Film Review: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

• Publisher: 20th Century Fox
• Production Studio: Lucasfilm
• Release: 21 May 1980
• Genre: Action, Science-fiction
• Director: Irvin Kershner
• Producer: Gary Kurtz
• Writers: Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan (Screenplay), George Lucas (Story)

Previously on the SDP, I reviewed Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, in anticipation of the new movie coming out.  And now, the saga continues.

Previously on Star Wars, the Rebel Alliance succeeded in destroying the Death Star, a super weapon of the Galactic Empire, but have been chased to the ice planet of Hoth.  Our hero, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), starts off the movie by patrolling the snowy wastelands, when one of the Empire's probe-droids crash-lands on the planet.  As he goes to investigate, he is knocked out by a furry ice-monster, but eventually overpowers it through his limited training in the Force.  On the way back, he has a vision of his old recently-deceased teacher, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), instructing him to continue his training as a Jedi Knight on the planet Dagobah.

An early highlight of The Empire Strikes Back is the battle of Hoth, where Rebel forces try to hold off the Empire's assault.  Building on the technical tricks developed for the first film, little Snowspeeder ships fly around AT-ATs, the giant Imperial walker mechs, which were animated by combining stop-motion animation with motion blur effects, to create a smoother motion than would otherwise be possible.  The David-and-Goliath aspect of this battle is brought about by the clever way in which the Rebel pilots bring down some of the AT-ATs, by shooting harpoon-cables into their legs and flying circles around them to trip them up.  But alas, this does not help the Rebels win the battle, just to buy enough time to help as many of their number evacuate the planet as possible.

The Battle of Hoth displays an evolution in special effects.

Once the Empire finally catches up with them, our heroes split up into two groups.  Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) fly off in the Millenium Falcon.  There is a sub-plot running throughout the movie where the Falcon's hyperdrive engine is on the fritz, preventing our heroes from fleeing danger via lightspeed jump, and forcing them to rely on their own ingenuity.  I especially liked the moment where they hide right behind one of the Empire's Star Destroyers, and take off as it ejects all its space junk.  Eventually, they make it to a cloud city on the planet Bespin, and seek refuge with Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), an old smuggling mate of Han's.  Though initially friendly, Lando reveals that he had to cut deals with Darth Vader and the Empire to make ends meet, and thusly, is forced to get Han frozen in carbonite and delivered to the bounty hunters after his head.

Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker heads off to Dagobah, a swamp planet, where he resumes his training under the tutelage of the diminutive yet wise (and wise-acre) Yoda (voice of Frank Oz).  Through Yoda's exposition, Luke (and the audience) learns more about the nature of the Force, specifically on the schism between the light and dark sides of the Force.  This drives home a running theme throughout the film, one of duality, of the darkness encroaching upon the spirits of good people. Luke's decision to abandon his Jedi training and save Han, Leia, and his other friends from a trap causes tension between him and Yoda... somehow.  I mean, Luke does promise to return to Yoda and pick up where they left off.  Maybe it's because he fails to exercise the patience needed of a true Jedi.  Maybe it's because they know that the trap Han and Leia have fallen into is also a trap for Luke himself.  But, for whatever reason, the lingering possibility of Luke falling for the dark side creates an undercurrent of tension.

This tension comes to a head when, towards the end of the film, Luke has his first face-to-face showdown with Darth Vader (David Prowse, voice of James Earl Jones).  The power that Vader possesses also keeps us on edge, as he pelts Luke with telekinetically-tossed machine parts, and almost traps him in the same freezing chamber that claimed Han Solo.  At the same time, the fight alternates between this action and quiet moments where the two are briefly separated, and no one seems to know when one or the other will show up.  This battle ends when Vader drops one of the most famous plot twists in cinema.  I don't know if I should bother with spoiler tags, because everyone seems to be familiar with it.  But then again, surely not everybody in the world has seen this movie yet, and this is the sort of moment you can only experience once.  So if somehow you have never before seen The Empire Strikes Back, or any other Star Wars movie besides the first, stop reading this review now and go watch it.  Everyone else, say it with me: Darth Vader turns out to be Luke Skywalker's father.  He tempts Luke with the power of the dark side of the Force, even offering the chance to overthrow the Emperor together, but Luke would rather (and indeed, does) almost die instead of accept that fact. He does manage to get picked up by his friends in the Millenium Falcon, and together they finally fix the ship's hyperdrive engine and take off.  You are now free to turn off your TV.

Empire expertly builds up tension ahead of the Luke/Vader fight.

Characterisation was one of the strong points of the first Star Wars, but The Empire Strikes Back takes it to the next level.  There's Luke's internal struggle, as I discussed.  Lando, having been forced to betray his friends, eventually turns the tables back on the Empire when given a chance.  Even Darth Vader seems to get a character arc of his own.  As his underling officers keep making mistakes here and there, he shows a bad habit of Force-choking them to death.  But at the very end, as the Millennium Falcon escapes through hyperspace, Vader simply walks off the scene in silence, with nary a constricted throat to be had.  It shows a hint of humanity which may or may not pay off in the next movie...!

The Empire Strikes Back may no longer have the benefit of a self-contained story, but there's something more poignant, even poetic, about this approach.  What successes are achieved by the protagonists are far smaller in scale, but manage the same degree of catharsis when they finally pull them off.  Despite not ending with the joy that comes from a decisive military victory, just knowing that our heroes are safe and sound again (for the most part) still evokes warm and fuzzy feelings, especially after all they've been through.  Between that and the moral duality of pretty much all its characters, The Empire Strikes Back takes a darker and more mature approach with its story, but in a good way.  Having clear-cut good guys and bad guys is all well and... good for fiction, and no diss to the first Star Wars for taking that approach, but it does not reflect the real world very well.  Admitting that there is both good and bad in every person is an important part of growing up, and The Empire Strikes Back does not sugarcoat this message.  This willingness to take chances, combined with the improved production techniques, shows how to do a sequel right.

Positives:
+ A brilliant running theme of moral duality.
+ More ambitious and improved special effects.

Negatives:
- The scenes on Dagobah are a bit slower on action, but serve their purpose.

Acting: 5 AT-ATs out of 5
Writing: 5 AT-ATs out of 5
Special Effects: 5 AT-ATs out of 5
Visual Design: 5 AT-ATs out of 5
The Call: 100% (A+)