“The Empire Strikes Back” is a worthy sequel to Star Wars, equal in both technical mastery and characterization, suffering only from the familiarity with the effects generated in the original and imitated too much by others. Only boxoffice question is how many earthly trucks it will take to carry the cash to the bank.
From the first burst of John Williams’ powerful score and the receding opening title crawl, we are back in pleasant surroundings and anxious for a good time–like walking through the front gate of Disneyland, where good and evil are never confused and the righteous will always win.
This is exec producer George Lucas’ world. Though he has turned the director’s chair over to the capable Irvin Kershner and his typewriter to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, there are no recognizable deviations from the path marked by Lucas and producer Gary Kurtz.
Having already introduced their principal players, the filmmakers now have a chance to round them out, assisted again by good performances from Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. And even the ominous Darth Vader (David Prowse [voiced by James Earl Jones]) is fleshed with new – and surprising – motivations. Killed in the original, Alec Guiness is limited to ghostly cameo.
Responding, too, to the audience’s obvious affection for the non-human sidekicks, “Empire” makes full use of Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), C3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2D2 (Kenny Baker). Among the new characters, Billy Dee Williams gets a good turn as a duplicitous but likeable villain-ally and Frank Oz is fascinating as sort of a guru for the Force. How this dwarfish character was created and made to seem so real is a wonder, but it’s only one of many visual marvels.
There are new creatures like the Tautaun on the ice planet Hoth and dreadful new mechanical menaces such as giant four-legged, walking juggernauts, plus the usual array of motherships and fighter craft, odd space stations and asteroids.
But it’s all believable given the premise, made the more enjoyable by Lucas’ heavy borrowing — with a splashing new coat of sci-fi paint — from many basic film frameworks. The juggernaut attack on infantry in the trenches with fighter planes counterattacking overhead is straight out of every war film ever made.
Even more than before, Lucas and Kershner seem to be making the comparisons obvious. Vader’s admirals now look even more dressed like Japanese admirals of the fleet intercut with Hamill’s scrambling fighter pilots who wouldn’t look too out of place on any Marine base today.
Oz’s eerie jungle home would not confuse Tarzan and the carbon-freezing chamber that threatens Ford could be substituted for any alligator pit in a Lost Temple. Naturally, too, the laser saber battles of the first are back again even more, along with the wild-west shootouts and aerial dogfights.
At 124 minutes, “Empire” is only three minutes longer than its predecessor, but seems to be longer than that, probably because of the overfamiliarity with some of the space sequences and excessive saber duels between Vader and Hamill.
Reaching its finish, “Empire” blatantly sets up the third in the “Star Wars” trilogy, presuming the marketplace will signify its interest. It’s a pretty safe presumption.
A stunning successor, a tense and pictorially dazzling science-fiction chase melodrama that sustains two hours of elaborate adventure while sneaking up on you emotionally.
A technological triumph. [19 May 1980]
Best movie ever. Everything is perfect down to the last detail.Darth Vader is the ultimate Villain
Exceptionally brilliant and IGN has no idea what they're talking about!....
The balance between action and mysticism in The Empire Strikes Back provides fascinating energy. It's as if the kids are given one set of delights, the bravado of battles and elaborate warships zooming through exotic space, and adults are given another, a layered explanation of what it all means in the grand scheme of things. [Special Edition]
While Empire doesn't quite measure up to Star Wars in the freshness and originality of its script, and the plethora of space operas that has been jamming the screens ever since Star Wars has somewhat lessened the novelty of city-sized ships sailing the stratosphere, nevertheless this 20th Century-Fox release remains a rattling good entertainment, a worthy successor to the original — and far and away the best of its kind since Star Wars itself.
In many ways the new film is a better film than Star Wars, visually more exciting, more artful and meticulous in detail. As a special effects wizard, Lucas fairly dazzles the eye with his optical magic.
The total effect is fast and attractive and occasionally amusing. Like a good hot dog, that's something of an achievement in a field where unpalatable junk is the rule.
Mainly it's marking time: the characters take a definite backseat to the special effects, and much of the action seems gratuitous, leading nowhere.
Such a classic! Often considered the best, very good and so much fun! Not to be skipped!
Si tengo en cuenta lo que me divierte verla diría que es la mejor de las originales, pero siendo realista el timing de gran parte del film es un problema muy grave siendo de las originales 6 películas la que tiene este particular problema mas marcado. Mientras luke se encuentra entrenando en lo que parecen ser días o semanas (quizás más) han se encuentra escapando de una nave imperial por, como mucho, horas.
I must be the only one who found this film a bit boring and stupid, Han Solo is good but boy is this overrated.
The movie is not the worst, it is actually recorded and Filmed well, however, irnos very unrealistic and the movie becomes boring when the battles start as there are many and really fake.
This is my least favorite Star Wars movie. I don't know why this considered to be the best Star Wars movie out of all of them and bashing the other Star Wars movies negatively? I really think of the issues that I have with this film is: I really think Irvin Kershner should have fix some stuff that could have been might improve it to be better such as have a scene where Stormtroopers shooting citizens at Cloud City that makes them more threatening, the asteroid scene pacing needs to be better, needs space battles, Luke and Darth Vader fight scene needs to be better, I think Darth Vader should done a dog fight with Han Solo in space instead of being chased down by Tie Fighters, I wished Luke's partner needs more screen time and development for Luke for the Battle of Hoth, have Boba Fett shoot someone, I think maybe have a scene of Yoda mentioned about what happened during at the Jedi Order and his mother to Luke, I think the Wampa scene should have Luke not harm it like Mark Hamill wanted, and maybe have the other Bounty Hunters have more screen time as well.