SPOILER ALERT
The Empire Strikes Back is the sequel to the hugely successful original Star Wars. And it’s one of the best sequels and movies in general.
The movie starts with our crew of heroes: Luke, Han and Leia on the icy planet of Hoth. Let’s all just admit how beautiful Hoth is and how good of a job they did of expanding the Star Wars universe again. Ton Tons, AT-ATs, AT-ST’s, Snowtroopers…A lot of new stuff to expand on the existing stuff. Anyway, you immediately see that the characters still feel real, with great dialogue and interactions between them. Han was especially great here. He’s still the scoundrel gunslinger from the first Star Wars, but seeing him go through a snow storm to save Luke adds more emotional depth to him and the movie. His bickering with Leia is also top notch. The dialogue between them is so natural, and they have great chemistry. The following scene – the battle of Hoth – is so amazing. I really cannot believe this movie came out 36 years ago. The Snowspeeders attacking the AT-ATs, awesomely knocking them down – it’s visually stunning. Anyway, our group of heroes actually get split up when Vader shows up. Speaking of Vader, he’s even more threatening in the sequel. Seriously, he actually force chokes people over a TV screen. You can see the fear of the Imperials when they fail. For example, one of the Imperials says he’s going to take responsibility and apologize to Vader. And by apologize, I mean Vader chokes him out, and then proceeds to say: “Apology accepted.” Wow. That is so villainously awesome. He also get his own theme in this movie! Well, the Empire gets its theme! The Imperials March is one of the most recognizable movie tracks, and it’s so incredibly fitting to the villainous Empire. So, our heroes are split up, with Luke and R2-D2 going to visit the planet Dagobah and learn from the Jedi master Yoda, while Han, Leia, Chewie and C3PO are on the run from the Empire. Ironically, plot wise, Empire doesn’t really move in a fast pace like Star Wars, but it still isn’t boring one bit. I guess we should talk Han and the others going through the asteroid field. Again, the chemistry is excellent, nothing feels forced. Everyone is yelling at each other, and Han reacts just like you’d expect to C3PO’s calculations. The tention is built up, because everyone is panicking and again, I was just in awe, as the thought that this movie is so old went through my head. The romance between Leia and Han comes to kind of a peak when Han actually kisses her. The moment feels natural and earned, without it being awkward or forced. Then they realize they’re in a giant worm. Someone please give a cookie to whoever thought of that idea. Also give a cookie to whoever thought of the Falcon actually attaching itself to the Star Destroyer so they can hide. Let’s jump to Luke’s arc. Luke arrives on Dagobah with R2 and he meets Yoda, although he doesn’t know it. Again, Star Wars manages to create one of the best characters in movie history. I absolutely love how Yoda is just messing with Luke. He’s so cute when he’s going through his stuff and smacking R2 with his stick. It’s so sad to see the witless, unfunny Yoda in the prequels, when you remember that Yoda is actually hilarious. However, he’s also wise. I can imagine how surprised people were that he was the Jedi master that Luke was looking for.Turns out he was kind of testing Luke’s patience, seeing if he’s worth the training. He even speaks to Obi – Wan’s spirit ghost. Yoda’s training with Luke is a great source of characters development. We get to see Luke’s struggle with becoming a Jedi and accepting patience and wisdom over recklesness. The cave scene is an excellent example. Yoda tells him that he won’t need his weapons, but he carries them anyway. He later uses them to strike down an illusion of Vader. However, Vader’s helmet reveals Luke’s face. This obviously hints at future events, and points out Luke’s conflict between the Dark Side and the Light. His use of the Force ( and failure ) and Yoda sharing his wisdom with his quotable dialogue expands the universe even more. Before we get back to Leia and Han, we have to talk about the introduction of Boba Fett. We see all of these bounty hunters (again, expanding the universe), but Vader singles out Fett to tell him “no disintegrations!”. We also see Fett’s skill when he tracks down Han and Leia. Even though he gets only a few lines, he’s just that silent, skilled badass that’s going to look cool while on the job. On to Han and Leia, they arrive in Cloud City to meet Han’s old friend, Lando. Lando is like Han if Han wasn’t Han. Does that make sense? I hope it does. He’s got Han’s scoudrel attitude, and he’s kind of this smooth talking guy you just want to have a drink with. And they almost do, until it turns out Lando set them up. This was a great scene. Han turns on his badass mode and tries to shoot Vader, but he just casually blocks it because he’s Vader. Luke actually gets a vision of his friends in pain, and lets his emotions disrupt his training. He leaves to save them, even though Yoda and Obi – Wan advise against it. Yoda even says: ” There is another.”, hinting at future events again. We then see the carbonite freezing scene. Lando’s actually trying to stick up for Leia and Chewie, trying to ensure their safety, but our favorite smuggler Han Solo is not that lucky. Before he gets frozen, Chewie loses it and lets out his signature roar, while knocking Stormtroopers left and right. A great, silent moment that not many people talk about is when Boba tries to shoot Chewie, but Vader’s like “dude, I got this” and smacks his gun down. I just love how Star Wars manages to say so much without actual dialogue ( until the prequels, that is ) Leia then kissed Han and says that she loves him. His response is “I know”. Thank you, Harrisson Ford. It’s really tragic when you see him frozen, though. Our scruffy looking nerf herder is frozen. However, Luke falls into Vader’s trap and arrives in Cloud City. Was I the only one that was reminded of Yoda’s teaching when Luke looks at his blaster and just puts it away? Anyway, Vader and Luke proceed to fight, but Vader’s just casually beating him with one hand. His calm attitude and badassery is at a height here. He’s treating Luke like an amateur, taunting him throughout the fight. He makes him fall in the freezing chamber and says “All too easy”, only to say “Impressive, most impressive” when Luke manages to escape. Later, we get to the scene everyone remembers the most. Vader’s actually using two hands here, he’s slicing left and right. He’s done with the whole taunting thing. The battle is really intenses as they’re both swinging with anger, even Luke. The fight ends when Luke loses his right hand. You’d think he’d scream more when his hand is chopped off, but no, Luke rages even more when he finds out Darth Vader is his father. This is one of cinema’s biggest twists, as it just puts a whole new perspective to Luke and Vader’s relationship. He just found out the second most evil guy in the galaxy is his father! And his master (s) lied to him about it! You can’t really blame him when he jumps off that pole. He doesn’t die, fortunately, as Leia, Lando and Chewie manage to save him. Luke is given an artificial hand in the end, and Lando and Chewie go to search for Han on Tatooine. And that’s it. the end. It’s a cliffhanger, and a great one at that.
Guys, The Empire Strikes Back is one of the best movies of all times and one of the best sequels of all time. It adds even more depth to the characters we know and love, while further expanding the Star Wars universe by adding new ones like Yoda. Everyone has their time to shine and get character development. Not to mention, the movie still looks gorgeus, and the music is incredible. The Empire Strikes Back is a great example of expanding on an already excellent movie.
MY FINAL RATING:
10/10
+ Character development
+ Emotional depth
+ Beautiful action and sets
+ More world building
+ Great twist
+ Amazingly composed music
+ Yoda!
I hope you enjoyed the review, guys. Thanks for reading, see you next time and have a good day!
Lemifan, Salty Fudge Inc.
Salty fudge inc. 