The Empire Strikes Back

A masterpiece of cinema. The film transcends the franchise, seamlessly combining elements of myth, science fiction, fantasy, war film, romance, bildungsroman, epic and tragedy in a way that its sequels have been unable to replicate. It is a move without a moment of fluff. Cut anything and the film would suffer. Story, character, effects, cinematography, music, screenplay, acting, editing and action are all superb. One of the most artistically poignant films ever made. And because its style cannot be replicated, it will continue to appreciate with age. This was a time when George Lucas still had integrity, as evidenced in this 1980 Rolling Stone interview (he has since contradicted much of what he espouses in both word and deed): https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/the-empire-strikes-back-and-so-does-george-lucas-19800612 Here's a blog article shows Empire's cinematic chiasmus, or narrative symmetry: https://dejareviewer.com/2014/05/20/cinematic-chiasmus-the-empire-strikes-back-is-a-perfectly-symmetrical-film/ My favorite version is the Team Negative1 Renegade Grindhouse Edition, an unrestored 35mm scan complete with damage and dust. The Despecialized version is okay too. All official releases are desecrations. People may say that Star Wars is dead, but The Empire Strikes Back is deathless.

It's a dark time for the rebellion; and us the audience as well. Luke, Leia and Han are fighting with the rebels in the hope of defeating the Imperial forces. But Luke gets a calling to the planet Dagobah, where under the tutelage of Jedi Master, Yoda, he hopes to become a Jedi himself, but that also brings him closer to his, and Leia's, destiny. Lets tell it as it is, The Empire Strikes Back is a better film than Star Wars, not as impacting of course, but most definitely better. Technically, in story telling and in tone, it holds up well today and certainly warrants the amount of times it crops up in best sequels debates. That it's not actually a sequel is irrelevant, it is of course the filler in a wonderful sci-fi sandwich, because as second instalments go, Empire has few peers. With Empire Strikes Back we get all the whizz bang adventure strewn heart of Star Wars, but George Lucas (stepping aside for Irvin Kershner to direct) has also fleshed the story out with a serious dark tone that oddly becomes a bedfellow to the romantic fun on offer, where new and engaging characters (and creatures) add spice to this wonderful fantastical broth. Aided by the considerable writing talent of Leigh Brackett (The Long Goodbye, Rio Bravo, The Big Sleep), Lucas took the bold and ingenious step of giving the bad guys the upper hand, in fact it could be argued that he was taking a considerable risk with his ending. Forcing his viewers to wait for the final chapter (three years later), after tantalisingly setting us up with a corker of plot twist (one which is still to this day as potent as it was back on release), Lucas pulled perhaps one of the cheekiest carrot dangles in cinema history. Though more famed for its dark undertones, Empire is for sure still a very fun movie, C3PO goes into camp overdrive and Han Solo ups his quip quota by some margin. Then of course there is Yoda, in himself a comedic joy. The action sequences beg for repeat viewings, a battle on the ice laden planet Hoth is a marvel and the choreography for Skywalker's fight with Darth Vader is out of the top draw. But ultimately it's with the dark side that the picture excels. Complex and amazingly posing moral quandary's, The Empire Strikes Back is quite an experience, one that will forever hold up to repeat viewings for this particular viewer. 10/10

_**Fun, imaginative, iconic space adventure with a kick-axx cast**_ "Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) was the anticipated follow-up to the initial mega-hit blockbuster from 1977. It’s an epic, but simplistic space fantasy about an evil empire and the noble souls who dare to fight it. The main cast features Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and the voice work of James Earl Jones (Darth Vader), Frank Oz (Yoda) and Clive Revill (Emperor). This is an amusing, inventive, iconic space adventure with a stellar cast. While I prefer the adult-oriented space science-fiction of Star Trek, I can’t deny that this space fantasy grants you an entertaining two hours with lots of sci-fi action, space ships, a snowy planet, asteroid caves and mysterious swamps. I also appreciate the mind-powers angle. It doesn’t hurt that Fisher is in her prime and easy on the eyes, not to mention Ford and Williams are at their charismatic best. Even the more obscure Hamill shines in his boyish youth. Then there’s RD-D2, C-3PO and Chewbacca. The film runs 2 hours, 7 minutes. GRADE: B

Terrific, again. 'The Empire Strikes Back' follows up on the greatness of 'Star Wars' with a highly enjoyable sequel. This one feels like a big moment in the franchise, at least to someone who doesn't know what's upcoming, as we get sizeable moments alongside some cool character reveals. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher continue to impress in their respective roles, as does James Earl Jones. Elsewhere, Billy Dee Williams and Frank Oz make for strong additions. There are, once again, fun roles for Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker. I'd say its predecessor has aged better - though that's not to say this film looks even the slightest bit bad, as it still looks fantastic throughout. The plot is as great as before, as is everything else really - namely the music, for one. I think I prefer the 1977 film over this, but there's barely anything separating the two in my thoughts to be honest. Both are awesome!

So, I was almost 1 when this movie dropped and, well, it started the opening night tradition. OK, well, how to do this? I guess we will start with the hate. I like to address the hate in movies, especially ones that are well regarded and loved. Now, I'll excuse it for the people that just don't like Star Wars. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But then there are the people that really hate Empire because of...reasons. And those reasons are Revenge of the Sith. I'm sorry, panning Empire because of loyalty to the prequels--misplaced as it is--doesn't make I-III any better. It just makes you petty. Now, why its loved and, I'll admit, I am one of those fanboys that really do love this movie. For starters, Empire went dark. It was the really the episode that the good guys lost and, that made it unique among, well, among just about every movie not made in the 1970s. I guess that is what made the 70s such a wonderful time for movies. We could use a little more of that. We could use a lot more of that. We use a lot more gritty in cinema. And, we could use a lot more "lived in" Everything looks too clean. Empire had that. And then it had that big, legendary, reveal that made all those kisses between Luke and Leia utterly wrong once the second big reveal hit in 1983...which explained that look Han gave Leia when she told him in the next installment. Moving on... We have the Battle of Hoth, which, yeah, nerd awesomeness with kind of a WWI trench warfare v tanks feel and a WWII Evacuation of Dunkirk feel with the rebels on the run and the Empire forcing its way across the galaxy with brute strength. And that prolonged time on the Falcon, well, that was just brilliant for character development and, incest blocking. So, really, honestly, there was way too much to love not to put Empire on the throne.

I have reviewed this film before but I thought that it deserved an extra special mention. Yesterday, this was the first film I saw in a cinema since we were all confined to barracks - and boy what a cracker. Where to start with the superlatives? It's fantastic - right from the opening bars of John Williams' score; on through the three mini-adventures rolled into one, we are treated to a marvellous feast of well-written, snappily directed, entertaining action packed adventure. Picking up from the first film, our rebels are holed up on a frozen planet being relentlessly pursued by Darth Vader. When one of his probes discovers their icebound base, they've got to get the hell out of there. Now sure, the CGI suffers a bit after 40 years; and can someone please tell me what the point of these lumbering Imperial Walkers is? They are like metal polar bears that constantly trip over their own shoelaces, but aside from those most minor of criticisms we have a great story; characters that we care about (personally, I'm an huge Vader fan) and who develop plausible, credible personalities; the detailed animations of "Yoda" are superb to see again on the big screen and it builds excellently to a sword fight the like of which has not been seen since "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938). It is, I think, better then the first film and for my money is the best sci-fi film ever made. Made for the big screen - and brilliantly made at that!