Subject: Retrospective: Empire Strikes Back, The (1980)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 19 Oct 1997 19:01:51 GMT

The Empire Strikes Back

Chad'z rating: **** (out of 4 = excellent)

1980, PG, 128 minutes [2 hours, 8 minutes]

[fantasy]

Starring: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie
Fisher (Princess Leia), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), James Earl
Jones (voice of Darth Vader), written by George Lucas, Leigh Brackett,
Lawrence Kasdan, produced by Gary Kurtz, directed by Irvin Kershner.

It must have been difficult to make "The Empire Strikes Back." Not only was
there the pressure of trying to live up to "Star Wars," but the film has a
sad tone to it. On the other hand, it also has some of the greatest
production designs and script fluidity I have ever seen. There are much more
actual events and actions pushing this story along than its predecessor.

There is an overall sense of pessimism in this movie which is foreshadowed
right away as the rebels lose a battle to the Imperial Army. But the battle
scenes are what make these movies so exciting, and this is one of the best.
Luke Skywalker (Hamill) leads the rebels against the Imperials, who have huge
walking transports who move rather slowly. The contrast between the small,
fast rebel ships and the huge, slow Imperial walkers adds a great element of
suspense and adventure. The fact the rebels can't seem to win makes it even
more exciting.

Luke eventually makes his way to the swamp planet of Degobah and meets a
strange little character who eventually reveals himself to be Yoda (voiced by
Frank Oz), the Jedi master who instructor Ben Kenobi. We realize just how
immature Luke is, as he constantly seems to be disagreeing and doubting Yoda.
Maybe the swamp setting is a little exaggerated by the lavish detail, but it
defines the mood of The Force so well.

Meanwhile, Han Solo (Ford), Princess Leia (Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter
Mayhew), and C3-PO (Anthony Daniels) are having problems of their own as they
must single-handedly escape from Imperial star cruisers. The special effects
during scenes like these are very impressive, as there are no flaws at all.
But the space scenes are not necessarily the best, the truly great effects
and designs come later as they journey to Cloud City and meet Han's old
friend Lando Calrissian (Williams). 

The film jumps back and forth between Luke's training and Cloud City, and
the scripting balance works well. At one point Luke uses The Force to see
into the future and realizes something terrible is going to happen to his
friends. And Luke is right when Darth Vader (voiced by Jones) himself appears
in Cloud City. Vader and The Emperor had earlier discussed Luke's fate, and
he realizes this is his chance to convert Luke to the Dark Side.

The final act is rather complicated and ends on a rather sad note. Luke
eventually faces Darth Vader in a beautifully photographed scene of sets and
special effects. Vader reveals something to Luke that is shocking but does
seem to make sense.

No one really "wins" at the end of "The Empire Strikes Back." Still, the
story is interesting to watch as it's impossible to tell what is going happen
from one scene to another. The film tells an epic story through a rather
simple manner. 

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