"Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" Movie Review

Release Date: May 17, 1980

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Frank Oz, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice), Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Alec Guiness

Behold. My favourite movie of all time.

Am I allowed to say it's the greatest sequel of all time too? Cause it is.

A few years after Luke destroyed the Death Star, the rebels experience a crushing defeat when the Empire chases them away from their base on the ice planet Hoth. Luke goes to train with a Jedi Master named Yoda while Han and Leia flee from Darth Vader in the Millennium Falcon. It all culminates in a confrontation between Luke and Vader that will rock Luke's world as well as anyone who managed to traverse the internet for a while and avoid spoilers from this movie. Good for those guys.

The Empire Strikes Back does what many movies that wish to follow it make the mistake of doing. It's an entirely different movie than the first, other than the fact that the plot isn't entirely the same. Sure, it's still got that element of fun and wonder the first one has, but Empire is also a darker, more sinister story about a band of heroes, who probably all had chips on their shoulders, experiencing heartbreak, hopelessness, defeat, and despair. Those who left the theater after this movie probably did so feeling the same emotions, mostly because they had to wait another three years for the next movie, but also because they just saw a pretty dark sequel to a somewhat campy space opera. And it's awesome.

Our three heroes, Luke. Leia, and Han, each go through major character progressions which continue naturally from the work done in A New Hope. Luke's learning to be a Jedi and discovering how much dedication is required to become a great one, while Han and Leia fall in love. Vader is promoted from being the physically imposing secondary villain to the physically and mentally imposing villain. As I mentioned in my previous review, it's in Empire that we learn how sinister of a man he really is, and the "Best Movie Villain"  titles the character's gotten are completely deserved.

The new characters introduced are just as memorable as the returning ones. Lando Calrissian, the smooth-talking best friend of Han, is a really unique guy. Billy Dee Williams just nails the role and makes Lando very likable, which is necessary for the major part the character plays towards the film's climax. 

It's Yoda who's the real heart and soul of the movie. The writing for the character is just so great, and it's his words of wisdom that are the lights in the film's darkness.

Oh, yeah, and there's freaking Boba Fett...

Empire's climax is still exciting to me, even though I've seen the film dozens of times. And that's all I'm gonna say because I'm trying to keep these spoiler-free.

The imagination behind the visual effects is seen once again, especially in the battle on Hoth, and John Williams' score is once again fantastic, but you knew that already.

If there's one negative thing I can say about The Empire Strikes Back it's that the film's first 10 or 15 minutes drag a bit and end up feeling a bit unnecessary in the grand scheme of the film, but that's something I can easily look over in a film that's perfect for the most part.

Rating: TEN OUTTA TEN!!!!!

My review of Return of the Jedi will hopefully be ready sooner than it took me toget around to this one. After that, the prequels. Hoo boy.

Noah