Ah yes, it starts with an everyday problem rather than an end of the world problem, makes a lot more sense now, thanks 🙂

You start with SOME kind of conflict (a problem) that makes us sympathetic to the protagonist and foreshadows the overall story problem ahead. For instance, I am working on a trilogy. The first scene of the first book is my protagonist walking into the Unemployment office after months of being unable to get a job (problem, we empathize). Within five pages, we find out she can’t get a job because she has been blackballed (bigger problem). Her being blackballed is directly linked to the overall story problem (her dirtbag ex pulled an Enron and left her as the FBI’s prime suspect and she has to clear her name to get her life back). But in the beginning, she isn’t diffusing a bomb or in a car chase, she is simply in a real, human conflict. Make sense?

I use it because it’s HOW we meet the protagonist. The opening battle would be the equivalent of a prologue) since this is “technically” the fourth installment in a series and there is NO WAY I am using an example from the prequels unless I am talking about what NOT to do, LOL. But a lot of writers try to introduce the protagonist in the gun battle. In this case, life wad very mundane for Luke. He had to have a call to action and make a choice. We HAVE to see his normal world to know WHAT has been disrupted by the antagonist’s agenda.

That said, I have to say that Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope is a poor example of this. While Luke’s story does match exactly what you were getting at, the movie does not. It starts with a space battle followed in short order by a massive blaster fight between Storm Troopers and Rebels. In the midst of that we meet R2-D2 and C-3PO, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader, long before we get to the surface of Tatooine. A New Hope does exactly what you are advising not to do; it begins with a bang and then slows down for a long time before the Millenium Falcon blasts its way out of Mos Eisley and the action really picks up. Lucas used a neat trick for A New Hope; he followed the two droids and introduced each subsequent character one at a time. First Leia and Darth Vader (who intersect again later), then Luke, Ben, Han & Chewy. That was the biggest reason he cut the earlier scenes with Luke. The second movie (considered the best by many) is a much better example. We star with a probe landing on Hoth and Luke investigating and a conversation with Han over the comlink. Good establishing character moment before Luke gets hit by the Wampa. Return of the Jedi similarly starts slow. A New Hope starts with two bangs before it ever gets to Luke and a good character building moment. In fact of all 6 movies, it starts with the biggest bang and least character development (though perhaps the most for our Laurel and Hardy-esque droids).

Use it later as a prequel.