The Empire Strikes Back is a masterclass both in the fantasy realm and cinema as a whole; a sweeping space opera with fantastic action, memorable characters, and trailblazing effects that revolutionized the world of movies as we know them.
The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 space opera directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett, based off stories written by George Lucas. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, and David Prowse/James Early Jones. It is a continuation of the Star Wars saga and picks up three years after the events of 1977s Star Wars.
The story continues where Star Wars left off, but the galaxy is still ever changing. The Rebel Alliance struck a crucial blow to the might of the Galactic Empire with the successful destruction of the Death Star, but the Empire was quick to recover and once more has the Rebellion on the defensive. The Empire has discovered many of the Alliance’s former bases and caused them to flee to other systems in hopes of staying hidden. While investigating what is thought to be a meteor strike, but is actually a probe droid dispatched by the Empire, Luke is attacked by a wampa, a yeti-like snow creature, and wounded in the encounter. Luke is able to use his new found Force powers and cunning to wound the beast and escape, but the harsh conditions render his attempts back to the base as futile. Before passing out, he receives a vision from his recently deceased mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, telling him to visit Jedi Master Yoda in the Dagobah system to be trained as a Jedi. Luke becomes unconscious, but is rescued by Han Solo, who voluntarily went searching for Luke in spite of the harsh conditions. With Luke recovering back at the Rebel base, Han and his companion Chewbacca go on patrol where the find and destroy the probe droid, but not before it alerts the Empire of their presence. The Alliance suffers heavy losses after the subsequent attack on the Hoth base by the Galactic Empire’s mighty army. Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO are able to narrowly escape on the Millennium Falcon after a daring escape through an asteroid field, but little do they know that Darth Vader has bounty hunters assisting in bringing the ship in. Meanwhile, Luke travels to Dagobah to be trained by the mysterious Master Yoda and following in the footsteps of his father in becoming a Jedi to try and once more bring peace to the galaxy.
What makes The Empire Strikes Back such a brilliant film cannot simply be surmised in a single word or sentence as it is a piece of such a larger whole, but similar to 1977s Star Wars it is able to stand on its own in the same breath. Continuing to follow in the footsteps of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey,” The Empire Strikes Back represents the crucial arcs in both the story, and characters, that represent the crux of this trilogy of films. Empire Strikes Back takes the existing structure put in place by Star Wars and elevates the stakes for all parties involved as both the Empire and Rebels slowly build to the climax of their eventual confrontation. Luke Skywalker, once merely the farm boy wishing for more, is thrust square in the middle of the battle for the galaxy as he learns that he has far more of a burden to bear than any ever realized. Luke’s vulnerability, confidence, frustration, determination, pride, and humility all represent the major themes of the Light and Dark side Force, and his constant struggle to find the balance within the ever present-but never seen-entity. Luke represents the character we can all see ourselves through as his internal struggle to become the Jedi, and hero, he yearns to be reflects the journey we all go through in life in realizing our full potential and the difficulties we must overcome, internally and externally, to be the person we want to be. Han Solo’s story continues to take on a different form in the arc of the redemptive tale; one that showed a character transforming from one who is constantly self involved to one that put his life in danger to assist the Rebels at the destruction of the Death Star. Equally opposite, yet undeniably similar, is Leia’s tale of constantly putting the bigger picture of the safety and stability of the galaxy before any of her personal wants and needs, which is juxtaposed with Han’s struggle putting himself before others. Han and Leia’s shared journey in finding value in the virtues of friendship, trust, loyalty, respect, and, ultimately, love represents the secondary arc of the story. Whereas the message for Luke’s character is designed to display growth, determination, and humility, Han and Leia show us how to trust, be selfless, and learn to love no matter the odds. The fundamental simplicity of these messages told through characters so complex, yet so common to us in so many ways, is the driving factor behind the story that is Star Wars and why these characters are so beloved almost forty years later.
Lucas’s imagination is channeled brilliantly by Kasdan’s ability to write characters that are so quintessentially relatable, both male and female, as they represent versions of ourselves we see amplified against the backdrop of a galaxy at war. While Star Wars set the stage for our story and characters, and Empire built upon it not only from a story standpoint, but in growing the characters as we are able to grow with them. The microcosm in time we see within the mere hours of a movie mirrors the years and decades it takes for us to accomplish such life altering perspectives and points of view. Lucas and Kasdan were able to take the journey of life and personify it in these characters we hardly knew, yet felt more like us than almost any person we had ever known. Within the stories and structure, Irvin Kershner had the unenviable task of bringing this unified vision to life and filming it in such a way that not only made sense, but involved the audience in such a way as to draw them further into this world while not leaving them behind with the sheer amount of events, locations, or new characters that were joining those we already knew. Lucas will always be known as the mastermind of the universe, and he did indeed direct 1977s Star Wars, but Kershner was able to bring out the emotional complexities of the characters, and his actors, in a way that Lucas merely touched upon, yet Kershner excelled at. Kershner is able to keep the film flowing smoothly from one frame to the next, his action sequences are tense and vivid, and he captures the development of the characters on their physical and emotional journeys perfectly.
The film is deftly acted and shows tremendous growth from the performers from the first film to the second; especially in Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo. The visual effects are just as jaw dropping today as they were over thirty years ago from blasters, to explosions, and all the way down to master puppetry for characters like the ever quotable Master Yoda. The score by the ever fantastic John Williams is uplifting, thrilling, and moving all in different beats.
It is difficult to summarize a film like Empire Strikes Back because it is so challenging to put into words how grand of a masterpiece it truly is. Memorable. Profound. Exciting. Bold. Daring. Beautiful. The Empire Strikes Back has long been considered one of the greatest films ever made for not only the fantasy genre, but for what it represented as a landmark in filmmaking and storytelling as a whole. Empire Strikes Back will stand the test of time for being at the pinnacle of represents a masterclass of film for generations before, and all of those yet to come.
10/10
thisguylovesmovies.wordpress.com 