The Empire Strikes Back

I know this is probably not going to shock you when I say this, but this film is my personal favorite of the Star Wars series. A lot of the other films have merit, but this film has the best story, a solid level of character development, and some amazing action sequences, in my personal opinion.

The story follows the rebellion, which is still being pursued by the Empire, led by Darth Vader, who has an obsession with capturing Luke Skywalker for some reason. After our establishing moments with the characters and a fun action sequence on the ice planet of Hoth, the story splits in two directions. The first follows Luke as he is led by the ghost of Obi-Wan to the swamp planet of Dagobah where an ancient Jedi master named Yoda resides who will teach him the ways of the force. This is where I feel the mysticism of the Force begins to come into play in the franchise, with it being a part of literally everything and the Jedi tap into it to help in their battle against the dark side. The second plotline follows Han, Leia, and Chewbacca as they are pursued by the Empire and gives time for Han and Leia to bond a little more, even though I feel the writing wasn't the greatest and Han came across as really forceful to me. Eventually, the two plotlines meet up which culminates in a final showdown between Luke and Vader, where a dark revelation is revealed, and Han is left out of commission, with the film teasing a resolution to the story of the Rebellion and the Empire in a potential sequel.

As far as story goes, you can clearly tell that this is a deeper and darker story than the previous film, which is more simple and to the point. I think this personally gives it an advantage, as it allows the characters to grow in tough situations and ending on a cliffhanger adds to the dark tone with the heroes ending on their darkest hour.

The action in this is quite spectacular, from the battle on the ice planet Hoth to the chase through the asteroid field to the lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, especially that final exchange the two have before Luke manages to escape. The acting, minus some weird interactions between Han Solo and Leia, is some of the best in the series, with Mark Hamill turning in a fantastic performance as Luke Skywalker, really growing beyond just being the typical 'chosen one' style of hero and feeling three dimensional. Of course, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher generally do pretty well too, with new additions Billy Dee Williams and Frank Oz joining the cast as Lando Calrissian, Han Solo's dubious friend, and Yoda, considered to be the wisest Jedi of them all, respectively.

Overall, this film takes the original story and builds upon it in a way that feels natural and allows the characters actual room to grow. Again, it is not perfect, with some weird dialogue choices, but a lot of this film holds up really well. By the end, the film leaves you wanting more, which is a sign that it told a spectacular story.

Next time, we conclude the tale of Luke Skywalker and his friends as they go to rescue Han Solo and stop the Empire from creating a new superweapon. Will this film wrap things up nicely? Find out when I review Return of the Jedi.

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