The Brilliance Strikes Back

Rating: 10/10 (2 October 2009)

Prior to 1980, there had not been a movie sequel that quite destroyed over dethroned the original in terms of quality, cultural impact, and everlasting effect. Ever since 1916, when the first movie sequel was born (Fall of a Nation---completing your pointless trivia of the day), there had been very few successful sequels that could stand tall with the original. Of course, there was French Connection II, and Godfather II, but neither of them could quite compare to the original. Enter Empire Strikes Back. Not only did this sequel have a tougher job to live to its original counterpart (a box office phenomenon that would forever change marketing, merchandising, and film-making for generations to come), but this sequel quite frankly did the unthinkable by changing the tone, raising the stakes, and not promising a happy-go-lucky ending that usually associates with sequels. Empire Strikes Back is yet another Star Wars movie that broke the rules of how to make a film and also ushered a new style and technique of film-making.
This movie didn't have the expected ending. Not all the backstories and main stories reached a resolution. The bad guys did win. The good guys were doomed. This sort of stuff doesn't happen in blockbuster sequels, but Empire Strikes Back dared to do this. Accompanying the change in pace is an excellent score, superb directing, incredible action, top-notch special effects, and basically the complete package in entertainment. The blend of action, drama, suspense, romance, and humor is among the best you'll ever see in a movie. Not only is it one of the best sequels ever, but it's also one of the greatest movies ever. This sort of movie-making magic just can't be duplicated.
Empire Strikes Back is about the travels of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo (Mark Hamill, Carrie Fischer, Harrison Ford) as they suddenly encounter a massive resistance coming from the Dark Side of the force. Led by an angrier and less sympathetic Darth Vader, the rebels are suddenly faster, swifter, and smarter in their attempt to control the universe. At the same time, Luke begins his training to become a Jedi knight, only to have his training stalled when the conflict is becoming increasingly dangerous to all his friends. While it is obvious George Lucas didn't have every detail planned out in the trilogy (Example: Leia/Luke/Han love triangle), he had a grand idea as to where the franchise was going story-wise.
The strongest part of Empire Strikes Back is like that of the original: the special effects and the associating visual spectacles that transports you to a totally different universe. The film was larger-than-life, as every location is grander and more impressive than the last: beginning with Hoth (and its classic snow battle) and ending with Bespin. While this was Lucas' creation and story, we cannot forget the directing of Irvin Kershner, which was the best of the entire franchise. Thanks to him, the acting here was best, the surprises were best-hidden, and the pacing was at its peak. The two hours breeze by here, and is capped by one of the strongest finishes in any blockbuster movie.
All of your regular characters were back and were at their most entertaining here: Han Solo is at his cockiest and funniest in the second installment, Luke Skywalker is at his most heroic (and most foolish), 3-CPO is at his funniest (and most irritating), and then Darth Vader is at his downright scariest. When Luke has to fight him, the only hint of sheer terror in the trilogy occurs then—as Darth Vader pretty much tosses him around like an unwanted ragdoll. Adding to the fear is John Williams' immortal imperial march song, which makes its debut here. The rest of the music in this movie is also spectacular, and should have won the Oscar that year.
Bottom Line: This is one of the top sequels of all-time, because it separates itself from the original by changing the tone, and expanding (and improving) upon everything that make the original Star Wars so great: the writing, special effects, directing, costumes, blend of action and comedy, set design, characters, musical score, pacing, and overall fun. Empire Strikes Back outperforms the original Star Wars in every aspect; from the better first act to even the smaller things like the lightsaber dueling choreography. It would be years before we find a blockbuster sequel that can top the original, and that's Terminator 2 which doesn't occur until the next decade.
Like I've said about Star Wars, if you have not seen this movie, it's because you are trying so hard to avoid it. If you don't like this movie, then it's because you just don't enjoy good movie-making. Empire Strikes Back is one of those rare movies that can be wholesomely entertaining yet engrossingly deep at the same time. This is borderline-art, and is a sheer joy from the first minute to the last. The Empire Strikes Back: raising the bar for blockbusters and sequels everywhere---too bad there's been so few of them that have matched the same level of quality.