Inciting Event: Major Cage, an Army public relations officer, arrives in London on the eve of humanity’s last attempt to hold back the alien forces in France. When he’s assigned to the front, he resists, is knocked out, and wakes at the military base. This is the Inciting Event, when he’s sent to the front, with no way back.

First Plot Point: The beach landing is a complete disaster, and Cage is killed right as he kills an Alpha alien. Though he doesn’t know it yet, this gives him the ability to reset the day. He wakes up at the base again, with the whole day repeating just as it had before.

First Pinch Point: After dying a few more times, he meets Vrataski, a hero of an earlier battle, and she knows what he’s going through. Cage learns why it happened, what he’s up against, and what he has to do: which is to die every day until he kills the Omega, the alien leader.

Midpoint: After countless attempts, Cage and Vrataski finally make it off the landing beach and into new territory. They also know where they’re going now—to the dam Cage saw in his vision, where the Omega is hiding out.

Second Pinch Point: Cage gets to the dam where the Omega is, only to find it’s a trap. He barely escapes and has to start over.

Third Plot Point: Just as Cage and Vrataski discover where the Omega actually is, they’re chased and end up in a car crash. Cage is arrested, he loses his power to reset the day, and he thinks Vrataski is dead. He’s faced with disaster.

Climax: Cage and Vrataski finally reach the Omega’s lair.

Climactic Moment: Cage reaches the Omega and destroys it, which also destroys the alien race.

Resolution: The day begins over again, only this time the enemy is defeated, and Cage goes to find Vrataski.

(Submitted by Steve MC.)

Notes From K.M. Weiland: I love how the Inciting Event/First Plot Point are set up in this movie. You’ll note that what makes a good First Plot Point always depends on the individual story and its primary conflict. What is the conflict here? Is it Cage getting sent to the front as a regular soldier? In any other story, that might be the main conflict—and thus his demotion to a grunt soldier would be better placed as the First Plot Point. But that’s not the heart of this story. The heart of this story is his ability to reset the day and, eventually, end the war. Therefore, his demotion to private is the Inciting Event and his gaining the alien power to restart time is the perfect First Plot Point.