Spectacular Rise of Popeye — dropping second half (3-7)

I believe the answer is:

eye-popping

'spectacular' is the definition.

'rise of popeye dropping second half' is the wordplay.
'rise of' is a reversal indicator.
'second half' suggests halving the letters.
'popeye' back-to-front is 'eyepop'.
'dropping' cut in half is 'ping'.
'eyepop'+'ping'='EYE-POPPING'

(Another definition for eye-popping that I've seen is " Astonishing".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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