Film Review #84: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Lightning rarely strikes twice in Hollywood.  Until 1980, there was hardly any signs of any sequel of a good movie that could match or even surpass the imagination and wondrous splendor of the original.  And after all, Star Wars was the single most successful film of all time in 1980.  To have the thought of a sequel to the greatest film of all time, was a very bold gamble by George Lucas and his people.  George even decided to step back as director and allowed his colleague Irvin Kershner to direct the film.

But, with the character based director at the helm, a much darker and more complex storyline in the works, and even more dazzling special effects, The Empire Strikes Back is not only a vast improvement, but is in heavy discussion as to whether or not this film is the greatest of all time.  I know I would seriously consider this.  After all, this is one of my 5 favorite films of all time.  This film is practically flawless.

PLOT: Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebels have had to take refuge on the icy planet of Hoth.  After getting wounded by a snowmonster, Luke Skywalker has a vision of Obi-Wan, instructing him to go to the planet of Dagobah and train with the Jedi Master Yoda.  The Empire finds the Rebels and attacks the planet, devastating the Rebels.  Vader begins a relentless pursuit of Luke, but Luke manages to fly away from the Imperial Fleet and make it to Dagobah.

Han Solo and Leia are being chased into space by the Empire, with a damaged Millenium Falcon forcing them to land in an asteroid field after an exciting chase.  Han and Leia begin to fall in love with each other, while trying to find ways to fix the ship.  When Han finds out that the cave they've settled in isn't a cave, they fly off and hide from the fleet.  Solo desperately searches for a safe port, ultimately deciding to pay his old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) a visit.

Luke and R2-D2 crashland on the swampy marshes of Dagobah and begin their search for Yoda.  Luke encounters a short green alien who agrees to take them to him.  But when Luke loses his patience with the alien, the alien insists that Luke is not ready to become a Jedi.  Realizing that this little guy was in fact Yoda, Luke changes his mind and vows to not fail him.  Throughout his training, Luke learns more about the Force and the powers of the Dark Side, but struggles with understanding the concepts of the Force.  Luke fails many tests Yoda has for him, ultimately having him see a vision of his friends being tormented on Cloud City.  Luke leaves, but vows to return.

Han and Lando's reunion is cut short when Cloud City is revealed to be under Imperial control and the Rebel Heroes are captured.  Vader has Han Solo placed in carbonite freezing, in an effort to see if Luke would survive long enough to be sent to the Emperor and converted to the Dark Side.  Leia and co. are horrified at Han's frozen form, but Lando changed his mind about helping the empire and aids in the Princess's escape.  Despite a valiant effort, Han is taken by the bounty hunter, Boba Fett, to Jabba's Palace on Tatooine. Luke then arrives and duels with Vader, and the most devastating truth about the Skywalker lineage is revealed...

What's Bad?: While not a problem for me, I can see why some people do not like this film.  Mainly, the film is much slower paced than both A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, and it isn't as gung-ho adventurous as the other two films in the saga were.  Some people watch Star Wars for the cheap thrills, and others for the epic special effects and often cite this one as the most boring in terms of those regards, but my opinion on that will come later.

What's Good?: The Empire Strikes Back is the first film that really challenged me as a kid.  It made me begin to see the grey line between both good and evil, allowing all of the characters to experience both the joys of victory, and the emotional torment of defeat.  Known for much smaller "character driven" films like The Eyes of Laura Mars, Kershner was the perfect man to direct the sequel to Star Wars, which Lucas intended to be more character driven.  We get to know Luke and the Rebels more.  We get to see Luke actually begin his serious steps towards becoming a Jedi, something that was more or less glossed over in A New Hope, but wasn't that big a flaw because of the fast pace the film was moving at.  We got to see Luke fail many tests, but continue to learn and progress with each step of the way.

Yoda may be one of the strongest characters written in this movie.  We all went into seeing this film for the first time (if we hadn't seen the Prequels first), expecting Yoda to be this grand general who was strong physically, especially if this was the Jedi Master who taught Obi-Wan.  But Yoda, being this small little creature, allowed us to understand that the Force was more mystical than even Obi-Wan had let on.  If the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy was this 3 foot tall alien, than we can all comprehend that the force is perhaps even beyond our understanding, giving us a feeling of both hope and pride for Luke as he becomes more mature with his powers.

We also learn more about Han Solo and Leia's relationship.  While Luke is off doing his stuff, Han and Leia are forced to be closer than comfortable, but each seeing beyond each other's flaws to see the real person behind their gruff or snobbish exterior.  Their witty banter is the kind of snarky romance I expected Anakin and Padme to have, but was stunned to not get.

The special effects outdo A New Hope by nearly a country mile.  The camera movement is much faster and some of the scenery and layouts are spectacular.  Highlights include the Battle of Hoth (which used miniature walkers with stop motion on a painted background) and the chase in the asteroid field (which actually had the crew use potatoes for the far away asteroids.

The movie is also much deeper and more thought provoking than any other film coming out at that time.  People seem to forget how much the Vader declaration at the end of his duel with Luke caught almost the entire world off-guard.  We also didn't get a happy ending.  The future of both the Jedi and the Rebellion is in doubt as the Rebellion has been scattered across the galaxy, Leia and her friends begin to frantically searching for Han, and Luke is left to question everything he'd learned since becoming a Jedi himself.  Like Toy Story 2, this film made me feel adult even though I first saw it when I was maybe 6 or 7.  I never found this film boring.  In fact, it was the only Star Wars film that I have never fast forwarded through to get to the action scenes.  Every time I watch it, I start from the beginning and I don't stop until I'm finished with it.

Overall: The Empire Strikes Back is one of my all time favorite movies with good reason.  This film may have the distinction of giving me my love for movies.  It reminded me that a film doesn't need to give us clear cut answers about life and duty.  It is the american dream made realized, and I will always thank George Lucas for this one.  This is quite possibly the greatest film ever made, and should be cherished along with many of the other greats for generations to come.

Final Grade: A++