Vogler, Memo From the Story Department:
At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero's action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.
At the Climax of the story, the hero must have his final and most dangerous encounter with death. This final battle with the antagonist has higher stakes and is more difficult than anything he or she has faced before. The purpose of this final test is to see if the hero has really learned the lessons of the journey and if they have transformed into a new person with new insights and capabilities.
Batty - Movies That Move Us:
Physically, the protagonist must demonstrate that he has changed, and that his change can benefit those living in the Ordinary World. As such, he may bring back a trophy from the Special World that he can show off or use to great effect. However, it is important that the physicality of the Special World does not contaminate the Ordinary World, so he may be forced to make a sacrifice that shows him surrendering his old self and the physical journey he has travelled. A final physical test or hurdle may thus be set, seeking proof of the protagonist’s true resurrection: a physical sign of his emotional transformation.
Vogler, Memo From the Story Department:
The physical transformation or Resurrection of the hero is the outward expression of the hero's Lasting Commitment to Change but there may be Last Minute Dangers waiting to turn the inner story into a tragedy.
Palmer - http://www.crackingyarns.com.au/2011/04/04/a-new-character-driven-heros-journey-2/
Step 11: Decisive (Resurrection)
This is it showtime. This is where the dramatic question that was raised in Act 1 is finally answered. More importantly, it’s where we discover whether the Hero will take this opportunity to prove to us that they have indeed been transformed by their journey.
It’s not about winning and it’s not about saving the Hero’s arse. They can’t be rescued by external forces because that would deny them their ultimate character test. (Date Night makes this mistake.)
That’s why I call this climactic sequence “decisive”. It demands that the hero be the active agent – that they make the choice that determines whether they are going to draw on the better part of their humanity or fall back into the weaknesses of the past.
In Schindler’s List, Oscar, having amassed the wealth he sought at the beginning, now chooses to use it to save the lives of his Jewish workers.
In North by Northwest, mummy’s boy, Roger Thornhill, chooses to ignore his chance to escape and instead go to try and save Eve Kendall up on Mt Rushmore.