Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

The excitement that Star Wars brought to the screen was immeasurable and this set up for major disappointment if the sequel failed to live up to its predecessor. “The Empire Strikes Back” not only surpassed in quality, but delivered on many levels most thought it could not touch. After struggling with 20th Century Fox over budget issues and time constraints, George Lucas didn’t have such issues this time around thanks to the success of the first. This allowed him more time to develop technology, the story, and other elements the film needed. And it paid off.

The film goes beyond typical special effects, feel-good stories, and other clichés that films lay down every day. It is bold and eye-popping. If the 1st was a feel-good story, this one is the bring-you-back-down-to-earth one. Attempting to topple an Empire that has ruled the galaxy for twenty years can’t be as easy as one film. There inevitable has to be a second chapter that mixes in some real hardship that the protagonists must endure. Upon the opening crawl, we see that indeed has taken place as the Rebellion has been on the run and is hiding on a remote ice world called Hoth. This allows for a great opportunity to advance film effects as white backgrounds were avoided when the thought of blue-screen work was around. The “cut-out” imagery was too noticeable in the early 1980s. Still, the attempt was made and turned out quite well (which is one reason Industrial, Light, and Magic is always on the cutting edge of film SFX). The visual of lumbering behemoths called All-Terrain Armored Transports and All-Terrain Scout Transports (famously called AT-ATs and AT-STs) struck awe in the audience as well as the Rebels. Seeing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) run beside one gives the viewer the massive scale of the “walkers.” But they aren’t the only treat ESB has for us; we have Yoda, Cloud City, and several new creatures throughout that delight the senses. Yoda is a muppet, for all the skill put into bringing him to life, he has been. His movements are so real, you’d swear he was. The Force is taught to Luke in ways no one could fathom just three years earlier. The Force is certainly more than “simple tricks and nonsense.” These teachings are profound and don’t just stick in Luke’s mind, but the viewer’s as well. Cloud City is a city that hovers above a planet as it mines it. The design of the city is elegant and beautiful. Designed similar to a spinning top, it avoids the perception of deathtrap that most mines bring. It is here we meet some of the newest characters to the Star Wars universe and some of the most colorful (no pun intended). Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) is cocky, but fun and arrogant, yet witty. Although a rogue in his past, he has turned into an administrator of Cloud City when he meets up with his old friend Han Solo (Harrison Ford). New allies are always helpful, but is it a given that the will be? The film title itself indicates the somber tone of the film and while it holds true, there is the lingering openness about it. It is only a chapter of a bigger story.

The script, written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan (Leigh Brackett has screen credit, but it is more memorial than anything, as she passed before the film’s release. Almost none of her work was retained.) is inventive and strong. This one has more depth and heart than the 1st. The 1st film was more like a roller-coaster, whereas this one is more like a train ride. You see the landscape, rather than speeding through it. The tundra plains of Hoth, the mountain ranges of asteroids, the bogs and swamps of Degobah, all have exquisite beauty. The trials the rebels face while trying to survive the consistent onslaught is by no means pointless. There are steps to reach. Luke must see beyond what he has known and learned. Solo must see that is history is such and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) must realize that there is more to life than her mission. How they reach their destinies is right here. The wisdom of Yoda and the emotions of the heart are the strength of the script and even as the visuals are a treat to behold, these linger and make the film enjoyable, in essentially what is a second part of a three act story and typically would be weighted with heaviness that bogs down most stories that are structures in the same way. Darth Vader (David Prowse and James Earl Jones) is intent on finding Skywalker. But are his goals for the Empire or his own? Luke Skywalker needs to find his way. But are his goals selfish or of the Jedi-way? Han Solo needs to forget his past. But in doing so, will he lose his identity…or find it? Leia Organa needs hope. But has she found it or is it still around the corner? So many questions this film has to answer or get closer to answering that the overwhelming odds against it are about as good as a single man taking down an AT-AT by itself.

There is not much to dislike here. The script is excellent, the performances are strong, Irvin Kershner’s direction is good, John William’s score brings new dramatic and sweeping themes to the table that the first film didn’t see, and we get one of the biggest bombshell moments in cinema history. Among the many detractors the film (as well as the other five-in differing degrees) has is that it seems to be too simple or too “out there.” Such is the life of a fantasy. One would do well to leave reservations at the door, enter a world where fantasy meets science-fiction, where faith meets depth, where arrogance meets love, and where the eyes see a place set a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away-and just get swept away by it.