Review: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
I find it somewhat humorous that the middle chapters of both the prequel trilogy and the original are the lowest and the highest points of the saga respectively. Attack of The Clones was a mess wrapped up in a fake romance that made Twilight look like The Notebook but we're not here to talk about that, we're talking about The Empire Strikes Back, a technological and cinematic achievement that is still heralded as one of the best films ever made today and looking at it I can't argue, this film doesn't improve the saga it damn near makes the saga.
Set three years after the end of A New Hope and the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire is still as dark and oppressive as ever and have tracked the rebel leaders to the ice planet Hoth where they stage a massive attack, just escaping the planet, Luke and R2 head to the Dagobah system in search of Jedi Master Yoda to teach Luke the ways of the force, meanwhile Leia, Han, Chewbacca and C3PO try to outrun the Empire and head for Cloud City to meet Han's old friend Lando, however unbeknownst to them, Lando is reluctantly working with the Empire who have set a trap for Luke.
When Luke senses his friends in danger he goes off to Cloud City to save them and face Vader, only to come face-to-face with the daddy of all problems.
Looking back this is a relatively simple story but it's not about the mystery it's about what happens, why it happens and where it'll lead the characters next. This is the darkest time for our heroes and the events in this film leave them in place they don't want to be but have to go through in order to come out stronger in the next film. It's more thematic than anything else and the journey to this point and after it is clear to see.
Like the last film it's the characters that stand out the most here, Luke is now a leader in the rebellion and his Jedi powers are growing stronger, however he still has much to learn. There's still traces of that young farm boy wanting to see more of the world, he's impatient but not for lack of humanity, he faces Vader not because he wants a fight but because Luke believes he needs to save his friends, regardless of the cost to his own life. He's still got some ways to go before he is a Jedi and the revelations he faces here today are to have a profound effect on his journey to either the Jedi or the Sith.
Han Solo is also upgraded to a rebel leader although still maintaining his place as the scoundrel and loving it. He's still arrogant, he's still cocky and he's still a dick at times but he's got friends now, people beside Chewie to care about. He's a hero but not one that wants glory or money (ok maybe money) he's just doing what he thinks is right. There's also the romance between him and Leia which his brand of arrogance works in tandem with her trying not to admit her feelings because he knows that she loves him and pushes her towards her own admission but never makes the choice for her.
Leia herself has more to do now that she's out of the prison, she leads the Rebellion with power and skill, never letting the destruction of her home planet cloud her judgement. She cares deeply about Luke and Han (maybe a little too much with Luke) but isn't afraid to pull rank on either one of them, mostly Han although she try as she might she can't deny the rugged appeal of Han. Part of what makes Leia great across here and A New Hope is that while she is captured a few times she never gives in to pressure, she holds her own and never freaks out, she's stronger in will than most people would've suspected.
Darth Vader also returns and we see more of the tactical mind of the Empire, Vader can anticipate the moves the Rebels will take and the reaction he will get out of Luke, he's a man of patience, quite unlike Luke and toys with him, treating him like a play-thing waiting for his weakest moment then going in for the kill. He's ruthless, not taking any mistakes from anyone, his sinister, emotionless mask hides him, making him robotic and cruel in nature and most of all he knows exactly how to hurt someone.
For the new characters, first off there was Yoda, a small green creature with a funny little attitude and hidden talents. Yoda's mastery of the Jedi arts and the confusing, often self-discovering ways in which he teaches the Force make him already an iconic and memorable figure to the saga, he's all about preconceptions and smashing them as he proves time and time again, size matter not. Yoda's teachings to Luke don't bring him always to the answer Luke wants but the answers Luke needs, Yoda merely guides him and lets Luke work the rest out himself, hence why he never tries to stop Luke from leaving because he knows that Luke needs to make the choice himself to go or not.
And finally there was Lando, the only black guy in the galaxy. Lando is a great addition to the cast, played effortlessly cool by Billy Dee WIlliams, Lando is put into a tough spot by the Empire and has to choose the lives of his people of the lives of his friends, it isn't until he realises how far the Empire are willing to go that he makes the choice to fight back. He's a good man that made a wrong choice and by the end he's willing to do whatever he can to atone for his mistake.
With Lucas serving as producer (and uncredited writer), directing duties fell to Irvin Kershner and the change is felt, for one thing the budget is noticeably higher and there's a lot more elaborate and impressive model work being done, it still has that stocky quality but it works for what the film represents, a used world full of spare parts, the Rebels make do with underground bunkers and small ships that have been through too many battles while the Empire uses its might and reach to spread fear in their enemies. The contrast is strong but it works.
This contrasting imagery continues throughout the film especially during the larger battles, the film opens with the Attack on Hoth and gets things off to a great start, the combination of models and camera trickey shows the difference between the small, quick, agile Rebel pilots and those big fuck-off metal bastard the Empire use and amazingly it ends with the Empire winning, a common theme through this film. The physical appearance and scope of the film allows for a much more cinematic quality, one that has the action sequences carry more than just data, when the Millennium Falcon goes through the asteroid field it doesn't need fancy tricks or shots to make the tension, the tension is built from the dangers surrounding the characters we care about and the impossible odds they are faced with.
This is best shown in the climactic battle between Luke and Vader, this is where Lucas made the mistake in the prequels to think lightsabre battles needed to be visually interesting, that's not the case, if they meant something that would translate through their actions, case in point Vader doesn't give his all when fighting Luke because he has no need to, he's merely playing with him, teasing him, waiting to hit him where it hurts. The fight is impressive and does have a fair share of cool shots but it's what the fight represents that means so much more and the ending leaves a lot of issues still to pass between the two of them.
The Empire Strikes Back isn't just the pinnacle step of Star Wars it's one of the defining moments of Science Fiction as a whole, a much darker, more thematic and exciting film that brings out heroes to their darkest hour and doesn't hold back on leaving them there. With old characters continually impressing and new characters ready to come in and leave their mark, Empire is one of a kind, a sequel that isn't just better than the original, it leaves it in the dust.
10/10