport in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' is a battle between two sides featuring many of the superheroes in the franchise. The dynamic choreography and clever interactions between the cast make it ''the'' action scene of the film. In contrast, the climactic fight is much smaller with dirtier combat, being a personal feud between Captain America and Iron Man.
47	** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' has its happen when Thor, exiled on Sakaar, finds himself in a gladiator match with the Incredible Hulk.
48	* ''Franchise/StarWars'' tends to do this a lot:
49	** The pod race in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' served this purpose.
50	** The Geonosian Arena fight in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''
51	** The Death Star escape sequence in ''Film/ANewHope''
52	** The Battle on Takodana during ''Film/TheForceAwakens''
53	** In ''Film/TheLastJedi'', there's the entire sequence on Snoke's ship, with Rey and Kylo confronting Snoke, Finn fighting Captain Phasma, and Holdo's big sacrifice.
54	** ''Film/SoloAStarWarsStory'' has the Kessel Run that the entire movie was based around.
55	* Film/TransformersFilmSeries:
56	** The first ''Film/{{Transformers\|2007}}'' movie had the arrival of the Autobots.
57	** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' has the forest battle with Optimus versus Megatron, Starscream and Grindor.
58	* The original ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968'' had the {{Reveal}} of the apes. They felt they had to do it again (and top themselves) for ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'' so they wrote the part with the reveal of the mutated humans.
59	* The ChaseFight on the freeway in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded''.
60	* Zero hour hits in ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'', and we follow John Cusack and family drive and fly out of Los Angeles as the ground crumbles and opens up, buildings collapse and debris -- cars, trains, freeways, people -- fly all about them.
61	* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'':
62	** ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' has the fight against the goblins and the cave troll (especially the cave troll) in the ruins of Balin's Tomb.
63	** ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'' had the Battle of Pelennor Fields, which comes about three-quarters of the way through the film and is easily the biggest and longest fight of the whole trilogy.
64	* ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]'' has the first confrontation with Calvera and the bandits, which leads to a round of back-to-back {{Badass Boast}}s.
65	** In the [[Film/TheMagnificentSeven2016 2016 remake]] the initial gunfight between the Seven and the Blackstone detectives.
66	* ''Film/PacificRim'' has a fight in Hong Kong between the four remaining [[HumongousMecha Jaegers]] and two of the deadliest {{kaiju}} in the film's universe during the middle of the movie. Although the climax is also a huge spectacle, the Hong Kong fight is the defining action scene of the film and delivers most of the monster vs. robot carnage the film was designed around.
67	* The Red Circle shootout in ''Film/JohnWick''. Coming almost exactly in the middle of the movie, John tracks down Iosef to a nightclub, and when Iosef tries to escape, John kills off a small army of mooks while chasing after him. John uses a stylized combination of hand-to-hand combat and GunFu to dispatch his opponents incredibly quickly with headshots and double-taps, all while [[WouldNotShootACivilian never hitting a single bystander in the crowded club]], fully cementing his reputation as TheDreaded. It also marks the point where John begins hunting Iosef in earnest, rather than simply preparing to do so.
68	* The church brawl in ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'': It closes the second act and it's the longest fight in the movie, featuring the most complex choreography, the most careful editing work (to make it look like a oner) and it has kickass background music. It's also the most violent scene, being the hardest aversion to BloodlessCarnage in the movie. That [[spoiler:[[MentorOccupationalHazard Galahad]] [[WhamShot dies]]]] right afterwards only cements it.
69	* ''Film/{{Predator}}'': Uses the compound confrontation with the rebels. With bloodshot machismo perforating every bullet shot and one liner, it does a very good job of establishing the impressive strength and firepower that the team has as they carve through a small army. It also has the effect of showing how out of nowhere the Predator comes out, as its presence instantly turns the movie inside out.
70	* ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'': The walkway showdown between Derek and Hansel about halfway through. It seems pretty climactic, but soon after, Derek's role in Mugatu's EvilPlan becomes more important to the plot than his rivalry with Hansel.
71	* ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' has the rematch between the two title characters in Hong Kong at night. Even though it's not the climax, it's the film's longest and most intricately-choreographed battle in the most eye-catching location.
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75	[[folder:Theater]]
76	* The Slave Cage sequence in ''Theatre/{{KA}}'' is an excellent example of a centerpiece spectacular that sets up the climax as the slaves revolt against their captors.
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79	[[folder:Video Games]]
80	* Halfway through ''VideoGame/WonderlandAdventures'', [[spoiler: the Ice Trolls come out of nowhere, steal the Star Key, freeze everyone present except you, and cause you to be trapped inside the Volcano.]]
81	* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction'' begins with the attack on Metropolis, featuring an invading army, meteor-like mortars, an invading army, ominous dropships and collapsing buildings. The trope is invoked as this is the game's high-point and the focus of most of the marketing.
82	* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' has the battle against Cackletta, the BigBad who kickstarted the adventure by stealing Princess Peach's voice. After Cackletta's defeat, the Mario Bros. are requested to escort Princess Peach through the Beanbean Kingdom as she arrives on a diplomatic visit. [[spoiler: Cackletta's possession of Bowser and subsequent kidnapping of Peach sets up the antagonist for the remainder of the game]]. [[https://johnnyappleshy.blogspot.com/2015/08/illusion-of-length-analysis-of-pacing.html This blog post]] notes that as a result of this centerpiece, ''Superstar Saga'' feels more like two major plot arcs rather than one, giving the game an illusion of greater length without FakeLongevity.
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Context Main / TheCenterpieceSpectacular